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SAHT1001 – Modern Times critiqueDiscuss the representation of industralisation in Modern Times.

Industrialisation encompasses the societal and technological changes and developments that revolutionised the ways in which human civilisation conducted its day-to-day life. Charlie Chaplin's 1936 silent film Modern Times1, focusing on Chaplin's character, The Tramp and his vagrant companion as they struggle to find stability, portrays industrialisation as a revolution that introduced class division amongst North American society, with distinctions between higher- and lower-level classes made abundantly clear in terms of prosperity and lifestyles. The film also explores the growth of a more technologically-centred society, where machine efficiency gradually replaced human labour.

Industrialisation saw the emergence of class division and stark distinctions between each group, primarily represented in demonstrations of wealth, labour and leisure, or a lack thereof. Modern Times outlines these groupings almost straightaway, as the opening scenes depict a herd of goats which transitions directly into a horde of working-class men, the likeness of the two a remark upon the autonomy of the lower class. Juxtapositions of comfort and labour are also presented between the factory men and their boss, as we see his spacious, solitary office compared to their crowded production line on the factory floor. One privilege of a higher class is their having leisure time, a rarity amongst the proletariat; this is presented in Modern Times as the minister’s wife pays a “weekly visit” to a gaol and is able to enjoy a cup of tea during the day. The film effectively reveals the nuances and differences of and between the social classes of the early 20 th

century as a by-product of industrialisation.

With industrialisation came revolutionary technologies and the prominence of efficiency and mass production. The film demonstrates these notions through scenes of technology, and their failures alongside human error. The repetitive production line scene, accompanied by up-tempo, rhythmic tuned percussion alongside militaristic brass and flutes reinforces the unstopping, fast-paced and repetitive nature of The Tramp’s labour. The idolisation of “wonderful machine[s]” is also remarked upon, with the introduction of the Bellows Feeding Machine to epitomise 1 Modern Times. Dir. Charles Chaplin. United Artists, 1936. Film

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technological advancements toward automation, as well as capitalism, private enterprise and the dehumanisation that follows these changes. In this comedic sequence, The Tramp is subject to the relentless feeding of the machine, and as it malfunctions, he is assaulted with food and mechanical arms. However, the inventors of the machine pay his discomfort no mind, instead focused solely on the machine - a comment upon the lack of prioritisation of human comfort over machine efficiency and practicality. Through the medium of entertainment and slapstick humour, the film cogently portrays industrialisation’s effects on entrepreneurship and its consequential impact on morality, with distinctions of these influences shown amongst different societal class groups.

Overall, Modern Times presents an extensive representation of industrialisation and its effects on society, particularly focusing on class division, automation technology and the capitalist movements toward profit over morality. Its caricatures of personalities and situations remark upon the significant impact of the industrialised world on civilisation as a whole.

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