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Chaplin’s “Modern Times” (1936) is rightfully considered a masterpiece of satire as the means of criticizing sociocultural and technological trends within society. Though one could argue with the message lying at the core of the movie, Chaplin’s incredible performance and outstanding use of filming techniques made it possible for the movie to become a staple of comedy done right. However, despite Chaplin’s comedy typically being quite transparent in its message and the means of conveying it, “Modern Times” represent a rather unusual approach to criticizing the effects of the Industrial revolution and the resulting mass production. Specifically, the movie utilizes the themes of policing and the images of police as its main critical instrument. By focusing on police, policing, and surveillance in “Modern Times,” Chaplin demonstrates the attempts at silencing the protesting the change and, therefore, introduces a sharp criticism of how the industrial change was handled.
The images of police and the representations of policing and surveillance are dispersed across the movie, allowing the narrative to flow naturally, while also outlining the problems in promoting the Industrial Revolution and the concept of mass production to the general audience. Specifically, in the scene depicting Chaplin’s character’s first encounter with the police, the law enforcement officers mistake him for one of the protesters, which leads to his further detainment 90. The described scene illustrates the lack of efficacy in the police’s efforts to maintain at least some semblance of order. Specifically, instead of arresting those who start the protest, they capture and hurt a peaceful observer (Chaplin, 1936).
The specified incident could be seen as the representation of the misguided attempts of the state’s legal authorities to introduce the concept of industrialization. Namely, in their failure to explain the expected effects of the Industrial revolution and forcing them to accept the uncomfortable and economically taxing change, the state authorities failed to recognize the core of the problem and, instead, strived to silence the opposition without listening to the critique that it offered.
The concept of policing represents another crucial theme of the film. Implying a continuation of the concept of control that the state exerts over its citizens, as well as the attempts at keeping people silent and compliant, the specified phenomenon is utilized in the film to express Chaplin’s disdain at the described state of affairs. Specifically, the scene in which Chaplin’s character is intoxicated and is trying got get through the factory but gets entangled in the fabric demonstrates the phenomenon of surveillance as a poorly developed mechanism that fails to perform its core function of protecting people but, instead, focuses on the minutiae that do not have a profound effect on the community (Chaplin, 1936).
The comedic efforts of the police to capture Chaplin’s character and represent his antics as an effort to undermine the performance of the factory and its very existence illustrates the mismanagement of the surveillance process within society at the time. Specifically, the effort to control civilians and prevent any instances of them voicing an opinion opposing to those supportive of the Industrial Revolution is depicted in the specified scene perfectly. As a result, Chaplin manage to use the concepts police and policing as the tools for suppressing people’ opinion and, eventually, their will to make them accept the ideas of the Industrial revolution unquestionably.
In addition, the movie focuses on the sue of surveillance as the means of containing the discontent at the rapid and uncomfortable change within the community. Specifically, the scene involving the protagonist failing as a worker at a bolt tightening factory. demonstrates the state’s failure to understand the core factors behind the dissatisfaction expressed by the population. Instead, the surveillance as the means of stifling the opposition and suppressing any opinion that could counteract the state propaganda regarding the importance of industrialization is referenced in Chaplin’s movie. The described idea is summarized impeccably in the scene that portrays the protagonist as a worker in the bolt tightening department of the factory. With a rigid surveillance system within it, Chaplin’s character is comically restricted in his actions, yet the specified comedic effect also allows rendering a more profound message concerning the increasing control that the government introduces into the industrial context (Ibarlucía, 2019). Thus, the very idea of industrial innovations and their effects is questioned in the movie.
Despite the fact that Chaplin’s interpretation of the impact that the Industrial revolution produced on American society, the skill and mastery of cinematography and comedy in the specified scenes, as well as the movie, in general, are doubtless. Chaplin’s ability to incorporate the themes and concepts seemingly distant from the main theme of the movie, such as police, policing, and surveillance, and make them amplify the main message is beyond admirable. Indeed, taking retrospect into the history of the Industrial revolution will reveal that, while producing an undeniably positive impact on the technological development of the global community, it did have an adverse effect on employment opportunities (Jong, 2019). Specifically, people whose jobs became obsolete as machines ousted them from their workplaces are represented in the specified scene since it implies the dire outcomes of promoting change without recognizing its adverse effects on the community.
The scenes in question demonstrate the character’ attempt at rebelling against the ideas that are foisted upon him and that are inherently alien to him. In turn, the phenomena of policing and surveillance, as well as the ubiquitous presence of police in the film, contribute to the notion of change being highly intrusive and affecting the general population in a highly negative way. Thus, Chaplin expresses his protest against the infringement upon the rights of people and the failure of the government to communicate the nature of change that the Industrial revolution implied. Though the scenes under analysis have a clearly comedic purpose and produce the expected effect, making the audience laugh, they also have a crucial double meaning (Jong, 2019). Serving to outline the problems of the Industrial Revolution, specifically, the manner in which it was handled, the scenes in question utilize the notions of policing and surveillance alongside the image of the police as the means of conveying the specified concern.
The integration of police, policing and surveillance into “Modern Times” allowed Chaplin to criticize the industrial change by portraying the manner in which it was introduced, namely, the sue of coercion and brutal force. Thus, the integration of the themes of policing and surveillance reflects the failure to convey the benefits of the change to the general audiences, forcing them to comply blindly instead. The specified perspective helped Chaplin to criticize not only the concept of mass production but also the manner in which it was introduced, with people being forced to follow the newly set regulations without having a proper understanding of their meaning or the effect that they would have on their lives.
References
Chaplin, C. (Director) (1936). Modern times [Film]. United Artists.
Ibarlucía, R. (2019). Revolutionary laughter: The aesthetico-political meaning of Benjamin’s Chaplin. Aisthesis. Pratiche, Linguaggi e Saperi Dell’estetico, 12(2), 135-150.
Jong, D. (2019). Civilization and Its (Dys) contents: Savagery, Technological Progress and Capitalism in Industrial and Information Dystopias. Intersect: The Stanford Journal of Science, Technology, and Society, 12(3), 1-23.
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