Leon M



Leon M. Goldstein High School Humanities Department

Joseph F. Zaza, Principal Marilyn Horan, Assistant Principal

Modern Times

(1936, directed by Charlie Chaplin)

Subjects --- Cinema; U.S./1929 - 1941; Character Development surviving; Ethical Emphasis --- Trustworthiness; Caring.

Description: This is a lighthearted satire of urban industrial life in the first half of the 20th century. While working on an assembly line, the "Little Tramp" gets a tick that makes him move like a machine. He then becomes stuck on a conveyor belt and run through another machine. He is used as a test dummy for a feeding machine. The boss spies on him in the men's room through hidden cameras. He meets a waif and falls in love. He is mistakenly labeled a communist and arrested. He encounters cocaine while in jail. He gets a job in a department store but loses it. He works as a waiter, only to lose that job. None of these setbacks crush his spirit. "Modern Times" is acknowledged to be the last of the great silent movies. Although it does have some sound, there is no spoken dialogue.

Selected Awards: 1936 National Board of Review Awards: Ten Best Films of the Year. This film has been selected as for the National Film Registry as culturally, historically or aesthetically important.

Featured Actors: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Stanley Sanford, Gloria DeHaven, Chester Conklin.

USING THE MOVIE

Helpful Background:

• The first assembly line in the U.S. was built by Henry Ford in the 1920s when he put car parts on a conveyor belt. The men worked on the parts as they passed by on the belt. The assembly line increased efficiency and reduced costs. Soon the assembly line spread throughout the manufacturing sector in countries throughout the world. As shown in the movie, work on an assembly line is repetitive and dehumanizing.

• During the great depression, 1929 - 1939, the economy collapsed, many banks failed, and millions of people were thrown out of work. Full recovery occurred only as the U.S. geared up for war production just before World War II. The American labor movement first came into its own in the 1930s. There were strikes, marches, and demonstrations by workers as they sought better working conditions and wage increases. The police were often used to break up pro-union demonstrations and strikes. A few of the unions were lead by communists and this frightened many people. However, opponents of unions often charged that anyone associated with a union was a communist just to discredit them. In the film the Little Tramp is labelled as a communist when he is accidentally caught up in the front of a labor union demonstration.

• Charlie Chaplin was one of the world's greatest comedians and movie makers. He also wrote much of the music for his films. His signature character was the Little Tramp. "Modern Times" was the last occasion in which the Little Tramp appeared and the last major feature length silent film.

Vocabulary: "assembly line," "Little Tramp," union, communist, Gamin.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is the Little Tramp such an endearing figure?

2. Why did the Little Tramp want to stay in jail a little longer?

3. Did the Little Tramp do the right thing by letting the Gamin into the department store?

4. Why was there no talking in the movie? How did it affect your ability to understand it?

5. Who was responsible for the death of the father? At the end of the movie where were the Little Tramp and the Gamin going? Why were they going there?

6. At the beginning of the movie the Gamin was stealing bananas to feed her younger sisters. Was this right?

7. How does Chaplin use the elements of film to communicate his message?

8. Standard Questions Review

Leon M. Goldstein High School Humanities Department

Joseph F. Zaza, Principal Marilyn Horan, Assistant Principal

. Discussion Questions and Projects That Can Be Used With Any Film

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1. What is the conflict in this film? Who are the contending characters? How is the conflict resolved?

2. What was the theme of this film? What were the film makers trying to tell us? Were they successful? Justify your answer.

3. Did you learn anything from this movie? What was it?

4. Was there something you didn't understand about the movie? What was it?

5. What did you like best about the movie? Why?

6. What did you like least about the movie? Why?

7. Select an action performed by one of the characters in the film and explain why the character took that action. What motivated him or her? What did this motivation have to do with the theme of the film?

8. Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why?

9. Who was your least favorite character in the movie? Why?

10. Describe the use of color in the film? Did it advance the emotions the film makers were trying to evoke? How would you have used color in the movie?

11. Analyze the use of music in the movie. Did it enhance the story that the film makers were trying to tell? How would you have used music in this movie?

12. Did all of the events portrayed in the film ring true? Describe the scenes that you found especially accurate. Which sequences didn't seem to match reality? Why?

13. What was the structure of the story told by the movie?

14. How did the editing of the film advance the story that the film makers were trying to tell? Explain how?

15. Does the director succeed in creating a timeless work?

Projects:

• Students can be asked to write an essay on any of the discussion questions described above.

• The class can be asked to take positions on and to debate any of the discussion questions.

• Change the ending of the film. (This can be done by the teacher describing a new ending or permitting the class or different groups of students to choose their own ending.) Break the class into groups to create a story board or a script of an altered version of the film accommodating the new ending, if necessary, changing the order of the scenes.

Bibliography: Classroom Cinema, by Richard A. Maynard, 1977, Teachers College Press, New York.

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