Chaplin's Modern Times was a silent film, an unusual sight in the burgeoning era of “talkies,” or films featuring synchronized human voices. Chaplin felt that the art of filmmaking was already at its peak and that adding additional features such as voice acting in the film would detract from the overall comedic experience. Chaplin's best-known character, “the Tramp,” was an ideal example of how the portrayal of emotion and dialogue between characters could occur without voice. It wasn't the lack of available technology that pushed Chaplin to stick with age-old tactics, but actually a protest against the so-called "progress" machine that has begun to rule the lives of humans in the film. to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayChaplin viewed the machine age as an age of control and dehumanization. The factory where Charlie works is dark and depressing, with no windows or views of the outside world. Workers are covered in dirty grease, signifying a harsh working environment. The machines in the factory are large, dirty, crude devices, capable of enormous forces and seemingly towering over the humans like obsessive supervisors. Workers toil all day at mundane tasks, such as tightening two bolts on a metal plate, while the manager pulls a lever to control the speed at which the workers must work. The company's attitude seems to be based only on efficiency, without any concern for the well-being of workers. The boss allows a demonstration of an automated feeding machine that could replace the lunch hour and allow workers to continue their work while they eat. This proved impractical and humiliating for Charlie when the machine malfunctioned and he was forced to eat metal bolts and be repeatedly slapped in the face with a corncob. Chaplin's use of dark imagery is a clever way of portraying his dislike of mechanical automation without directly stating it. It lets the audience see what an automated society might look like in the future and asks the viewer to form their own opinion on the progress of technology. Most viewers would come to the same conclusion that technology should be governed by humans, and not the other way around. Chaplin himself does not seem concerned about technology in the proper sense of the term, as he uses it extensively to create his films. Rather, he fears the day when machines will assume a position of authority and begin to rule humans. An example of this reverse role-play occurs when the boss, appearing on a television screen, arrives and tells one of the worker leaders to increase the speed of the conveyor belts, increasing the speed at which the workers must work. The effect of television dehumanizes the leader and it seems that a command comes from inside the machinery itself. It's a metaphor for the day when computers give commands to humans and cause audiences to experience a powerful, almost disturbing dystopian reality, exactly what Chaplin designed in this scene. The dark images and modest lifestyle throughout the film were reminiscent of the Great Depression, the period in which the film was produced. The scene where the brat finds a dilapidated shack and says "it's not Buckingham Palace, but it's okay", shows the standards the two lived in and how the brat would accept any place to call home. The Tramp shows how equally hard life was for him by purposely trying to go to prison, as it was better than any home he had had before. In thiscase he had a roof over his head and meals to eat every day. But every time he was released from prison, he begged to return because the outside world proved harsher than the conditions inside the relatively comfortable prison. The purpose of the human workers was questionable. The machines could perform complex tasks such as stamping metal and turning hundreds of pistons, ironically; all the assembly line workers had to do was tighten two bolts. Some viewers may ask, "Why couldn't machines do this?" Chaplin must have intended the work to be mundane to further support his belief that man would soon become obsolete and his work would be permanently replaced by machines. The tramp, faced with a huge workload that was moving too fast for him, finally goes mad and tightens everything that feels like a bolt with wild fervor. He runs out of the factory and sees a woman with two buttons on her shirt and tries to squeeze her breasts. This lands the tramp in a mental hospital and he stays there for several weeks. He leaves the place in much the same way as he was before, but now he is unemployed. He eventually finds work in a new factory and works with a metal stamping machine that can press metal into thin sheets. While helping his boss set up the machine, he manages to destroy his boss's pocket watch, which was a family heirloom. Charlie holds up the now very thin watch and his expression of surprise makes the audience laugh. This is a message of the machine's power and dominance over human beings; everything that stands in the way of the mechanical crusher will be razed to the ground. The film takes on a happier note whenever the Tramp isn't working on the machinery, especially after he meets the brat. They sit together and flirt on the grass, talking about a better life. A new dream scene comes into focus, with the wanderer and the gamin living in a quiet country house, eating plenty of fresh milk and fruit for their meals. A cow comes to the door, stops in front of a bucket and milks itself. The scene dissolves and the two set off to realize their new life. Viewers will notice the lack of machinery in the dream scene and that the couple was much happier living a simple life, without computers or mechanical devices. Chaplin uses this contrast to his advantage and leads the audience to despise dark and gloomy machines more than ever. As technology continues to advance, some people are able to keep up with the increasing growth rates, but others are left behind in the confusion. confusion of events. In the factory scenes, Chaplin can't seem to learn how to use the machinery properly and no one around him wants to teach him. It seems assumed that everyone, at that time, knew how to use complex machines, because the workers hired at the entrance to the factory did not receive any training before their hiring. Chaplin conveys the message that sometimes the advancement of technology inevitably leaves some people out of society. It is better to slow down rates of development, as this will give people time to adapt and integrate into the technology. When a person has been outside the realm of technology for too long, he or she will find it difficult to catch up, as technology themes are often cumulative. The suppression of advanced technology is seen when Chaplin chooses to only use music in the world of technology. background sound of the film and leaves out the actors' voices. He did this to ensure that immigrant viewers who were unfamiliar with English could still understand his film without resorting to.