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Going Out of Order

Tonight's movie was supposed to be Mutiny on the Bounty, but the VCR tried to eat the tape we got from the library, so we decided to skip that one and move on to the next, which was Modern Times, Charlie Chaplin's last (mostly) silent film. AFI placed this one at number 81. I found this one to be much more philosophical than others he had made. Before I get to my thoughts, I'll add here that my husband gave this one a thumbs sideways. As he said, it was okay - funny in spots, but not really captivating.

In tonight's movie, Chaplin's "tramp" character is a factory worker caught up in the daily grind of a quickly modernizing world. Through a series of comical mishaps, he suffers a nervous breakdown, spends time in a mental institution, is arrested and accused of being a Communist, and finds true love. According to Internet Movie Database, Chaplin's purpose in making this movie was to "shout out" against all the modernization and technology in society, including sound in movies. These themes still resonate in society today.

One of the most comical moments in the movie is the opening scene where Chaplin compares commuters beginning their daily grind to sheep being herded along in a big clump. When I was living in Tacoma, WA and commuting to Seattle every day for work and school I often had that same feeling.

For me, parts of the factory scenes had a sort of "1984" feel to them. While this movie was made in 1936, and 1984 by George Orwell was not written until 1946, I see certain similarities. Mainly Chaplin's movie points out that too much technology and modernization too fast can swallow a society up. Orwell's novel points out that government, too, can be and often is, detrimental to a society. Granted, I am only basing this on what I've read about the book. Someday, if and when I read 1984, I may come back here and change my tune, but basically I see the two works warning society as a whole not to get too caught up in any one thing or it may be quashed, swallowed or otherwise broken down.

Modern Times really made me stop and think. Progress and technology do just keep moving forward no matter what and there's not a thing we can do to stop it. Indeed, would we want to if we could? Just like Chaplin, some people fear where all this modernization is taking us. There is hope though, as Chaplin's character found out when he discovered his true love. In all things there is hopefulness, sometimes one just has to look really hard to find it.

So, to all of you reading this who may fear changes, technology, modernization, and where all this is taking us, I tell you what Chaplin's character told his true love. "Buck up-never say die. We'll get along." I give this one a thumbs up for Chaplin's classic comedy and for its universality and timelessness.

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