Chaplin's Modern Times Satirizes Factory/Machine Industrialization

"Modern Times," does a good job at poking satirical humor at the industry and factory life. The workers do all the work while one boss sits on his rich high horse watching all the workers through security cameras and directs people what to do through the intercom while the lowly, blue collar factory workers work rigorously to produce on the assembly line for the factory as fast and as efficient as possible.

The star of the film, Chaplain, does an amazing job at being funny. But the question that you need to ask yourself is this; why is this film funny?

I think this movie is funny because Chaplain is making fun of the everyday, mundane lifestyle of the common day factory worker. It seems as if in real life it's always the boss, the person in charge that gets the last laugh in the workplace but Chaplain tried to turn this way of thinking upside down by stopping the process at all costs, thus infuriating the boss and many others including the police in the process; pinching people's noses, spraying black oil in people's faces, literally putting his body through the production machines, running from cops, pressing and pushing all the buttons and levers he could find.

He kind of took the role of a rebel in the film who did not do what he was supposed to do, he didn't do his job and even purposely defied the system. He found himself trying to be arrested and put in jail by cops. Chaplain was seen as an outcast but I personally think he was more of a hero than anything. Chaplain reduced the glory of working on a assembly line to nothing more than a laughable joke. He made fun of the rise of new technology and the use of machines by being force fed by a machine that did not work right and honestly I think he proved that humans are made to be free not slaves.

There is a song called, "voices," by Chris Young that says, "I hear voices like my Dad saying work that job but dont work your life away." 'Don't work your life away' is a quote that I believe is a really strong message for this movie because it gave people freedom just from watching it, if not freedom gave people the simple pleasure of a good laugh.

I think at the time that this movie was made that was exactly what America needed; some good comedic relief from a Great Depression where the hearts of people were becoming cold hearted, worn out, and tired of living a mediocre life. Where works literally sucks the life out of people sometimes, Modern Times does a great job of satirizing the generation of its age by showing how ridiculously hilarious working in a factory can be. Chaplain wasn't even screwing the bolts of the assembly line but because his arms had no control because he was so used to screwing things in the factory that he saw a woman's buttons on her jacket in broad daylight and immediately wanted to screw them and ran after the freaked out lady in a fit of madness and hilarity. Chaplain was driven mad by working in the assembly line factory and I bet there were some real life factory workers thinking the same thing.

Although there was little to no talking in the movie, the actor did a great job of using his facial expression to illustrate words. Chaplain seemed to be a master of the physical comedy; making humor without using words but with physical movement. The way he skipped, the way he walked, the way he thought, the way he acted in the movie and played the role of this crazy factory worker was sheer comedic genius. His little mustache and character was a character that could easily be laughed at and be remembered for years to come. This movie really put him into the spotlight and is still seen to do this day as one of his greatest works.

The bible verse, "do not be conformed to the patterns of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind," Romans 12:2, does a great job at explaining the symbolism that Modern Times and Chaplain stands for. While all of society might stress that the key to a good life is working hard at your job for your own self ambition, for money, to get a big house, and live the good life. However, to receive true happiness in life you have to go against the patterns of this world. The world needs more joy, passion, and freedom in life. Modern Times does a great job at giving people something to be happy and joyful about. Comedy, in general, is best used when it can be funny and have a deeper message behind it. I feel Modern Times is not one of those movies that is funny just for laughs sake, but goes deeper by satirizing the life of a factory worker and the assembly line industrialization and gave everyone a much needed freedom from being seen as a machine. You clock in and clock out, the same routine every single day. Breaking free from the bondage of working a monotonous, boring life that ultimately enslaves someone to working a job against the will of the heart and soul, Modern Times and Chaplain do a great job satirizing industrialization and living a life that brings you eternal happiness, joy, and peace.