The clown and the gentleman are absurd and real

Wendell 2021-10-21 14:30:11

(Film class homework)
"Modern Times" is one of the masterpieces of Charlie Chaplin's label style. The film relies on the Great Depression that occurred in the capitalist world in the 1920s and 1930s, as the caption at the beginning of the film reveals: "This film is about the conflict between individual enterprises and the pursuit of happiness in the industrial age." The movie amplifies the humble living situation of the little people under the unstoppable reality of turbulence. It is a care for the poverty and helpless fate of thousands of ordinary workers, and it is also a crusade against a monopolistic economic system that uses plunder as a means of accumulation. Although Chaplin has always been praised by the world for his "funny", while we laughed and laughed while watching, it seemed that we could not produce pure pleasure and happiness, but were reminded all the time. Pay attention to the contrast between the unsustainable difficulties of the low-level people and the arrogance and luxury of the "upper people", as well as the strong and kind-hearted light reflected by human nature in the desperate situation.
This article will make some simple interpretations from the aspects of the film's content, theme, character creation and expression techniques, using contradictory analysis methods.
1. The war between machines and humans
As mentioned above, the background of this film is the economic wave and social crisis caused by the unemployment of a large number of workers in the US industry due to the massive use of machines around 1930. It can be said that this is a war between machines and people. The machine is not a human tool here, but the enemy of most low-level workers. At the beginning of the film, we can notice that there are so many images that put workers and machines in one shot. This may be an intentional arrangement of the creator. For example, when the camera was pointed at the assembly line where Charlo and other workers were working, we felt strongly that there seemed to be a screw that firmly bolted them to the production line, unable to leave for half a step. The conflicts between the workers and the boss, workers The contradiction between them is all caused by the narrow conveyor belt. The gears of the machine have become representatives of efficiency capital and ruthlessness. In the rumbling sound of the machine and the harsh shift bells, the importance and initiative of people are compressed into a small ball, and even become some kind of unnecessary vassal. In the eyes of capitalists, the value of workers is alienated into a tool of production. In their eyes, machines seem to be superior to human rights. As a result, Charlo was forced to use the "advanced and advanced" automatic feeding machine as a guinea pig. The out-of-control of the feeding machine satirizes the convenience and order that mechanization should bring, and also makes Charlo go crazy and become a pitiful person. The "screw-screw obsessive-compulsive disorder" patient was sent to a psychiatric hospital. The second half of the film also has several manifestations of the embarrassing situation of people and machines. For example, after the factory resumed work, Charlotte and the machine maintenance technician were involved in the gear during the maintenance process, and the maintenance technician was unable to get out, even if the power was cut off. The maintenance technician must stay in the crevices of the gears to eat lunch. It is ridiculous and thought-provoking. These images all reflect the fear and shock brought about by the machine age.
2. Prison, or heaven
Because of a dumbfounding misunderstanding, Charlo was thrown into prison as the leader of the communist movement. He was frightened and afraid when he was just in prison. Like all normal people, Charlo must also be too late to avoid the disaster of prison. The bullying of the strong and domineering "prisoner" made him look forward to getting out of the room soon. It was another dumbfounding coincidence. Charlo, who had smoked white powder, became extremely brave and invincible. He successfully prevented an escape and "maintained" the order and safety of the police and prison. It is from here that the relationship between Charlo and the prison has undergone a qualitative change. Because of his heroic deeds, the warden and his prisoner's hands were tightly held together. Since then, he has become a privileged class in prison. Compared with his life before he was put in prison, he now has a worry-free situation. Better. When the warden told him of the early release, he seemed extremely disappointed. At this time "prison" has become synonymous with "comfort" and "food and clothing" in Charlo's dictionary. Even if he is not working, at least there is a place to sleep and he will not be hungry. For those struggling on the verge of hunger, those useless so-called "freedoms" are as insignificant as rubbish. So after he was released from prison, he was always looking for opportunities to return to the "heavenly" prison for the unemployed. Of course, for Charlo, the beauty of the prison seems to be unknown. It was the scourge of prison that made him, penniless, meet a beautiful girl in the same situation.
3. The appearance of a clown, the heart of a gentleman
Charlo, played by Chaplin, inherited his usual screen image in this film: a tight dress, extra-large leather shoes that are not commensurate with his height, a huge top hat with a dome, an elbow-headed civilization stick, and a wall. The pale face, thick black eye circles and exaggerated eyebrows, and the label-like moustache, walked along with funny horoscopes. Chaplin has a strong tension in front of the camera, which may be directly related to his experience in theatrical stage. The film was shot in 1934, and it can be estimated that Chaplin was 45 years old at that time. But once he puts on his unique "outfit" and enters the role, we can see Chaplin's undiminished artistic vitality. Whether it is his weird walking posture, his "acrobat"-like performance to the waiter in the restaurant, or his strange and ingenious facial expressions and eyes, all highlight the exaggerated and humorous qualities of his movies. In this film, Charlo is still a hilarious joke-like character. His behavior is carefree and full of loopholes. A large part of the film’s laughter comes from his reaction to an unknowingly "crisis". For example, he was blindfolded on the second floor of an unobstructed department store to "thrill" rollerblading; for example, he was shirtless and jumped into the water eagerly to swim, only to find that the water in the river could not even submerge his calves; and for example, he Holding a big plate in the restaurant, but being pushed and run by the dancing crowd, he didn't even know that the roast duck was inserted on the lamp... His ridiculousness lies in the contrast between his behavior and the environment, which is different from the classic Chinese joke character Ah Q The thing is, although they are inferior and poor, Charlo has a lot of kindness, and the encounter with the heroine stems from his kindness. He not only has the quality of being helpful and optimistic, but he also often acts as a very "gentleman": Although he is poor, he wears a "standard" three-piece suit, wears a top hat and a cane, and does not forget to take off his hat and salute when he meets with a lady. The police car did not forget to give up their seats. All of these people will not take Charlo's funny as a reason to contempt his superficiality, but turn it into humor with a sense of closeness.
Four, silent, better than sound
In 1935, the film entered the age of sound. But Chaplin believes that using funny and exaggerated body language is far better than dialogue, but even Chaplin, the film master, has to make concessions in the face of the strong wave of innovation in film technology. "Modern Times" It was actually Chaplin's last silent film. But unlike Chaplin's other silent films, this film actually contains sound, such as the sound of the radio and the TV, and the sound of answering the phone. Chaplin used this to help audiences who were not used to watching silent movies in the 1930s to familiarize themselves with the inaudible dialogue in silent movies. Even so, this movie is still generally regarded as a silent movie, because the film's prompting of the plot is still mainly completed by the traditional subtitles and the actor's body movements and expressions. What is worth mentioning is the soundtrack of the film. In theory, the soundtrack of silent films should be more important than the soundtrack of sound films. Because of the lack of dialogue and narration in silent films, the soundtrack assumes part of the function of dialogue and narration to explain the plot, and since the soundtrack is almost the only audience in silent films The auditory stimulation that can be obtained is equivalent to that the sound channel of a movie is almost entirely occupied by music. The soundtrack of "Modern Times" can be said to play an icing on the cake to promote the plot and control the rhythm of the entire film. At the beginning of the film, as the conveyor belt rotates, the rhythm of the soundtrack and the actions of the protagonist and the conflicts that appear immediately are seamlessly combined. This makes us audiences who are used to watching sound films almost the first time to realize the narrative function of the soundtrack. This is a very wonderful and special experience.
According to data, "Modern Times" is also the first movie in which Chaplin's voice can be heard. The song that Charlotte hummed at the end of the film was hummed by the director himself. When the unfortunate Charlo and the beautiful heroine face the infinitely extending road that does not know the end, the heroine buries her head and sobbs, but Charlo comforts her to take a look at the rising sun in the sky. Fortunately, the last chapter is called "Dawn", and the protagonist has not lost hope, let alone us. Although the modern era is the best era for the rich, it is not always the worst era for the poor. Undoubtedly, Chaplin left us with the best era of silent films. 1914 was the beginning of this era, because it was this year that a man wearing a bowler hat, holding a civilization stick, and wearing big leather boots, The image of Charlo, a tramp who walks like a duck, changed the history of the entire world of cinema.

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Extended Reading
  • Jason 2022-04-24 07:01:03

    The "sci-fi" factory at the beginning (there were no monitors at the time) was epoch-making, the prison and dance floor jokes in the middle were full of mockery of socialization, and what I liked most was the wild eyes of the coolest heroine in Chaplin's movies and the finale. The back shot of "walking forward" under the sound of Smile..."Buck up - Never say die. We'll get along!"

  • Kiley 2022-03-26 09:01:03

    Relentlessly ridiculed the entire Industrial Age and the Great Depression, in fact all aspects of American society were cruelly satirized by Chaplin. The performance of the last ten minutes can be seen as a condensation of Chaplin's classic images. The few words on the final subtitles remind people of their tragic struggle in a reinforced concrete society with their flesh and blood.

Modern Times quotes

  • Big Bill: We ain't burglars - we're hungry.

  • A Gamin: [about the dead man, clearly mouthing] It's my father!