Frame Study: The Modern Times (by Charlie Chaplin)

Hello Beautiful People,

I am Riddhi Bhatt. And yes, today I am coming with something interesting.  This thinking activity task about Frame Study of ‘The Modern Times’ by Charlie Chaplin. This is assigned by Prof. Dr. Dilip Barad sir, Head of the English Department of Maharaja Krishnkumarsinhji Bhavsinhji Bhavangar University (MKBU).

As a part of syllabus, students of English department are learning the paper called History of English literature 1900-2000 (paper-110). So, let’s start friends. As we all know that this literature had a larger impact of industrialization and World War I and II.

This particular blog is designed to read the frames of "The Modern Times" movie. Directed, Produced and Written and Starred by the great Charlie Chaplin, The inventor of The Little Tramp character. In one of his interviews Chaplin states that (about The Tramp) ….

First, we see that briefly introduction about Charlie Chaplin. Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin KBE (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, The Tramp, and is considered one of the most important figures in the history of the film industry. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both adulation and controversy. For more information to CLICK HERE.

“Pictures could not be accessories to the story -- evidence -- they had to contain the story within the frame; the best picture contained a whole war within one frame.”

                                                                                            -Tatjana Soli, The Lotus Eaters

Here we see that one-by-one frame and also, I want to try from my point of view and exploitations on this frame. And yes for this blog specially I create this ppt. So let’s start.....

'The Modern Times' by Charlie Chaplin from RiddhiBhatt26

1) Time Boundaries:

The significance of clock and its hands. The second hand moves faster, which represents working class of society. Minute’s hand can be seen as middle class society. And hour hand moves slower, so it can be said that rich class, aristocrats tend to have moved slowly with arrogance, engaging in leisure activities such as hunting animals and organizing kitty parties. Because of richness, they govern many areas of society and they can create new norms and regulations which restrict the other lower class of people.

2) Ship + Man = Shipple:

One of Chaplin’s biggest issues with the advancement of technology was the obsession with efficiency that came with it. In a conversation with Gandhi before producing the film, Chaplain came to see that technology that only considered profit had ruined lives and caused unemployment. Because of this, he tried to use the film to dramatize the problems with excessive technological efficiency. We see early on that the President’s desire to speed up the factory. many people were roaming like sheep without direction. One term is used for one such generation: Lost generation. A word can be used for those people: Sheeple.

3)Dictatorial Ruling in Society:

As mentioned above, mill and factory owners, land owners had nothing to do with much of the hardworking jobs. So, they indulge in such leisure activities such as solving jigsaw puzzle and reading newspaper. The factory owner is playing puzzle game. This difference of mental activity done by rich class aristocrats and physical activity and handwork done by lower class or poor people makes big social gap between the two classes. Also, he read a newspaper and like enjoy his time.

4) Money power is greater than Muscle power:

This surveillance system can be seen as dictatorial ruling in society. Half-naked, muscled man receiving orders from suited and booted official. This scene makes one think that mind power is greater than muscles power. Moreover, one can say that money power is greater than Muscle power.

5) Looming presence of the powerful, powerlessness of the poor:

In the early factory scenes, we see The Tramp take a smoke break in the bathroom and the President of the factory booms in over a closed-circuit television to tell him to get back to work. This ubiquitous presence, as well as the President having the only voice in the factory, creates a feeling that the powerful (those connected with industry or the government) are constantly looming over the workers or the less fortunate, and gives a sense that the workers are always under watch or being controlled.

This is shown clearly with the Tramp’s obsession with punching in his time card, one of the important rules of his supervisor. He must punch in and out when he goes to the bathroom, and even punches in and out when he runs out of the factory and returns during his nervous breakdown.

6) Unlimited Mobility:

Chaplin learned that men were suffering from nervous breakdowns on the assembly lines at Henry Ford's auto plants, and was moved by this to make the incompatibility of man and machines into a major theme in Modern Times.

7) Mechanization of Human:

Modern Times. For the first few scenes of the film, the Tramp is gradually broken down by a machine that keeps on speeding up and expecting more and more from him. He nearly becomes a piece of machinery himself, able only to tighten bolts, as shown when he continues twitching as if tightening bolts even when he leaves the line. He fights this off twice and shakes the twitches away, but is eventually sucked into the gears of the machine, symbolically succumbing and become part of the machine. This proves too much for the Tramp, who then completely breaks down and runs around the factory trying to destroy it.

8) Unemployment, Poverty, Hunger:

Unemployment is ubiquitous throughout the film, as most people struggle to find work and, as a result, struggle to support themselves. The Tramp has incredible difficulty finding work after his first stint in the mental hospital, and the Gamin’s father struggles similarly. Machines have replaced human jobs under the pretense that they will increase efficiency and improve lives, but mostly they have only succeeded in creating mass poverty.

We see that the Gamin must steal bananas to feed her family, and that their family dinner consists only of those bananas. Later, she meets the Tramp while trying to steal a loaf of bread to feed herself. In prison, the Tramp hardly gets anything to eat, but it is better than nothing, and so he tries to return—because at least there he won't starve to death.

9) Communism and worker’s Right:

Communism and labor unions feature heavily in the film, and this focus likely came both from the prevalence of labor struggles at the time, as well as Chaplin’s sympathy with workers’ rights movements. He was becoming increasingly outspoken about his political views and was just beginning to suffuse them into his films at this time, and he staunchly opposed the treatment of workers and unions by the government and industry leaders. Anti-communist attitudes were mounting during this time, especially in the US, toward a peak in the 1940s and 1950s, and he saw these attitudes as oppressive.

Chaplain criticizes communist paranoia clearly in the scene in which the Tramp is arrested (and beaten) as a communist simply for waving a flag in the wrong place at the wrong time. Throughout the film, we see examples of police being used to break up workers protests, treating workers with excessive force, and constantly siding with industry over workers, which Chaplin saw as problematic and undemocratic. These opinions would get Chaplin in trouble in the US later, where he was suspected of having communist ties and had his visa revoked during the years of the House Un-American Activities Committee.

10) Fantasy vs. Reality:

 Here we see that the concept of home. So, in our mind question is that what kinds of furnishing house had? but this house is the dream house of the character. Actually no. when Charlie Chaplin dreaming one home in his mind is that look like fantasy. But actually this not reality. Again and again Charlie Chaplin gone to prison and he comes to out prison, so Gamin tries to being small hunt in place. They both are live in this small hunt . They also say that “ It’s paradise!”. So here we see that and also say that fantasy vs. reality.

Such is the timelessness of Charlie Chaplin's work. It is still relevant to the current time and applicable in many aspects of life. I hope you get very interesting information and enjoy this blog.

Thank You

 (words-1417)