Modern Times: The Great Depression

The movie Modern Times was produced during a time of the economic and social strife caused by the great depression. The Great Depression was the worst economic disaster the United States has ever faced, and it lead to the collapse of industry which in turn led to large unemployment. People struggled to live, as there were few jobs, but when jobs were available they often involved meager pay and long hours. Modern Times by Charlie Chaplain was a great example into the struggle workers faced through their jobs and their social expectancies.
Through much of the movie, the idea of efficiency and doing as much work possible in a short period of time was considered a very important trait. This often put workers like Chaplain into strict time periods

that were to maximize efficiency. One example of this was the situation Chaplain faced in his first job. The Owner of the Company had a series of cameras set up across his factory to make sure all his workers were not fooling around. It is one of the cameras that catches Chaplain smoking in the bathroom, so to calm himself down from the hard work he was put through.
After Chaplain was fired from his job due to a mental breakdown, he struggled to get another steady job that him and his companion could rely on. It is not just Chaplain though who struggled with the hard work. One example of this was when Chaplain was a night watchman at a department store. At one point, Chaplain is captured by three crooks who were looking for food to steal. One of the robbers soon recognizes Chaplain and reveals to him that he is Chaplain’s old work colleague Big Bill. This scene showed how there were a lot of people who struggled trying to keep up with the costs of trying to survive.
Modern Times is a comedic story that showed how tough it was for workers to keep up in an industry that was centered on cheap labor and efficiency. The main protagonist and surrounding supporting characters all struggled to survive in the environment that surrounded them, forcing them to be either organize into unions that would be put down or commit crimes to survive. Overall the idea followed the quote the lecturer gave us “The audience recognizes it as a farce on life, and they laugh at it in order not to die from it, in order not to weep.” (Charlie Chaplain), showed how comedy is the best way to show the reality of a problem. Modern Times showed the labor problem that was happening at the time.