Charlie Chaplin 's Modern Times

In the 1931 film “City Lights”, Charlie Chaplin “opens our eyes”, so to speak, about how society values trivial elements of people over the deeper person by using blindness. In this film, Chaplin brilliantly mixes lighthearted comedy with deep and complex ideas about problems with society. Chaplin uses music, gags, and a genuine love connection to portray this point in multiple ways throughout the movie. Chaplin also took the bold step of not making a talking movie, even though they were available at the time, making the details in the pictures and sounds he was creating that much more important. What makes “City Lights” so special, and different from other comedies, is Chaplin’s natural blend of comedic scenes with tense and serious scenes. Chaplin weaved together a masterpiece that culminates in the end with the lady seeing who she fell in love with, which is also the moment Chaplin slaps the viewer in the face with the realization that the priorities in society are misguided and that the important things cannot be seen with the eye.

In “A Century of Cinema”, Susan Sontag explains how cinema was cherished by those who enjoyed what cinema offered. Cinema was unlike anything else, it was entertainment that had the audience feeling apart of the film. However, as the years went by, the special feeling regarding cinema went away as those who admired cinema wanted to help expand the experience.

As Marx’s states in his theory, when the working class becomes aware of their exploitation, this will result in a revolt lead by the proletariats. The major theories studied by Marx can be used to analyze the characters and situations presented in the film.

Charlie Chaplin’s (1931) City Lights, is one of the last silent films to be released in America, that was successful, as the age of the ‘talkie’ was beginning. He was one of the few great silent film stars to successfully continue his career. Chaplin uses a lot of symbolism of life in this film, using flowers, blindness, money and of course the Tramp.

Summary, context of the era depicted, description of major social, economic, or cultural forces in the era and how the film addressed nature of the era:

The Roaring Twenties began in the 1920s. It was known as the Modern Age because it brought changes and innovations. The Roaring Twenties took place right after World War I. Millions of people died and it was a horrible event. Soldiers returned and everyone went through a hard time. People wanted to forget this catastrophic event so when they returned they tried to forget the past and live the moment. Many wanted to to enjoy themselves, they began to value convenience and leisure over hard work and denial. World War I brought changes. People started to drink, party, and enjoying life. However, the 1920s was not only butterflies and rainbows. It was a really hard time for farmers, women, African Americans, and immigrants.

movie had some flaws, it did closely represent the feelings of the era that was depicted. This paper intends to analyze and give

Chaplin affirms that one of the main reasons for his success is that he makes films that portray what an audience wants to see. “Even the most inoffensive of us has sometime or other conceived the grotesque idea of pulling those millionaire whiskers––just a fleeting, absurd idea” (Chaplin 6), states Chaplin. As the audience has an innate desire to see a high-class business man lose their composure and status, they also have a desire to see hope in dire situations. The same

Charlie Chaplin did not use sound to communicate to the audience in his movies. Despite the fact that there was no spoken language, his movies were sensational and the audiences loved them. Chaplin was thought of as cinema’s first genius and has been called the single most-influential artist in the history of motion pictures. I am researching Charlie Chaplin to learn how he became a sensational comedian and one of the best actors of all time.

In Citizen Kane, Welles is attempting to expose the great influential political and social power that someone has as the head of many newspaper chains. This narrative drama explains the life of Kane and how different people viewed it. From the way the way the characters were telling the story to the way shadows, lighting and the laco of color was used, this film fits into the drama genre. Being the “greatest film of all time”, Citizen Kane brings the the world of newspaper tycoons to

It is important to realize how society works because it helps us to better understand how the film views the economic system that produces people like Travis. It also helps us to better understand what it is like to be like Travis who falls under the Proletariate category. For instance, the use of social structures and the idea of the lower class revolting. Taking this into account is important because it helps us to better understand how the film views the economic system that produces people like Travis. This paper argues that the film illustrates Marx's ideas in order to critique the capitalist

By analyzing the historical contexts of these specific movements, we take a deeper look at society's social, religious, economic, and political conditions that existed during a certain time and place. These relevant factors profuse mass influence into a filmmakers decisions while in the production process of a film. Additionally, these components have the role of establishing distinct trends in the film industry. Each movement has its own purpose for creating each film in regards to a stylistic standpoint.

My example that I will be using is Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin. Modern times is a film developed after the industrial revolution. It serves the purpose of critiquing capitalism and the social world. Modern Times begin with a factory worker who starts developing anxiety through the lack of breaks and repetitive work. When the Worker is on break, his boss is always keeping an eye on him and demands him to go back to work due to the loss of production. Soon after, the factory worker goes on lunch break, but is again distracted by his boss due to the desire to try out a new lunch contraption. At first, the new technology seems to work since the factory Worker was being fed. But, after a few seconds the contraption goes haywire and starts hurting the worker. The factory Worker goes back to work, but suddenly starts to mess up. He goes around ruining all his co-workers’ work and even get himself in prison. However, he ends up saving all the cops from the inmates’ revolution and is released early from jail. He does not want to leave since he is treated properly in jail and will be homeless in the outside world. He tries to get himself in prison again, but meets a beautiful woman Gamin who is also homeless and workless. They run off together and commit burglaries to feed themselves, but is soon discovered by the police. They manage to escape and run off to live in a small house by themselves. The factory Worker and the Gamin decides to have lunch together, but finds out that a

Every day millions of Americans go to theaters with their families to enjoy movies. Watching films has become one of the most popular activities to do. Although plenty of people know of Charlie Chaplin, most do not know any real information about him. Charlie Chaplin has been a major contributor to America’s advancement in the film industry from his innovative beginnings, and perseverance to improve and succeed, to his overall achievements in history.

This movie follows a path between slapstick and satire and also comments the American society of 1930s as a result of Great Depression. Chaplin through his film shows how humanity is forced to work or fiddle around with machines in modernity. Most of the sources refer to Chaplin being a communist sympathizer. Though he denied these facts, his films said otherwise and shows a small leniency towards left politics. The on screen persona of tramp best shows his character who often finds himself at odds with the society but still remains cheerful and happy and hopeful of bright future. The theme of machine age enslaving man is shown in the first scene where factory workers are shown working under the supervision of the boss through a large monitor. Also men are shown working at a faster pace than machines which at sometimes is shown in comical way. The scene where Chaplin gets nervous breakdown and unplucks whatever comes in his way , though shown comically, attempts to stress how dull mechanical labour dehumanizes people and makes them slave under the shadow of machines. The film is filled with visual metaphors ; for eg: Chaplin disappearing into a machine and rotated by giant cogs. Another example is Chaplin unbuttoning whatever he sees around him after he suffers from nervous breakdown. The film moves toward human drama and starts attempting visualize the American society at the time of Great