Movie Review: Modern Times
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We have to remind ourselves how prescient this movie was. To us, it may not be surprising that the boss watches the workers on screen, but this was before the invention of television--and more than a decade before the publication of Orwell's 1984. Interestingly, it was several years after the invention of the talkies. But Chaplin wanted to make a silent movie, and silent this one is, except for a few words, some sound effects, and a gibberish song. Children will adore the slapstick in this movie, especially the scenes where Chaplin tries out the feeding machine and when he experiments with roller skates at the department store. Grown-ups who watch with younger children can read them the title cards, and help them follow the story. They can tell older children something about the Depression and the concerns about the dehumanizing effect of technology that are a part of this movie. Point out the use of sheep at the beginning, and then their human equivalents, the crowds of people on their way to work.
Questions for Kids:
· Why did the boss want Chaplin to try the eating machine? What would Frank Gilbreth of "Cheaper By the Dozen" think of the machine?
· Why did Chaplin want to go back to jail? Why didn't Goddard want to go to jail?
· Did Chaplin want you to think that prison was like the factory? Better? How can you tell?
· How did Chaplin and Goddard differ in their reactions to their troubles?
· For high school age: Why was Chaplin arrested for leading the communist parade? Does that violate the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment?
Connections: Some of the Chaplin shorter movies like "The Rink" and "The Gold Rush" are delightful for kids. "City Lights" is a wonderful movie with a darker tone and a more ambiguous ending.
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