Movie Monday: Fury (1936)

Today’s Movie Monday is centered around a pretty intense film called Fury. This movie stars the wonderful Spencer Tracy and a lesser known actress Sylvia Sidney. This film says a lot about society and I am going to break it all down in today movie review.

Fury is a film not for the faint of heart. What you may expect to be a light, happy film is, in fact, a story about public condemnation. We see a man on trial for a crime never see due justice. Instead, an entire town decides to presume him as guilty and give him their own form of justice. We see this in our modern society too, unfortunately.

With social media and everything turning digital, it has become a lot easier for more than just a town to condemn someone. And now we can also do that without anyone knowing who we are. What type of society is that?

The lessons we can take away from Fury are timeless because it is in the nature of every person to jump to conclusions. In the United States, our justice system is supposed to presume someone as innocent until they are proven guilty. However, there are many instances when someone is tarnish or presumed guilty before a fair trial even begins. I think we should address this issue in our broader society because if I know anything it is that outrage culture can turn on anyone — even its “friends”.

Spencer Tracy is a surprisingly perfect leading man for this film. Typically, we see Tracy in films that showcase his softer side. Like most of the films he starred in alongside Katherine Hepburn, Tracy had a way of being caring and trustworthy. However, in Fury we see Tracy act much more unhinged. He starts out average, but quickly becomes a whole different kind of vengeful once he becomes a publicly condemned man.

If you are looking for a really good film to watch while you practice social distancing, definitely go watch Fury. Hopefully, we will all be more conscious of our actions once we are able to return back to normal society.

Much Love,

Sarah