Film Project: Modern Times (1936)

Film Project: Modern Times (1936) right32201100Film - Modern Times (1936) – 1:36 and 17:28 In Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times scene 1:36 presents the American industrialization age. I the scene men are seen walking towards a smoking factory. It is very early in the morning with the sun raise hitting the factory from the left. The men are wearing grey, white, and black varieties of hats and suites with some carrying lunch boxes. Two classic Ford vehicles are visible showcasing class differences where some are privileged to drive to work while others walk to make ends meet. This scene shows the recovery process from the Great Depression and the stock market crash of 1929 where the population was set to industrialization and the promise of a great future (Mazlish 367-369). At this time, the governments promoted capitalism and individualism. The message was that it was up to ones will and effort to get out of poverty and have a successful life. The scene is cleverly juxtaposed with that of sheep inline to show how the industry workers behaved. They were like sheep following their master’s orders.
The second scene depict that most of the industry workers were men, as women were not deemed fit for hard labor in the unwelcoming and often smoking factories. Indeed, most of the men had small families with at least two children and they had to work to feed them and cater for their needs such as taking them to school. Interestingly, during the 20s and mid-30s in the 20th century, male factory labourers reliably criticized the rising quantities of ladies in American industries. The daily labourer whined about the presence of an ever-increasing number of ladies in the light machine tasks as one notes that the movies and shows started presenting numerous ladies at work. The masculine men in Charlie Chaplin’s movie were being supplanted by ladies on machin...