Expo: Magic of the White City is a documentary film which premiered in 2005. The subtitle explains the topic: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. The official name of the fair is The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893.
The fair was planned to be held in 1892 to mark and celebrate the 400-year anniversary of Columbus and his discovery of America.
At that time, it was still regarded as correct to praise Columbus and to say that he discovered America.
But planning of the fair and construction of the buildings needed for the fair took longer than expected. While many buildings were completed by the fall of 1892, it was still too late. The fair could not take place during the winter season, so it was delayed until the following year. The fair was open for six months, from May to October 1893.
Here is some basic information about the film:
** Director: Mark Bussler
** Writer: Brian Connelly
** Narrator: Gene Wilder (1933-2016)
** Released on DVD in 2010
** Run time: 116 minutes
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This film about the 1893 exposition in Chicago is divided into 35 chapters. Whenever a new chapter is about to begin, there is a brief moment with silence and a black screen. Then the next chapter begins. But for some reason, the title of the next chapter is not posted on the screen.
Here are the 35 titles which are not shown in the film:
# 01. The Magic of the White City
# 02. The Fair was Alive!
# 03. The Biggest Fair Ever Held
# 04. A Future of Peace and Progress
# 05. Violence and Economic Turmoil
# 06. Where to Hold the Fair?
# 07. Having Fun and Making Money
# 08. The Windy City
# 09. A Vision by the Lake
# 10. Building the Fair
# 11. The Court of Honor
# 12. Visiting the State Buildings
# 13. Agriculture and Mines Buildings
# 14. Impressive National Buildings
# 15. Japanese Wooded Island
# 16. The Largest Building on Earth
# 17. The Biggest Bazaar in History
# 18. The Electricity Building
# 19. Machinery Hall
# 20. The Midway Plaisance
# 21. Little Egypt
# 22. People on the Midway
# 23. So Much More to See
# 24. The Ferris Wheel
# 25. The Cold Storage Fire
# 26. The Palace of Fine Arts
# 27. Guns at the Fair
# 28. Awe Inspiring Buildings
# 29. Transportation at the Fair
# 30. Food and Beer
# 31. Food Firsts and Music
# 32. People and Problems
# 33. The Murder of the Mayor
# 34. The End of the Fair
# 35. Jackson Park Today
Some titles are easy to understand. They are self-explanatory. Other titles are not so easy to understand. They are mysterious. To understand them, you need to watch the film.
THE PLOT
The Chicago fair of 1893 was the first universal exposition in the US. Why would men in power want to hold a fair? Why would they want to organize a fair?
The idea came from Europe where several major expositions were held during the second half of the 19th century, for instance the great exhibition of 1851 held in London in the remarkable building called the Crystal Palace.
Inspiration also came from the 1889 universal exposition held in Paris whose logo was the Eiffel Tower designed and built by Gustave Eiffel.
American politicians agreed that the US should organize a similar fair, but it had to be be bigger and more impressive than the exposition held in France.
After much debate in Congress, Chicago was chosen as the location of the fair, but the politicians did not attach any money to the project. In other words: the fair would have to pay for itself.
What was the purpose of the fair? The purpose was a combination of education and business. Visitors would learn about art and culture, about science and technology, and they would enjoy the attractions. Visitors would pay to be educated and to be entertained. This is how the organizers expected the fair to pay for itself.
The organizers had a vision: they wanted Americans to come together like brothers and sisters in peace and harmony. And this optimistic vision was not only about Americans; it was a global vision: the organizers wanted the peoples of the world to come together like brothers and sisters in peace and harmony.
[Chapter 4]
But the reality of the United States and the reality of the world was quite different from the wonderful dream.
[Chapter 5]
This film covers the story of the Chicago World’s Fair
from the beginning to the end. The story is told by the narrator Gene Wilder
who is reading a long script filled with much information and many details.
Major buildings are presented. Major themes of the fair are presented. We learn about art and culture; about science and technology. We also hear about entertainment. We discover what visitors could eat and drink at the fair.
The logo of the 1889 universal exposition held in Paris was the Eiffel Tower. The American organizers needed something which could compete with Eiffel’s tower. They found it in the Ferris Wheel named after George Ferris, Jr., who designed and constructed the original Ferris Wheel for the fair.
[Chapter 24]
Electricity played an important role in this exposition. The organizers wanted electric light bulbs inside and outside every major building to make the exposition more impressive.
Electricity was nothing new. Electric light bulbs had been seen before. But this electric show was going to be on a scale which had never been seen before.
Who was going to get the contract to supply electric power and electric light bulbs to the exposition?
Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse were rivals. Both were inventors and both produced electricity. Edison supplied Direct Current (DC), while Westinghouse supplied Alternate Current (AC). Both inventors wanted to secure the contract.
Edison made a bid which was relatively high, because he wanted to cover his expenses and make a handsome profit as well. Westinghouse made a bid which was relatively low, because he merely wanted to cover most of his expenses. He figured that if he secured the contract, his name would be famous and this would work like free advertising.
Westinghouse won the contract, because his bid was low. Edison was furious, but he only had himself to blame.
AC was the future, but Edison did not want to admit this. The fact that Westinghouse secured the contract was a sign that AC was the future.
Edison was not down and out. He had many other inventions. He was active during the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis in 1904. But he had lost the current war.
[Chapter 18]
Many buildings on the fair grounds were impressive, but most of them were not built to last. They were constructed by wood and plaster. They could look good for six months, but they could not last much longer than that. This is why they were demolished as soon as the fair came to an end.
In fact, only one building was built to be permanent: the Palace of Fine Arts. This was a real building constructed with cement and bricks. Why?
Because this building housed valuable paintings and other works of art and it had to be fireproof. When the temporary buildings were demolished, this building remained. After the fair it was turned into the Museum of Science and Industry.
[Chapter 26]
Many things at the fair went well. Many things happened according to plan, but a horrible tragedy occurred when the building used for cold storage caught fire and the local fire brigade was unable to stop the fire and save the people who were inside: fifteen people were killed by the flames.
[Chapter 25]
The official vision of peace and harmony in the world was beautiful, but when visitors walked around the fair, they could see that the reality was rather different:
** The US Army presented some large cannons
** The German contribution to the fair included several types of military hardware
[Chapter 27]
The mayor of Chicago - Carter Harrison, Sr. - did not live to see the end of the fair: he was murdered on 28 October 1893, just two days before the fair was going to end.
[Chapter 33]
REVIEWS AND RATINGS
What do reviewers say about this film?
On IMDb it has a rating of 74 percent which corresponds to 3.7 stars on Amazon.
There are seven user reviews on IMDb. Some of them offer negative remarks about the film.
Here are three examples:
** The first reviewer says the film presents one building after another, adding:
“The flaw in this technique is its monotony.”
** The second reviewer describes the film in this way:
“More a glorified Power Point presentation than a movie.”
** The third reviewer uses the following headline:
“Informative but uninspired.”
The critical reviewers mention another serious flaw: most of what we see on the screen is archive footage (old clips and old photos). But there are exceptions to the general rule. Modern clips appear from time to time. The modern clips include a duck swimming in a lake, a glass being filled with beer and (most importantly) glimpses of a belly dancer (Claire Litton).
Old photos of belly dancers show them covered up, so almost no skin is visible. But when we see a glimpse of Claire Litton, she is wearing something which looks like a bikini.
This is an anachronism. No belly dancer at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 looked like that!
Why would the director add such a detail which is a gross violation of historical truth?
The answer is blowing in the wind.
On Amazon there are at the moment 247 global ratings and 200 global reviews. The average rating is 4.6 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.
While the average rating on Amazon is high, there are negative reviews as well. Critical reviewers note that one significant detail about the fair is not covered in the film:
The serial killer H. H. Holmes who built a “special” hotel next to the fair grounds and who killed several visitors to the fair in his hotel is not mentioned.
The critical reviewers add a reference about the case. The story of H. H. Holmes and the Chicago Fair is covered in the book The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (2003) (2004).
CONCLUSION
When I look at this film, I have to say that it has some positive and some negative elements.
On the positive side, I can say that there is a lot of information which is relevant and useful. The film does not try to paint a one-sided picture of the Chicago Fair. The film tries to present a balanced view of the fair and to show the contrast between the lofty ideals and the dark reality which existed in 1893.
On the negative side, I can say that the structure of the film makes it monotonous, often presenting an endless line of buildings, one after another. The director adds modern clips which are not necessary (the duck and the beer) and a clip which is misplaced (the almost naked belly dancer). The connection between the serial killer H. H. Holmes and the fair is never mentioned.
I like this film and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are some flaws which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove two stars because of these flaws.
In my opinion, the rating on Amazon is too high. Even the rating on IMDb is too high.
This film is not great; it is not even good; it is average. And therefore, it cannot get more than three stars (60 percent).
PS # 1. Timeless is a US television series which ran for two seasons (2016-2018). The characters in this series have a time machine which allows them to travel into the past. In season one, episode 11, they travel back to Chicago 1893 where they visit the world’s fair. They meet the serial killer H. H. Holmes who tries to kill them!
PS # 2. The World’s Greatest Fair is a documentary film which premiered in 2004. The topic is the Louisiana Purchase Exposition which was held in St. Louis in 1904.
REFERENCES
** The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893: A Photographic Record with text by Stanley Appelbaum (1980)
** The World’s Columbian Exposition: The Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 by Norman Bolotin and Christine Laing (1992) (2002)
** Chicago’s 1893 World’s Fair by Joseph di Cola and David Stone (2012)
*****
The World's Columbian Exposition
Chicago 1893
*****
The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson
(2003) (2004)
*****
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