The Artistic Voice of Charlie Chaplin

According to Northrop Frye there are two elements required for a genuine work of art, that it has a style and a message. The Random House Dictionary describes style as "a particular manner of writing, painting, speaking, building, etc., esp. when it is characteristic of a person, group, or period" (Random House 866). It goes on to describe message as, "1) a communication, usually of advice or direction, transmitted esp. through an intermediary. 2) the point or idea intended to be conveyed" (Random House 551). In other words an artist must have a distinct "voice" in which they use to express their opinion efficiently. Using these requirements for art it is obvious that there are not many great "artists" in the film industry today; instead we must search the early development of film in order to find the greatest film "artists". Among those greats are Porter, Griffith, Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Murnau, and many others; however there is one great film artist that stands out in my mind and his name is Charlie Chaplin. His satirist style, overpowering environment and authority, and the character vulnerability in his films characterize the art of Charlie Chaplin. The prime example lies in Chaplin's film Modern Times.

The satire in Modern Times is very eloquently stated: life is hard and it is much easier to take the simple path that requires no work to obtain the things that are needed in life. At many points during Modern Times it shows people taking the easy route in life by stealing, being lazy, and taking advantage of a "free ride" in life. The orphaned girl is shown stealing food all of the time; in society that is wrong, however it is for the good cause of thwarting starvation in herself, her family, and the tramp. The same goes for the robbers in the department store; they only resort to robbery after there are no alternatives left, and no jobs to be found. It brings up the ethical question whether stealing for such reasons is right or wrong? On the one hand it is a crime to steal possessions from others; but on the other hand the people and businesses that they steal from are well off and don't need all of the goods they have, and could spare some for the starving victims of the depression. The satire in this lies in the fact that it is survival versus greed in society. Face it the whole film is about money and possessions. That is a fact of life in a capitalist society. The whole film the characters strive to obtain money and possessions in the search of happiness. And in the end happiness is only achieved through the relationship in which the characters develop.

Next in line is the topic of work ethic and laziness in society. Throughout Modern Times the tramp character is shown being "lazy". Taking extra time in the restroom on a break from work, filing his nails as he watches someone else do his share of the work, playing with skates and toys at his department store job, taking a lunch break at his mechanic job while the head mechanic is stuck in the machine, and so on and so forth. But if you take a look at the reasons the Tramp has for being lazy I think you will be amazed. The film shows a blatant devaluation for the working class with the use of the conveyor belt and mass production. It shows that corporate America sees the worker as just another number and this is evident in the actions of the employers in the film. The constant speeding up of the assembly line, and the automatic feeder making it possible for the workers to eat while working are examples of this; yet at the same time it shows the flaws that accompany this type of work ethic, i.e. the faulty automatic feeder, the overload of power in the main switch board and the scenes in which the Tramp and the mechanic are sucked into the gears of the machines. It is also evident that this type of work environment causes a deindividualization of the workers through the processes explained above causing stress overload and in the case of the Tramp a hysterical insanity that caused him to behave in an unnatural manner, i.e. the uncontrollable turning of the wrenches, and the incident at the factory when he sprayed people with oil. The film also portrayed the power of authority such as the supervisors at the jobs, the police, and even the machinery. All of these things seemed to tower above the small Tramp character, portraying that sense of power over him and the situation. Not only does it portray authority figures, but also punishment for rebelling against the present authority. The Girl and the Tramp are jailed for stealing among other things, reinforcing the prevalent archetype that crime must be punished.

The theme of "taking the easy way out" is portrayed in many of the characters in the film. The Tramp tries to stay in jail rather than face the world of the depression and unemployment; in jail he has a "free ride", food and shelter two of the main human needs. The girl steals the food rather than works for it and eventually finds a rundown shack in which she and the Tramp reside, fulfilling those same needs. As mentioned before the robbers take the easy way out by robbing the department store for food, once again taking care of one of the primary needs. But at the same time they really have no choice in the matter, there are obviously no jobs and it is not worth starving over. What is confusing and ironic is that the Tramp is rewarded both for good and bad behavior. When he is on good behavior, such as when he stops the jailbreak, he is rewarded with a more comfortable cell before being released. When he is on bad behavior such as stealing he is in his mind rewarded with a free ride once again. It is a very complex and intricate situation is which good is good and bad is good.

The film portrays the chaotic world and the struggle for survival among the masses of people that are caught up in the great depression. The film begins with the quote, "Modern Times. A story of industry, of individual enterprise-humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness." The essence of the film portrays exactly that.

The vulnerability in the characters is very prevalent. Throughout the entirety of the film the characters, namely the Tramp and the Girl, are subject to a vulnerability to the environment and the elements of the environment. The actions taken by the characters causes the vulnerability that affects them. The Girl first becomes vulnerable through stealing, leaving herself open to punishment. She is also left vulnerable when her father is killed and she is left orphaned; this event breaks apart her entire family with her sisters being taken to the orphan home. She then chooses to runaway from the authority leaving herself open to even more punishment; now is she not only in need of food but also shelter, and she has to be careful of where she goes and what she does. Everything that creates vulnerability in her character is because of the actions she takes on her own behalf.

The Tramp on the other hand leaves himself vulnerable first in the fact that he can not keep a steady job in order to pay for the necessities of life; this leaves him open for punishment by choosing to take actions such as stealing in order to survive. He is also subject to vulnerability that comes from the chaos of the real world, mainly the lack of employment. It is only through such vulnerabilities that his character grows.

The vulnerabilities of the Tramp and the Girl are only met once they are together and form the relationship, fulfilling the third primary need in life, to be loved. Once the two of them are together the sacrifices for each other make up for the apparent vulnerabilities. The only draw back is that they become reliant on one another to supply that love that is needed, however they show a level of devotion towards each other that is rarely found in the relationships of today. The Tramp was willing to take the rap for the bread that the girl stole before even knowing her. It is true that in doing so he was hoping for a free ride, however the sacrifice still shows his devotion to her. He later shows his devotion to her by continuing to pursue jobs, and in the case of the department store job he takes her in to eat and sleep in the store, even though he is faced with punishment. She shows her devotion to him by sticking with him through thick and thin and waiting for him while he spends time in jail. At one point she finds a home for them, cooks for them, and even gets a job to supply money for them. All of this is done for each other in hopes of attaining happiness and the "ideal life". In the end of the film after all of the challenges and problems that they face throughout the film they still have each other, and they walk off into the sunset together still in search of that same dream. The only reason the two of them survive is because they have each other.

Charlie Chaplin created works of art with his satire, overpowering elements, and character vulnerability. By Northrop Frye's requirements of art Chaplin passes with flying colors with an overpowering style that reveals the irony of society as well as portrays the ideals and morals that he himself holds. These are the reasons that Chaplin does and will continue to stand out in my mind as one of the most influential film artists of all times. And I believe that his artistic genius will continue to influence filmmakers for the rest of time.
Works Cited

Flexner, S.B. (Ed.). 1980. The Random House Dictionary. New York: Random House Inc.

Chaplin, Charlie. Modern Times. Reprinted 1992. CBS/FOX Company.