Why was Blizzard forcing the women to make hats? I get that in his master plan when the disgruntled foreign workers start rioting they will all be wearing the hats, but what's the purpose of that?
shareArgh! I was hoping someone had answered - I was wondering too!
shareI assumed the hats would serve the same purpose as military uniforms, allowing Blizzard's "soldiers" to identify one another in the thick of battle.
"You gotta start off each day with a song ... even when things go wrong ...."
The hat-making sweat shop could have also served the purpose of being a legitimate business front.
Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!
Like the other posters, I think the hats served as a means of identification for the gang members when the chaos began. I also noticed there were different patterns to the hat bands, possibly indicating rank.
Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.
When Rose gets her first assignment, the cop knows about the hats. He even says how he is just sure there is more to it. That indicates that he believes the hats are simply a front.
It was most definitely a social statement about 'sweatshops' and the treatment of their factory workers. That issue was a hot topic in that time period.
Also, hats were not to be taken lightly in that day. In a social sense they were practically required. Whether it was for dress or work, they wore them and took them very seriously. For this reason a hat factory would have been a valued and respectable business.
Random Thoughts: http://goo.gl/eXk3O
Robert has hit upon the correct answer —
The hats are to serve as a ‘uniform’ to allow Blizzards’ minions to recognize one another during all the turmoil they will create while setting the scene for Blizzards’ master plan — The Looting of San Francisco.
Shootings, fires, disturbance of communications (taking hostage of telephone switchboard operators), etc., should have most of the city’s citizens, including the police and fire departments, running amok. The hats will enable Blizzards’ men to continue their offensive and defensive activities in unison despite the havoc they’ve caused.
“Your thinking is untidy, like most so-called thinking today.” (Murder, My Sweet)
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I too think that the "uniform" theory is the correct one even though it isn't explicitly explained in the film.
In fact in the scenes showing Blizzard's plans taking place as he explains them we can see the troublemakers wearing matching hats...