The film Singing In The Rain is interesting not only because it’s meta-musical, but also because it comments on the illusions of film making.
During the “make em laugh” scene in Singing In The Rain, Cosmo and Don walk past the sets of several films. While walking past these sets, the audience is shown a set with crowd of people sitting on bleachers cheering on a team while having white flakes fall from over top of them. Upon seeing this, the viewer can typically imagine that those people are sports fans cheering on their favorite team during a snow. The viewer can even imagine what it would look like to see the set from the camera’s point of view. This is actually what allows the viewer to understand what’s happening on the set. Once seeing the set from an outsiders perspective and understanding what is being shown, the viewer is reminded that what he is seeing on the screen is simply an illusion bounded by the four walls of the screen. More simply put, the diegetic world beyond the screen in which the film takes place only exists in the viewer’s mind. This realization is the films comment on film making. By exposing the non existent diegetic world beyond the screen which the viewer thinks exists, the film makes a comment saying, “Not only are films fake, but what you’re currently watching is fake too.” Even Doane explains that the viewer pieces together an outside diegetic world because of the images shown within the frame. Therefore, when the viewer is reminded that he is simply creating the outside diegetic world, the film becomes less on an illusion. What the viewer supposed to conclude with this reminder is unanswerable, however it is still an interesting thought. The thought that you’re watching a stage within a stage; it definitely makes a person question the reality of what they see, and or watch.
