Jessica Engle

In the movie Singin’ in the Rain there is a connection established between the characters of Don and Kathy just by the way that they are both introduced into the movie. When Don gives his back-story his narration is different than the reality that the audience is seeing on the screen. He glorifies his young life to make it seem like it was more glamorous than it actually is. Kathy tells Don while they are in her car that she is an actor and currently works in theater. We later realize she is actually working a singing and dancing job that is a lot less glamorous than she described to Don. Both characters feel this need to impress others by making their climb to stardom a lot more glamorous than reality portrays it. Establishing this similar desire for approval and glamour sets the stage for the impending relationship that transpires between Don and Kathy. They have similar character styles, which lead them to connect later on in the movie.

By introducing both characters telling lies to glamorize their lives makes the audience immediately make connections between the two. They both start their careers with struggle. Don’s flashback shows him playing in bars and being ridiculed by many people. This proves that his journey was not easy to get to the place where he is now, the big movie star with lots of success and fame. When we first meet Kathy she tells Don that she is an actress and is in theater, she is trying to impress this hot shot and show him that he is not much better than her. However, it is later revealed that she is just a singer and dancer for parties. Chances are this is the only gig she can find right now that uses her talents. Both our characters are shown to be people looking for fame and fibbing about their path to get there in order to gain approval from someone else. Don wanted to gain approval from his adoring fans and Kathy wanted to gain approval from Don.

Because of these lies, the characters are immediately categorized together by the audience. I immediately realized that both Don and Kathy exhibited this need for approval and admiration from others. They both needed everyone else to look at them as better than they were to feel good about themselves. This insecurity brings the two characters together because now there is a similar characteristic shared between them. They may not realize that they share this common desire for approval, but in a sense it makes them the same.  The fact that Kathy was the party entertainer was the reason that Don went looking for her. When Don realizes that Kathy is just a party entertainer he is immediately taken with her. He cannot stop thinking about her and searches everywhere to find her. He sees that she is a struggling actress, just as he was before he got his big break as a stunt man.

I think that by giving these two characters the common background of struggling actors, and having them both lie about their struggles gave them to basis for their relationship. This allowed them to have a deeper connection rather than just falling in love to add a love story to the movie. They both have a common need for approval as well as their goal for stardom. These lies told by the characters inevitably gave their relationship more depth.