Regarding The Son of the Sheik: Essay Excerpts Question: How did audiences receive this movie in the 1920s? A Big Tent Movie •Many claim that producers intended The Son of the Sheik for a predominately female audience. But those who make that claim, pointing primarily to Valentino, ignore Banky, who was box office magic, too. About her, the Los Angeles Times wrote on September 20, 1925: “Miss Banky is possessed of a radiant refinement and loveliness. She may indeed be hailed as a truly notable screen ‘find.’ She has a charm of presence and a spiritual beauty that is both charming and captivating.” Whatever 1920s audiences felt, seen today, both Valentino and Banky are capable of appealing to strongly diverse contemporary audiences and would likely have done so in the 1920s too. Valentino may well have appealed to female viewers, but he likely appealed to gay men, too. We tend to 1 forget that urban gays played active roles in movies and in life during the half decade preceding World War Two. That The Son of the Sheik appealed solely to female viewers is nothing but an overblown myth. (Jillian Carlock) A Colony and Empire Age Movie Like The Thief of Bagdad, The Son of the Sheik manifests the 1920s preoccupation with a dreamlike, “oriental” middle east. In The Thief of Bagdad, bazaars and markets crowd with people poor and rich wearing fantastical costumes, crowd with princes and imams. In “Son of the Sheik, ” a sheik in the desert saves a damsel in distress. Substitute Stetson hats for burnooses and The Son of the Sheik could pass for a cowboy film. Humans will always be captivated by what is foreign, what is unaccustomed. The new socioeconomic landscape that 20th century colonialism created enabled average people to experience, however vicariously, unfamiliar settings. Movies like The Thief of Bagdad and The Son of the Sheik and other works of the 1920s reflect this. However misinformed those movies were, they demonstrate the fundamental tendency of the human imagination to enter new worlds informed by a perspective shaped in the old. (Quinn Guarino) Question: What of the human psyche does The Son of the Sheik unleash? Lust And the Unknown The Son of the Sheik expresses and triggers the human lust for the unknown. That lust is nothing new. It pervades romantic fiction from The Sheik to Fifty Shades of Grey. Like The Son of The Sheik, Fifty Shades features danger in its plot. Whatever censorious people profess to say, works like these are intensely popular, particularly with middle- aged women…who lust for the unknown. The Son of the Sheik features elements that typically inspire this lust: fiction mixed with non-fiction, real world danger in which the female protagonist is suddenly kidnapped by a man with only sexual intentions; a “mysterious” culture where norms and practices are unfamiliar, a stereotypical “Arabia” where Arabs are represented as brutish and uncivilized; and a brooding, hardy, and dangerous, but sexy, male captor with a veil of intrigue surrounding him. Why does this package resonate with middle-aged women? Perhaps they desire to break out of the mundane, average life many of them lead. In that case, the unknown danger that these works portray is just what the doctor ordered. The desert location perfectly suits such a story: a remote, lonely location where danger abounds for someone far away from home. The effect just wouldn’t be the same in a forest, for example. E.F. Hull spawned the genre, “the desert romance,” not mean to demean or depict women but rather to enjoy the fantasy as writer and reader. And then there was Rudolph Valentino. “I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams,” Valentino is reported to have said. The film foregrounds Valentino. The 2 narrative treats the journey of Yasmin, but the spotlight lands on Valentinio. And what Valentino ignited in 1926 continues today to smolder. (David Oneacre) Father and son theme •There is a strong tension between the [father and son characters, both characters played by Valentino] because they are both strong willed and stubborn. When they fight one another, there is no possible outcome and agreement. We see their father and son relationship becomes stronger when Ahmed goes out to the dessert storm to go after Yasmin because he realized it was a complete misunderstanding. The Sheik worries about his son’s safety, realizing he was going back the town that he created much trouble in, so he decided to go after him. As any father would, the sheik goes in right in the middle of the fight in order to protect his son. The father risked his own life by entering though the storm and into the battle to help his son, who, the father now realizes, shares his mindset. The outcome is touching. We see them fighting the bad men together and shielding each other from harm in one of the scenes. It must have been the moment when they both realized that they cared deeply for one another and it was better that they worked together then being on opposing sides. (Manny Siyavong) Kabuki before the silent movie camera •The facial expressions, the emotion filled acting and body language of Valentino and Banky made me believe that the emotions they enacted on screen were real and genuine. On-screen, the chemistry between Valentino and Banky is absolutely superb. For example, when we see their moonlight encounter at the ruins, Ahmed (Valentino) starts to embrace Yasmin (Banky), but she takes his hands and prevents him from doing so. Undeterred, he lifts her hand and kisses it on the front and back - then her fingers - and from there he places quick kisses all over her face. His over acting, showering her with kisses and tenderly holding her face in his palm, greatly emphasizes his desires and evokes a wild romanticism. Watch the dance of gestures as they play this scene. Yasmin is obviously taken by him, but we sense something is not quite right as she tries to push away from Ahmed’s embrace, and is hesitant to kiss him. Ahmed, not understanding what could be causing the hesitancy, asks if she were afraid he would fail her. She looks away, then into his eyes - saying nothing. "Why fear me, dearest?" he says. "Love such as mine can do no harm." Again she looks away, but he gently takes her chin in his hand and turns her face back to his, close, and she closes her eyes momentarily delighting in his touch. He tenderly kisses her, and she kisses him willingly, then pulls away. He again turns her face toward his and replies, "I am he who loves you. Is that not name enough?" He kisses her lightly, twice on the lips. She smiles signifying the apprehension has departed. He lifts her in his arms and carries her to a part of the ruins where they can sit and talk of their love. 3 The play of emotions between these two stars in this scene exemplifies what makes The Son of the Sheik so good. In a single scene, the lovers run through passion, apprehension, doubt, tender caring, reassurance, romance and even eroticism. Finally, they are all smiles delighting in each other's company. Through body language, Valentino and Banky convey these emotions to the audience. (Alexandra Urbina) Question: Is this a "feminist" film? A Feminist Film •The Son of the Sheik allowed women of all kinds to express their sexuality and fantasies while still holding true to the idea that they could be strong, and independent. Through the characters of Yasmin, and Ahmed the film is able to perfectly capture the mindset of the 1920’s woman who “wanted it all.” Ultimately The Son of the Sheik helped 1920’s feminist in their struggle to become independent women by showing that a woman could be both sexual, and strong with or without a man by her side. Viewers saw Yasmin as a female empowerment symbol, a poster child for what the feminist movement of the 20’s was coming to be about. When feminist looked to Banky’s character, they saw themselves. Vilma Banky takes the 2-dimensional female character of silent film and pumps life and meaning into it. Banky essentially created a mix of old and new - combining the appeal of the female character mixed with the braveness and guts of what a male character had. While yes, Yasmin ultimately relies on and falls for the Valentino’ character Ahmed in the end to save her from her kidnappers, she does not do so without fighting with and opposing him throughout the entirety of the film. The importance of opposing men in the film is what makes it a feminist piece, especially for the 1920’s. Yasmin not only opposes Ahmed, but almost all of the men who encounter her in the film such as her fathers bandits, who later kidnap her. Even in those moments of danger, Yasmin is strong-willed and fights back against these men expressing her feelings. Vilma Banky’s interpretation of Yasmin is an important, youthful take on how the feminist movement and women in general were becoming aware, and validating their own sexualities, strengths, and emotions with no shame. Through The Son of the Sheik, Vilma Banky taught what women could be, while Rudolph Valentino taught what women could have, and it was through these teachings that feminism progressed forward into what we know it as today. Rudolph Valentino was introduced to the American public at a pivotal time, especially for women who were aged after years of oppression from their white male counterparts.