Frame study of 'Modern Times' by Charlie Chaplin

TOPIC OF THE BLOG:-

This blog is a part of a thinking activity titled with ThAct: Understanding the Zeitgeist of the 20th century: From Modern Times to the era of The Great Dictators assigned by Dilip Barad sir. In this blog you can find Frame study of 'Modern Times' movie by Charlie Chaplin. This topic of Frame study context with The Setting of 20th Century by AC Ward. For more information read the blog of Dilip Barad Sir (Click here). 

CHARLIE CHAPLIN:-

To know about Charlie Chaplin more and to know about what is Frame Study visit my another blog on Frame study of 'The Great Dictator' movie by Charlie Chaplin (Click here). 

ABOUT THE MOVIE:-

'Modern Times' is a silent, black romantic comedy movie released in 5 February, 1936 in United States. It is directed, written and produced by Charlie Chaplin. Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford, Chester Conklin. Ira H. Morgan and Roland Totheroh are cinematographer of this movie. 

Even though it is comedy movie it has so many symbols and frames which satires industrialisation, and poverty which came cause of technology and mind set of people, he also criticizes the growing mechanical life of that time people. 

FRAME 1:-

First frame of the movie is symbolises that how time control us and How they (owner) control us. It also symbolises that how we live a mechanical life from morning to night. Earlier people use to work on sun timings, when sun rises people starts working and when it sets they stop working. But now Clocks take place of sun and run people as machines.

FRAME 2:-

This lines and statements consider as a theme of the movie. 'Modern Times' is sure a satire on industry but also has a little element of love. Humanity is crusading in business of happiness. Here he satirise that humanity lost somewhere in finding of happiness. It is lost in our machinery life. 

FRAME 3:-

In this frame Human become machine for money and also consider as sheeps which are always in a group but can't think by themselves. They follow the sheep which is in front of it. He satires human life which becomes machinery cause of industrial life. 

FRAME 4:-

A physically powerful man is nothing in front of the owner of the industry. Money overpower Physical power. A respected person too can buy with the money. Earlier the person who is strong physically has importance and respect but in modern times only money and mind speaks. Muscle man too drive for money like sheep. 

FRAME 5:-

A person who works like a machine can not stop after completing the work or when he takes a break. In this frame this Character when he takes a break he can not stop his hand from doing what he is doing in his work. At the same time around him one can find people who have perfect bodies but for money they work like machines. Of course he adds some comedy in it but also shows how humans do their work, till the line of ending, without thinking, with harming themselves.  

FRAME 6:-

A man who works continually wants to relax for a few minutes. But the eyes of honour never leave him alone and always willing that worker should work without any rest. Sitting in one room and controlling the whole factory is something that shows how they can control human and human rights with technology. Chaplin criticizes that in the era or industrialization humans are not supposed to relax their mind for two minutes but have to work continuously like machines.

FRAME 7:-

This frame is a criticism of technology and machines. These are called automatic food feeding machines. For a food feeding machine when they want a person he chooses randomly from his workers and treats them as a usable material. The failure of machines shows the failure of humanity. Nowadays there is a channel named Joseph's Machines that makes this kind of techniques and machines for food feeding, this is an example from his videos.

It is a creative idea but at the same time it shows and will be the symptoms of laziness in humans. There is another reel available on YouTube. (Click here to see)

FRAME 8:-

In this frame of the jail along with so many pictures there is a photo of Abraham Lincoln on the wall which is a bit noticeable in the movie. 

Actor, comic, composer, director, and writer Charlie Chaplin and the 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, have more in common than you think. Both were victims of grave robbers. The bodies of Chaplin and Lincoln are stolen from their graveyard. (Mardenfeld) 

FRAME 9:-

Without knowing the behind story and watching this movie one can find that this is a picture of a girl who is enjoying food, but no. In this she stole these bananas and enjoyed it for teasing the owner of this food. This shows how poverty overpowers the moral values of people. When a person is not able to get three primary needs of life रोटी, कपड़ा और मकान for living, loss of humanity and joblessness is visible here which is a pathetic situation of industrialization. 

FRAME 10:-

This frame has more to say than any other one. A person who is just holding a flag without knowing that in which trouble he is going to stuck. Even though it is a black and white movie we know that it is a red flag. This Red flag is a symbol of the right of a job which they are lacking, they want a job and they are demanding with hoarding. So without knowing anything this character kept as a leader of this group who are holding pamphlets of unity, liberated, Liberty or death, etc.
FRAME 11:-

Dream house. It doesn't matter in which class we are belong to, we have money or not, but once in a life we imagine ourselves in our own dream house. This is the same concept in this movie that the person who doesn't have a job or a single penny can imagine his own dream house too. It is not easy to build but one day it will. In the second frame they find a house for living which is not in a proper state. So here he symbolise that we cannot get everything that we dream of easily and in the last friend he presented hope.

FRAME 12:-

The last frame of the movie presented hope in life even though one has nothing, who doesn't know how to start and what to do next but there is hope and one day they can get what they want.

WORKS CITED:-

🏵️Mardenfeld, Sandra. “The Disturbing Connection between Charlie Chaplin and Abraham Lincoln.” Grunge, Grunge, 7 Jan. 2021, www.grunge.com/308908/the-disturbing-connection-between-charlie-chaplin-and-abraham-lincoln/. 

Words:- 1150

Photos:- 3

Frames:- 12

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