ET 14: Singin' In The Rain in Singin' In The Rain

 Come on with the rain with a smile on my face..

                         The movie entitled “Singing in the Rain,” starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds is a classic of its time. The movie leads the audience into the dream-like world of Hollywood and shows that this world of perfection is all but an illusion. Initially, everything may seem like all sparkles and glitters, but as the story progresses, the audience then discovers the flaws lying beneath the surface of the actors, actresses and the people that inhabit Hollywood. In relation to that, the highlight of the movie which is the scene of “Singing in the Rain,” played out by Gene Kelly is a beautiful masterpiece of expressionism. On the surface, the audience does not think much of the scene and only observe a man singing and dancing in the rain. However, there are powerful meanings behind this man’s so-called singing and dancing, and as well as the setting of the scene itself. 

                          The beginning of the scene starts off with a kiss between Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds. Then, after parting ways, Gene Kelly waves and signals for his car to go off signifying that he does not need it anymore. He starts to walk in the rain. The beginning of the scene signifies the change that has come upon him since the beginning of the movie where all he cared about was keeping up a good image with the public and dressing the part.  The kiss ignites his emotions of love for Debbie Reynolds and sends him flying off into a dream-like world and away from reality. The kiss sparks his gesture to get rid of his car which symbolizes him welcoming a new change. The element of the car is not to be overlooked. If we look carefully, we can see that the black car in the scene resembles the sort of black cars that we see in the beginning of the film which is at the premiere. The black car is a symbol of wealth, power and status that the stars of Hollywood have and embrace. It also symbolizes the elegance and glamour that the public expects the stars of Hollywood to be. Gene Kelly’s gesture of waving his car off is like him shedding off an old skin and getting a new one. He feels that the material wealth that he once constantly fussed over is no more than superficiality and shallowness. There is so much more to the world than just the things that you own.

                          The choreography sequence in the scene of “Singing in the Rain,” after the beginning, tells a story. As he goes along his merry way and starts to hum a melody, he decides that he does not need the umbrella anymore. He closes his umbrella and continues to walk and sing in the rain, greeting strangers that pass by him with a smile or a friendly gesture. Gene Kelly uses the umbrella as a form of protection from the rain; he uses it to prevent himself from getting wet. This can simply signify that the umbrella is his comfort zone. The umbrella is big and wide, it takes up a lot of space. He uses this umbrella and forms a barrier between other people and himself. The umbrella gives him his personal space and as well as blocks other people out.  The meaning behind the umbrella is similar to that of the big white coat that we saw Gene Kelly wore in the beginning of the movie at the premiere. As he decides that he does not need the umbrella anymore, he also decides that he should step out of his comfort zone and embrace the unknown. Initially, he hides behind this façade, he hides behind his big coat and umbrella, but as he undergoes a new transformation, he gains a lot more confidence in himself and has a higher self-esteem. Instead of blocking people out, he learns to embrace them and connect with them. Thus, this explains the friendly smiles and gestures that he gives strangers as they pass by him.

                       A very important element that is very expressionistic in the scene of “Singing in the Rain,” is the use of the rain.  Firstly, the rain symbolizes what Gene Kelly is feeling right at the moment when he sings and dances in the rain. He feels happy, carefree and as well as very strong emotions of love for Kathy. The rain signifies the degree of intensity of his emotions. These emotions that he experiences were ignited by the kiss that we saw in the beginning of the scene. As Gene Kelly continues to walk and sing in the rain, he takes off his hat and lets the rain come down on him with a smile on his face. The rain symbolizes change because water welcomes new life, it signifies rebirth. As the water washes his face, he is being cleansed of his past and with a smile, he welcomes the bright new future that is awaiting him. Even as he performs the action of letting the rain wash his face, he sings “Come on with the rain, with a smile on my face.”

                  The dance choreography after that action also is very expressionistic. The swinging of his umbrella as he walks symbolizes how carefree he is, the movement of the swinging umbrella also can be observed to be him knocking away anything that dares to disturb this transition of change. He is also “knocking,” away challenges or obstacles that he would have to face. From the imaginary dance partner to somewhat hugging his umbrella, he was most probably imagining Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) and the whole dance sequence expresses his pure joy and love for her. Then, he takes off his hat again which symbolizes him embracing or going deeper into his emotions and as he takes those emotions in, it fills him up and he explodes and expresses everything by tap dancing. He continues to tap dance until he comes to this pipe where water is just pouring out like a waterfall. Gene Kelly dances by stepping back and forth making the audience anticipate the moment when he will stand under the pouring water and allow himself to get soaked. The pouring water symbolizes his overflowing passion, and by him being drenched in it, he is actually being overwhelmed by his passion. Moreover, the pouring water purifies him in a sort of way by washing away the bad things and making him clean. This is a more thorough cleansing compared to little drops of rain that washed his face as he smiled. As he becomes overwhelmed with his passion, it fills him up again and he explodes by twirling and dancing around the whole street with his umbrella. This amplifies his emotions and the energy that he is bursting with.

                As the scene draws near the end, Gene Kelly starts jumping in puddles, splashing water all around and simultaneously tap dancing. He relives his childhood and becomes a boy again playing and jumping around in the puddles, just having fun. His innocence returns after being cleansed by the water and he learns to let go and become carefree. He remembers the fun times he had in the past before he learn the word “dignity,” he goes back to the person he was before he learn that “you lose face with dignity.” Then, after what seems like an emotional rollercoaster ride and an adventure in his dream-like world, he is snapped back into reality when a police officer pauses and looks at him sternly as he plays in the puddles. At the end of the sequence, Gene Kelly walks away from the officer and gives away his umbrella to a stranger who needed it. He felt that he did not need that protection anymore and as he stepped back into reality once more, he has completed his change. He walks back into the real world a new man.

               In conclusion, the scene of “Singing in the Rain” is like the icon of the movie. After careful analysis of the whole sequence, I can understand how a lot of thought was put into the dance choreography and music and what each detail represented to tell a story. The scene was brilliantly crafted into a masterpiece of pure expressionism. It teaches us a life lesson of how a person goes through change and how that change makes a person become stronger, allowing him to move forward.