Paper Moon

Watching Paper Moon in class was the first time I realized that this course was not what I expected it to be. I had expected to look at scams, but I didn’t realize that it would be a puzzle to find the scam in the films we watched and the topics we learned about. Originally, I had pictured all scams as inherently wrong. However, watching young (and now motherless) Addie run around with Moze selling Bibles gave me a new perspective. 

I was first surprised by how clever the scam truly was; it took effort to track down women in these specific circumstances. It also took a certain cunning on Addie’s part to determine just how much could be collected from each family. For example, she knew that the wealthy woman would be willing to pay over $20 even though they normally asked for $8. It was hard for me to decipher whether this scam could ever be justified because some of the money earned was going to Addie, who was left with nothing after her mother died. At the same time, the scam involved lying to vulnerable women. Although no one was injured and the women ultimately agreed to pay the sum presented to them, their decisions were based on a lie, making the morality of the situation more complicated than expected.

I was partly swayed by the sweet relationship that Addie and Moze shared. They grew so close that in the end, Addie chose to leave her aunt in favor of life on the road with Moze. If the scam had been run by Moze alone, I probably would have viewed it differently. 

This class period marks the time when I began looking out for scams in my life outside of class. I’ve gained a more skeptical outlook over these past few weeks, and I’ve found myself becoming the first person to doubt almost every situation at hand. I used to think that all scams would be obvious, but it’s unique scams such as Moze’s that throw me off. The personalization of the Bible is what made his scheme believable. It’s easy to turn away a typical door-to-door salesman. However, when someone shows up with a custom item ordered by a recently deceased family member, I can understand why these ladies were more susceptible. It was also convenient that the supposed buyer could no longer speak for himself. 

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and the dynamic between Moze and Addie really sold it for me. Paper Moon also shifted my beliefs regarding scams. Rather than looking for obvious acts of deception, I now know to look for tactics that build trust and rely on emotions.