Probably the most famous
film commenting on the
twentieth-century technology
is Modern Times, made in
1936. Charlie Chaplin was
motivated to make the film by
a reporter who, while
interviewing him, happened to
describe the working
conditions in industrial Detroit.
Chaplin was told that healthy
young farm boys were lured to
the city to work on automotive
assembly lines. Within four or
five years, these young men’s
health was destroyed by the
stress of work in the
factories.The film opens with a
shot of a mass of sheep
making their way down a
crowded ramp. Abruptly, the
film shifts to a scene of
factory workers jostling one
another on their way to a
factory. However, the rather
bitter note of criticism in the
implied comparison is not
sustained. It is replaced by a
gentle note of satire. Chaplin
prefers to entertain rather
than lecture.Scenes of factory
interiors account for only
about one-third of Modern
Times, but they contain some
of the most pointed social
commentary as well as the
most comic situations. No one
who has seen the film can
ever forget Chaplin vainly
trying to keep pace with the
fast-moving conveyor belt,
almost losing his mind in the
process. Another popular
scene involves an automatic
feeding machine brought to
the assembly line so that
workers need to interrupt their
labor to eat. The feeding
machine malfunctions, hurling
food at Chaplin, who is
strapped in his position on the
assembly line and cannot
escape. This serves to
illustrate people’s utter
helplessness in the face of
machines that are meant to
serve their basic
needs.Clearly, Modern Times
has its faults, but it remains
the best film treating
technology within a social
context. It does not offer a
radical social message, but it
does accurately reflect the
sentiment of many who feel
they are victims of an over-
mechanized world.