"The ordinary practitioners of the city live "down below" the thresholds at which visibility begins they are walkers "wandesrmaenner", whose bodies follow the thicks and thins of an urban text.".
In "Modern Times" Charlie Chaplins character is the quintessential "walker" .His home is the public places of the city .In this sense he could be easily compared to Walter Benjamins "Flaneur". However his role as a working class laborer, searching for money, food and shelter denies him the freedom of the flaneur and sets him apart from him. The flaneur is essentially a middle class romantic. A person who is enchanted by the teeming crowds of the city, while still possessing the economic privilege to stand outside of it looking in. Chaplins character is a proletarian, a man defined by his labour in much the same way as a machine. He is a commodity. His dual role of Flaneur and proletarian are represented in his directorial choice of images and dialogue as well as the unique physical style of his "little tramp". He walks the streets in search of, not cheap thrills or idle entertainment, like the typical flaneur. Instead he seeks a job that will give definition to his rootless existence.
In Walter Benjamins essay "The Flaneur" the author suggests that the first literary endeavor of this new species of city dweller was "panorama literature" or "physiologies". In these texts different classes, creeds and breeds of the new and unfamiliar Industrial Age were simplified into differing groups of innocuous caricatures. Benjamin suggests that there were quite weighty motives for this style of anthropology. "Someone who sees without hearing is much more uneasy than someone who hears without seeing." In the new city strangers were suddenly thrust together. The most extreme example of this being the new technologies of transportation. On buses and trains people were forced to look at these threatening strangers "for long minutes or even hours".
I hope to shed light on Charlie Chaplin with the following questions. What were films like before Charlie Chaplin started his acting career? ... Why, and what are some of Chaplin's most famous films and characters? ... Between 1914-1916 Charlie Chaplin made 61 films in Hollywood. ... In 1921 Chaplin as the Tramp stared in "The Kid". ...
Chaplins character is a proletarian, a man defined by his labour in much the same way as a machine. ... Its only fitting then that Chaplins filmic "physiologies" of the big city be carried out in silence. Despite his poor beginnings Charlie Chaplin the filmmaker, was in a sense, a flaneur himself. ... In fact Benjamins description of this type of clown echoes Chaplins style with eerie accuracy. ... Chaplin himself can not enjoy such freedom. ...
Modern Times In the movie Modern Times Charlie Chaplin was trying to say that the industry as a whole was busy and worked the employees hard. ... Chaplin was trying to say the Great Depression was hard because there were very few jobs to get and they didn't pay enough. ... The fact that there was no talking during this movie made me think more about what Chaplin was trying to say. ...
Charley Chaplin, Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, his official name, was a big comedian movie star, director and music composer for his movies. Charley Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889, in London, England. ... At 15 years old, Chaplin fell in love with Helly Kelly, who was his first great love in his life. ... In the movie "City Lights", which appeared in the year 1931, Chaplin used music in his movies. ... Russia became Britain's friend, and Charlie Chaplin wanted America belong to Russia to help against Germany. ...
I looked it up it the TV Guide and it said, "Charlie Chaplin Marathon." ... That's how I found out about Charlie Chaplin. ... Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on April 16th 1889 in London. His mother, Hannah Hill, and father, Charles Chaplin senior, were both entertainers. ... Chaplin appeared in 35 films in 1914 alone, all were directed by Sennett. ...
Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times, was suppose to be his first film that really incorporated sound and voice, but instead he found a way to cleverly use sound, while still having the same effect as a silent film. ... But, Charlie Chaplin, in this new stage of technology and people coming out with films with sound, really wanted to make a point. ... These are not the only examples that come about in this film, but are three that show what Charlie Chaplin's point really was and who he blamed. ...
The movie Chaplin has one of the best performances by an actor. Robert Downey Jr. plays Charlie Chaplin's role as a movie star. ... Chaplin feels anger, and stands up for him and others. In this scene of Chaplin, dialog is widely used. ... Also Douglas Fairbanks, Chaplin's accomplice, is drunk. ...
Iden 29 October 2015 This analysis is going to discuss how The Kid (1921), directed by Charlie Chaplin, to American culture as well how the acting, editing, and production design played a role into making this possible. ... This film was not Charles Chaplin's first, but it helped shape the way acting and production are displayed on the big screen even today. The Kid was produced and directed by Charlie Chaplin and was released to the public in 1921. ... The Tramp, played by Charlie Chaplin, finds the child on the street and decides to care for the child. ... At the end of the mo...
Charlie Chaplin was born into a show business family. ... Charlie's father, Charles Chaplin Sr., was also an entertainer. ... In the late 1940's and early 1950's, Chaplin was criticized for his leftist political views. ... It was on this note of quiet satisfaction that Chaplin's life drew to aclose. ... It was a small gathering; Chaplin had specifically asked that no crowds be present. ...
