There are some good analyses of this classic film, so I'll just take on my observations after watching it for the first time here in 2001, 65 years after it was made. I have been rediscovering the classic movies of the past, esp the comedies such as the Marx Bros. This is the first Chaplin I have seen outside of a few short pieces when I was a kid.
What struck me is how applicable this movie is to the society of our times. I guess this transcendancy over time period is a sign of any good art. As I watched "Modern Times" I couldn't help but think that living in 2001 seems to actual be old-fashioned if you reflect on the dittohead pundits that rule the airwaves, mega-corporate owned & controlled media, politicians that fire up the masses over religion, Iraqi radar, and the usual sanctimonious hypocrisy to make them forget about how they work harder & longer for less, or other important problems.
Heck, insinuating healthcare for the masses in our modern times gets one labeled a "commie pinko" by Rush Limbaugh et al. So can you imagine the reaction in modern times of a group of workers peacefully walking down the street with a guy waving a red flag? They'd have the riot cops out spraying Mace & pepper gas before you can hum a few bars from "Smile." Can you imagine a film with leftist, socialist sympathies being released in these modern times? In makes you wonder which times seem more modern from a human perspective, the 1936 of this film or the 2001 of corporate America?
What struck me is how applicable this movie is to the society of our times. I guess this transcendancy over time period is a sign of any good art. As I watched "Modern Times" I couldn't help but think that living in 2001 seems to actual be old-fashioned if you reflect on the dittohead pundits that rule the airwaves, mega-corporate owned & controlled media, politicians that fire up the masses over religion, Iraqi radar, and the usual sanctimonious hypocrisy to make them forget about how they work harder & longer for less, or other important problems.
Heck, insinuating healthcare for the masses in our modern times gets one labeled a "commie pinko" by Rush Limbaugh et al. So can you imagine the reaction in modern times of a group of workers peacefully walking down the street with a guy waving a red flag? They'd have the riot cops out spraying Mace & pepper gas before you can hum a few bars from "Smile." Can you imagine a film with leftist, socialist sympathies being released in these modern times? In makes you wonder which times seem more modern from a human perspective, the 1936 of this film or the 2001 of corporate America?