A Political Allegory

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 2015)

"Rosemary's Baby" is a political allegory. A young woman (Rosemary Woodhouse), symbolizing the youth of America, struggles with a powerful, charismatic older man (Roman Castevet), symbolizing America's Establishment (what the power elite were called at the time), for control over a child (whose identity remains a mystery until the end of the film), who symbolizes the future. The older man wins the struggle. The timing of the film was remarkably fortuitous as 1968, the year of its release, was the turning point of the 1960s, the year that power was wrested from the largely youthful, political left of the country and, with the election of Richard Nixon as President, returned to the power elite, who have been moving this country further and further to the political right ever since. Seen in this light, Polanski's 1974 film "Chinatown" is essentially a remake of "Rosemary's Baby." A young woman (Evelyn Mulwray) struggles with a powerful, charismatic, and in this instance very rich older man (Noah Cross) for control over their child (Katherine). Again, the older man wins. This ending was Polanski's idea, which suggests that he was aware of the political significance of his earlier film. Here, it suggests that the New Deal would only be allowed to go so far before the power elite seized control again. In this film, the seizure of power is more literal, as the Los Angeles water supply that Noah Cross finally controls is the actual source of life.