Today, the term “gaslight” is widely known as a synonym for psychological manipulation. This is quite fitting because the term originally served as the title of two black and white films made in 1940 and 1944. The original version starred Anton Walbrook and Dana Wynyard, while the 1944 version starred Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman. The two films follow the same plot but certain details are different so the two movies aren’t exactly the same in every detail. Both are excellent films, with great acting, and are well worth watching. Since I believe that Hollywood’s best days are long gone, I won’t even consider later versions of this classic made around 2023.
Of the two classic Gaslight films, we’ll focus primarily on the 1944 version but both films are excellent examples of filmmaking in the 1940’s and cover a topic that was quite relevant at the time and is even more so today. In light of the current meaning of this term, not only was the world being “gaslighted” into World War II, but such manipulation of the public was also being taken to another level. In the 1944 version, the lead characters are well portrayed by renown actors Charles Boyer of France and Ingrid Bergman of Sweden both of whom were well-known in the late 1930’s and 1940’s due to their work in Hollywood. In any case, the film tells the story of human criminality, long-term conspiracy and the use of psychological manipulation to achieve one’s ends. The film is a great example of what would become the psycho-thriller genre of Hollywood movies such as those later directed by Alfred Hitchcock in the 1950’s and 1960’s. This includes Vertigo and The Birds.
Both classic versions of Gaslight are set in Victorian England. The title refers to the latest form of city lighting during those days, which was powered by the flames of natural gas before the invention of electric lighting. From today’s vantage point, this should’ve been too dangerous to use as a form of lighting but it appears that the people in those days had relatively few problems with gas powered lighting because they were far more responsible and intelligent than the people of today.
The 1944 version of Gaslight tells the story of a murder and the killer’s long-term plot to find the precious jewels he failed to find when he originally committed the crime. This plot took several years to realize and it required him to marry the sheltered and naive niece of his victim in order to gain access to the victim’s house, which had been inherited by the niece, so he could resume his search for the jewels. The killer was coldly, psychopathic and saw no problem with creating an entirely fake life for himself and the niece of his original victim, in order to achieve his ends.
As always, film reviews on this site are utilized as a vehicle for teaching Correctionism by applying its principles to the story told by each film in order to illustrate how these principles apply to everyday life. Gaslight admirably fits the bill, since it involves psychological manipulation of an individual, we can apply this to important teachings of Correctionism such as the important role played by both psychological manipulation of the masses and the power of belief in human life. In Correctionism, we learn that human cultures or societies are actually based upon the psychological manipulation of the masses, which often requires great lying, hypocrisy and hoaxing to successfully pull off; and since criminals and psychopaths are well represented among the leaders of men, ends justify means; so, man’s societies are no stranger to these vices. Furthermore, it’s not what’s actually true that’s most important in man’s societies but what people believe is true. Correctionism teaches the Paradox of Popular Belief: No belief of man need ever be actually true, as long as enough people believe that it is. This is very difficult for the average person to accept because, although, everyone “knows” that truth is far superior to falsehood; however, for the average person this is only as long as the Truth doesn’t challenge or contradict the most influential and cherished religious and secular beliefs of the day. Whenever this occurs, the effects of psychological manipulation, as seen in the film Gaslight, kicks in; the typical human will go with his most influential and cherished religious and secular beliefs over even the actual Truth every time. This is indeed the source of untold misery for our species but it is, nevertheless, the way real humans actually behave in the real world, a world dominated by sophisticated, psychological manipulation or “gaslighting” of the masses of men.
Gaslight also reminds us of how the ambitions of men may even divert human life itself away from its true purpose to evil or criminal ends. For such reasons, entire cultures or even civilizations can be based on the most massive lies and hoaxes yet most people living therein won’t even be aware of it. To make matters worse, even if you tell people the Truth most will adamantly refuse to believe it. Unfortunately, men tend to think highly of their beliefs and are rarely inclined to admit that they could possibly be wrong and are even less inclined to admit they’ve been deceived. This is the pathos of mankind as a living, breathing species here on earth. For thousands of years and counting, gaslighting or psychological manipulation of the masses has been an integral aspect of how the leading human civilizations, in whatever form, actually work; this is based upon the beliefs, whether religious or secular, that rule men’s minds and the conduct they produce. Therefore, the only way for us humans to truly succeed here on earth is to question our beliefs, regardless of the source, rather than blindly adhere to them.