Modern Times are Rough

by Isaac Fletcher

Modern Times was rather an interesting movie. One of the outstanding features of this film is that it is a silent film made very soon after the implementation of sound in movies. Charlie Chaplin being so popular was one of the only people that would have been able to release a somewhat successful silent film at this time. Obviously, the choice to keep the film silent, or at least mostly, was an attempt to subvert societal norms. Charlie seemed to most definitely be very aware of societal issues and brought cultural commentary into his films like Modern Times. The movie exaggerates elements of society in order to point out certain absurdities of the times, mocking the assembly line and technologic advancements that were beginning to disturb the way things had been. It is fairly reflective of the situation that Charlie was in, with the advent of sound in film and his refusal to work with it, so the tramp in Modern Times has new technology forced upon him and somewhat loses his mind, along with his job. The tramp continuing on to be arrested and find it to be a pleasant experience also makes a cultural statement about the times and how the depression makes being imprisoned almost better than being starving and homeless. As the lecture talks about, much of the movie sets up its acts into 3 parts, the setup, the experiment, and the punchline. This is seen in the opening sequences of the film where we are introduced to our character, his struggle with technology and the assembly line and keeping up. Then he is tested more against absurd technology, and finally goes a bit crazy because of it. Overall, the film makes attempts to subvert societal norms by firstly being a silent film in a talking era, as well as commenting on the possible drawbacks of some of the technological innovations, and also reevaluating the notions of living conditions (particularly prison versus the depressed economy).