Marquis due Lafayette, Charles Boyer and Seeing the Light
America and France have been friends since the days when the Marquis de Lafayette was named a major general in the Continental Army. The subsequent 1778 treaty and military support from France proved decisive in the American victory over Britain in the Revolutionary War.
In my lifetime we were often told (or we assumed) that France was the center of the universe when it comes to fine arts, wine, food, films, music, dance, architecture and more. Let’s face it, culture always seems more credible when it has a French accent. It's probably even more basic than that as a simple compare-and-contrast may show. After studying German in college and having traveled extensively through Europe, my anecdotal evidence is that there is a significant difference between being asked “Parlez-vous francais?” or “Sprechen Sie Deutsch?”. It's not necessarily scientific but I have it on very good authority that a French accent—at least when it comes to films—will always prevail. Which brings me to Charles Boyer.
Born in Figeac, France in 1899, Charles Boyer was barely 20 when he began his film career. Although his early roles were during the silent era, with the addition of sound came a steady growth in his film roles, as he began making movies on both sides of the Atlantic. By 1944 he had already made 40 films including two of his most remembered roles: as Pepe le Moko in “Algiers” and as Gregory Anton in “Gaslight”. His on screen success in the 1930s and 1940s was not surprising as his good looks and command of English (with a seductive French accent) were perfectly suited to the big screen. “You know, that accent”, my friend Frank in Chicago would say, “da womens love it”.
“Gaslight”, a 1944 psychological thriller, was adapted from a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton. Director George Cukor (“The Philadelphia Story”, “A Star Is Born”, “My Fair Lady”) helmed the Hollywood production of “Gaslight” with a terrific cast that included Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten and Angela Lansbury (then a teenager). The film garnered 7 Academy Award nominations (it won two), but the movie’s impact went beyond good filmmaking. The story centered on a woman (Bergman/Paula Anton) whose husband (Boyer/Gregory Anton) attempts to slowly convince her that she is going insane.
He does this by tinkering with small elements in their relationship. He insists she is mistaken, forgetful, or delusional about many aspects of her life. The plot of “Gaslight” was so believable that the film title and premise added a verb—gaslighting—to the English lexicon. For example, a recent headline from a Los Angeles Times editorial asked “Trump's census order defies the Constitution. Is he gaslighting, or just desperate?”. And in July the Washington Post reported that since becoming president Donald Trump has ". . . crossed the 20,000 mark — an average of 23 claims [lies] a day over a 14-month period, which included the events leading up to Trump’s impeachment trial, the worldwide pandemic that crashed the economy and the eruption of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody." In short, Trump's lies are a form of gaslighting. And these days, gaslighting seems to be everywhere.
The romantic international traveler in me always liked getting my passport stamped at every border. I recall a driving tour in the 1970s where Dolly and I crossed multiple frontiers entering The Netherlands, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, almost always receiving a stamp in our passports as proof. A favorite memory was stopping in the principality of Lichtenstein. We had lunch in Vaduz, the capital, but first paid our 50 Swiss centimes for the (optional) passport stamp. That being said, crossing borders in Europe today is considerably less exotic but infinitely easier with the creation of the E.U.
Gaslighting may very well have played a part in Brexit, the 2016 vote resulting in the UK leaving the European Union. The plebiscite was built on reactionary cries of national sovereignty, isolationism, racism and a general wave of right-wing politics along with a casual complacency by many on the left. The final tally was a narrow 52% to 48%. Two years after the Brexit vote an analysis by The Guardian concluded that “The past two years have felt like a vast exercise in gaslighting.” The divorce was not going smoothly and at this writing—four years after the vote—it’s still pretty ugly.
The Brexit vote also caused the then-government of David Cameron to fall, followed by the failure of Theresa May’s government, and ultimately the election of Boris Johnson. Leaving the economics and the politics aside, the much more pressing question I was asking is what is the deal with Boris Johnson’s hair? It’s my view that Mr. Johnson’s hair seems to be a separate gaslighting effort by him, distracting us from the chaos in Britain these days, but I’ll save Boris for another day.
Closer to home, gaslighting has lately been taking on a more ominous quality. Convicted felons (friends of the president) are pardoned. The word “hoax” is used to discredit almost any rational, credible or confirmed problem. Inspectors general in the government are being fired for doing their jobs. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, selected one of his top aides to run the day-to-day U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic. It was a perfect choice, given the aide’s occupation before being personally selected handle this important duty: he was a Labradoodle breeder. Yes, this administration knows all the best people. And the man responsible for overseeing the child separation policy at the border, had never spent any time resettling refugees before he was put in charge of, ah, oh let's see, refugee resettlement.
Science takes a back seat to magical thinking. The Senate takes vacations and tables needed legislation “while Rome burns”. We wait for additional federal monies for the unemployed, additional funding for state governments, readily-available testing for Covid-19, a fast turnaround of test results and so on. At the same time the federal government has found the energy to send in hundreds (and soon to be thousands) of unknown, unidentified para-military forces, waving them in front of us like it’s right, rational and, most importantly legal and normal. In addition to BLM and other protesters, groups of moms and military veterans have been gassed, beaten and arrested.
It’s unlikely that California’s north coast will soon be a target for these faux-military displays, yet there are a few things we can do. Complete your census form so that California (and counties like Mendocino and Sonoma) receive a full share of federal monies in the coming decade. Register to vote, and then VOTE. And don't be silent! Reach out regularly to our local, county, state and congressional representatives.
Gaslighting is underway every day. We need to recognize it and “put the gas flame out.”
