Assignment

I’m trying to learn for my English class and I’m stuck. Can you help?

Watch the 4 minute video and answer the following questions. Each numbered response should be a total of 100 words or more.

1. What happened to Chaplin’s character in the clip? Why does he act in such a bizarre manner? What argument might Chaplin be making about the effects factory work or industrialization in general have on the human psyche? How do you know this? Make sure you point to examples from the clip when discussing your answer.
2. What might the title of the movie, “Modern Times,” have to do with the argument? What is implied by the phrase “modern times”? How were previous time periods or historical periods different from the one depicted in the movie? Is our time period much different? How is it similar and how is it different?

Charlie Chaplin – Factory Scene – Modern Times (1936)