"Modern Times" is Chaplin's last silent film, and it is a very good work. The film was shot in 1936. As we all know, the economic crisis that occurred in the capitalist world from 1929 to 1933 was the most serious in the history of the capitalist world. This economic crisis deeply shook the foundation of the capitalist economic system. At the same time, capitalism The world has gradually transitioned from the stage of free competition to the stage of monopoly. "Modern Times" precisely reflects the capitalist society of this era. The story takes place during the American recession in the 1920s. Worker Charlotte worked in a factory. He was mentally dysfunctional on the ever-increasing conveyor-belt-type operation line. Involved in huge machine gears, all of this is closely related to the survival crisis brought to people by the economic crisis at that time. Charlotte eventually lost his job and was inadvertently treated as a Communist Party leader and imprisoned. But even in the difficult life, the warm scenes of Charlo and the tramp girls are warm and moving, and glow with the beauty of human nature. At the end of the film, Charlo and the tramp walked towards the place where the sun rises hand in hand, exciting. "Modern Times" mainly adopted a satirical approach, but to a certain extent it also reflected some of the problems of the capitalist society at that time. At the beginning of the film, the workers flocked in, as if the sheep were driven away by the shepherds, they were also being driven away by the capitalists. The capitalist world preaches equality and freedom for all, but in fact, I think that workers are not truly free. Compared with slaves in the slave society, workers do have personal freedom, but workers still do not have economic freedom. As Marx said: "The slaves in Rome are bound by chains, and the wage-workers are bound by invisible threads in the hands of their owners." The key to the reason lies in the separation of producers (ie workers) from the means of production. This historical process is called capitalist primitive accumulation. Let's discuss surplus value again. There are many ways for capitalists to increase the exploitation of workers. There are two basic methods, namely, the production of absolute surplus value and the production of relative surplus value. Absolute surplus value refers to the surplus value produced by extending working hours under the condition that the necessary labor time remains unchanged. Relative surplus value refers to the surplus value produced by shortening the necessary labor time and relatively prolonging the remaining labor time under the condition that the length of the working day remains unchanged. The protagonist in the film is still in the early stage of capitalist development, so capitalists usually use the first method to exploit workers. In the film, the boss kept speeding up the conveyor belt to reduce the break time, and even if he couldn't finish smoking a cigarette, he had to work again. do. The capitalists also invented automatic feeding machines to extend working hours in disguise. Marx criticized this approach: "It relies on shortening the life span of workers and prolonging the production time of workers within a certain period of time." The film also shows the economic crisis in the capitalist world. When capitalism develops to a certain stage, there will be an economic crisis characterized by overproduction. It is also reflected in the film that a large number of production companies have cut production or stopped work, and workers have lost their jobs. Some make a living by begging, some steal it, and more take to the streets to demonstrate, and the whole society is in chaos. Life outside is not as stable and pleasant as the one in prison. This is also the weakness of the capitalist system. After watching the film, I still have many thoughts and feelings, such as the capitalist mode of production and basic contradictions, and how capitalism went from free competition to the monopoly stage. Perhaps it is just like the opening sentence of the film: ""Modern Times" "Is a story about the industrial age, which tells the conflict between individual enterprises and human pursuit of happiness. "I hope that in the future, human society, whether capitalism or socialism, will spend more time in governing this society so that people can Everyone can pursue their own happiness. At the beginning of the modern era, the deep symphony was used to establish the deep theme of the film. The first picture is a group of sheep. I watched this picture several times, because my mind instantly searched for the British enclosure movement. Next came Subway and Car, and the following plot made me understand that the background of "Modern Times" was the era when capitalism moved towards monopoly in the 1930s. The machinery industry developed rapidly and capital was concentrated in the hands of a few monopoly consortia. And Chaplin played the role of a proletarian worker. With the arrival of this industrial and social change, a large number of people became vassals of machine-industrial civilization, confused in the vortex of technological revolution, and then became a screw on the production line of this machine-society. Insignificant, can be ruthlessly abandoned at any time. "Modern Times", as the most famous film representing the mass production of socialization in the early 20th century, shouted loudly for the suffering caused by the economic crisis to the majority of workers. The comedy master Chaplin used his unique visual performance, the interpretation of tears in laughter and sadness in joy, and his pungent and sharp irony and revealed the harsh reality of workers being oppressed and exploited by capitalists in the prevailing social environment. Its excellent performance techniques show the world a life portrait that represents the suffering of millions of unemployed people. Grasp the essence of capitalism, carry out profound and intense exposures, and maximize the extraction of surplus value by capitalists and the ugly squeeze and destruction of the proletariat by the capitalist mode of production The face is vividly displayed! The film profoundly reflects the social reality of the time. It allows people to see the darkness of capitalism and the unreasonable social system in laughter. Through the analysis of some of the scenes in the movie that impressed me, I gradually got a deeper understanding. The boss of a factory is constantly demanding to speed up the production line, and the workers have to swallow. The shot of the protagonist Charlie being rolled in and out of the machine, and the "tool man" who was turned into a numb machine by the assembly line, unexpectedly wanted to tighten the nuts on the human nose and buttons. The close-up of the internal gears of the big clock at the beginning clearly described the absurd behavior of oppression in society at that time. 2. The cruel and dark reality of capitalist countries and the endless oppression of capitalists have made many people unable to survive, wandering on the streets, begging along the streets, and wanting to deprive workers of their time to eat. Therefore, they invented eating machines to allow workers to eat. Time can free up hands and feet to continue to work... The ultimate goal of all these practices is only to obtain more surplus value, because surplus value realizes that what capitalists ultimately want to obtain is more surplus value. Third, the beautiful heroine who steals bananas at the dock has an innocent and happy expression on her face after getting the banana, and her playful actions when she escapes. And the scenes of mutual encouragement, comfort, and love between her and her family. Family is our eternal dependence, and family is always our warmest haven. It's no wonder that people at that time wanted to own a house so much. Even if the house doesn't look solid on the surface, in the heart of its owner, the house is like a home, and it is the most solid and reliable. The actor wiped away the tears of the heroine, and then "Buck up-never say die. We'll get along!" appeared on the screen . The hero and the heroine encourage each other, smile and walk hand in hand together... Many people are moved and praised by this scene. I personally think that this kind of hope generated from the tragedy is really an ironic tragedy, surrendering to the darkness and resignation. People always turn away from the light. The so-called "modern era" is a ten special period. The two industrial revolutions have occurred and completed one after another. The industrial society has completely replaced the agricultural society. Human beings have moved from farming civilization to industrial civilization, and socialized production has become the main method of production. In this period of historical transition, people are rushed and helpless, capitalists’ hypocritical paintings reveal the essence of profit-only, and laborers naturally become tools for capitalists to grab surplus value. They are involuntarily practicing the laws of human social development. At this moment, I also think of us, living in such a "modern era", busy and intense work and study life. Many times, it is not clear whether this kind of busyness, this kind of chasing is for my own ideals or what. As a member of the torrent of society in this era, our common ideal of mankind is to be free for truth or to work together for a better future in this world. Views on the Modern Times On February 5, 1936, "Modern Times" premiered at the Livory Theatre in New York. At that time, at the end of the world economic crisis, Workers in capitalist countries are generally unemployed, social turbulence, and economic depression. Today, when capitalism still exists, this film is still a very good film reflecting the nature of capitalist exploitation. It can also be seen that capitalists are desperately squeezing proletarian workers in order to obtain surplus value by unscrupulous methods. The movie "Modern Times" by Chaplin deeply reflected the social reality of the time. It made people see the darkness of capitalism and the unreasonable social system in laughter. The cruel and dark reality of capitalist countries and the endless oppression of capitalists have made many people unable to survive, wandering on the streets, begging along the streets, and even depriving workers of their meal time. Therefore, the eating machine was invented to allow workers to eat while eating. The ultimate goal of being able to free up hands and feet to continue to work is to obtain more surplus value, because surplus value realizes that what capitalists ultimately want to obtain is more surplus value. In the scene at the beginning of the film, the flock of sheep walked past with support, and then a large group of workers walked into the factory with support. "Deep thinking about the social form." It implies that the fate of the workers is the same as the flock, and Charlie is one of these thousands. For another example, the film also hints at the contradiction between ideal and reality through luxurious carbonized shops, fantasy garden villas and dilapidated wooden houses in reality. In prison, although people have lost all freedom, they do not need to be troubled by unemployment and hunger. On the streets, although people have the freedom of wandering, they have to suffer from being homeless and having difficulty satisfying their hunger. In the factory, although man can make a living, he is a slave to the machine. Chaplin summarized the contradictory nature of the modern era with a unique visual image. In Chaplin's own comment, the film was developed from an abstract concept-criticizing our mechanized lifestyle. I will never forget the shot of the protagonist Charlie being rolled in and out of the machine, and the tool man who was turned into a numb machine by the assembly line, and wanted to tighten the nuts on the human nose and buttons. At the beginning, the close-up of the internal gears of the big clock clearly described the mechanized social order in the society at that time. Although the historical background narrated in the film was an era when capitalism gradually moved towards monopoly in the 1930s, that era was miserable for the lower classes in capitalist countries. Facing the advent of the machine age, they could only feel At a loss In the factory, although man can make a living, he is a slave to the machine. Chaplin summarized the contradictory nature of the modern era with a unique visual image. In Chaplin's own comment, the film was developed from an abstract concept-criticizing our mechanized lifestyle. I will never forget the shot of the protagonist Charlie being rolled in and out of the machine, and the tool man who was turned into a numb machine by the assembly line, and wanted to tighten the nuts on the human nose and buttons. At the beginning, the close-up of the internal gears of the big clock clearly described the mechanized social order in the society at that time. Although the historical background narrated in the film was an era when capitalism gradually moved towards monopoly in the 1930s, that era was miserable for the lower classes in capitalist countries. Facing the advent of the machine age, they could only feel At a loss In the factory, although man can make a living, he is a slave to the machine. Chaplin summarized the contradictory nature of the modern era with a unique visual image. In Chaplin's own comment, the film was developed from an abstract concept-criticizing our mechanized lifestyle. I will never forget the shot of the protagonist Charlie being rolled in and out of the machine, and the tool man who was turned into a numb machine by the assembly line, and wanted to tighten the nuts on the human nose and buttons. At the beginning, the close-up of the internal gears of the big clock clearly described the mechanized social order in the society at that time. Although the historical background narrated in the film was an era when capitalism gradually moved towards monopoly in the 1930s, that era was miserable for the lower classes in capitalist countries. Facing the advent of the machine age, they could only feel At a loss
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