modern times chaplin

Charlie Chaplin in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction: ReflexiveAmbiguity in Modern TimesLawrence Howe

College Literature, Volume 40, Number 1, Winter 2013, pp. 45-65 (Article)

Published by West Chester UniversityDOI: 10.1353/lit.2013.0007

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CHARLIE CHAPLIN IN THE AGE OF MECHANICAL REPRODUCTION: REFLEXIVE AMBIGUITY IN MODERN TIMES

LAWRENCE HOWE

Modern Times VLJQDOVDQRWDEOHVKLIWLQWKHFDUHHURI&KDUOLH&KDSOLQ7REHVXUHWKHOPUHPDLQVOR\DOWRWKHSUDFWLFHVRIVLOHQWFLQHPDRQZKLFKKHEXLOWKLVsuccess, and it relies, albeit for the last time, on the popularity of Chaplins screen persona, the Tramp, a loveable outcast victimized by institutional authorities, his own frailties, and plain old dumb luck. But the backstory of Chaplins career DQGRIWKHSURGXFWLRQRIWKLV'HSUHVVLRQHUDOPFRPSOLFDWHLWVLQWHUSUHWDWLRQas well as its meaning to American cinema in this crucial period of social and HFRQRPLFWXUPRLO0XFKRIWKHGLFXOW\VXUURXQGLQJModern Times stems from WKHGLYHUVHFRQGLWLRQVRI&KDSOLQVOLIHDQGWKHLULQXHQFHRQKLVDUW+LV7UDPSpersona, informed by his own impoverished upbringing, represented class disadYDQWDJHWRHOLFLWWKHV\PSDWK\RIDXGLHQFHV$QG\HWV\PSDWKHWLFLGHQWLFDWLRQZLWKWKH7UDPSZDVSRVVLEOHRQO\LIDXGLHQFHVGLVUHJDUGHGWKHIDFWWKDWRVFUHHQChaplin was one of the wealthiest screen celebrities of his day.,QGHHGDVDOPPDNHU&KDSOLQZDVWKHDQWLWKHVLVRIWKHEHIXGGOHGLQFRPSHWHQW7UDPS%\he was unique in his total control over his productions, as actor, screenwriter, GLUHFWRUSURGXFHUFRPSRVHUDQGQDOO\FRUSRUDWHHQWLW\%XWZLWKHDFKSDVVLQJyear after the release of 7KH-D]]6LQJHU &KDSOLQZDV LQFUHDVLQJO\DZDUHthat the growing demand for talking pictures in the marketplace threatened to PDNHDVLOHQWOPVWDUOLNHKLPREVROHWH

In the midst of social upheaval and professional peril, Chaplin attempted in Modern TimesWRUHDVVHUWKLVUHOHYDQFHE\UHSUHVHQWLQJPDFKLQHDJHFXOWXUHDVa profoundly destabilizing condition of contemporary society. His turn toward

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VRFLDOFULWLTXHFRLQFLGHVZLWKWKHHPHUJLQJPDWXULW\RIOPDVDQDUWIRUPDQGWKHJURZLQJH[SHFWDWLRQVWKDWOPFRXOGDFKLHYHPXFKPRUHWKDQ LWKDGDVDmedium of light entertainment. No less a notable public intellectual than Lewis 0XPIRUGUHFRJQL]HGWKHSRWHQWLDORIOP)RUKLPLWZDVDPDMRUDUWRIZKDWhe called the neotechnic phase of civilization, the next great development LQ WKH KLVWRU\ RI KXPDQNLQG 0XPIRUG +H VDZ WKH WHFKQRORJLFDOHYROXWLRQ RI VRFLHW\ DQG WKH DUULYDO RI OP DV DQ RSWLPDO SURFHVV RI FXOWXUDOFRQYHUJHQFH)LOPKDVWKHSRZHUWRDGYDQFHWKHQHRWHFKQLFSKDVHKHUHDVRQHGbecause it epitomizes the cultural role of the machine and thus symbolizes and expresses, better than do any of the traditional arts, our modern world picture and the essential conceptions of time and space which are already part of the XQIRUPXODWHG H[SHULHQFH RIPLOOLRQV RI SHRSOH WRZKRP(LQVWHLQ RU %RKU RU%HUJVRQ DUH VFDUFHO\ HYHQQDPHV 0XPIRUG %XW WKHSURJUHVVportended in Mumfords theory of cultural history was no fait accompli)RUDOOits wonder, the power of the Machine Age threatened to overwhelm society. But if by harnessing the machine, Mumford argued, cinema could integrate the DUWVWKHPVHOYHVZLWKWKHWRWDOLW\RIRXUOLIHH[SHULHQFHWKHQVRFLHW\ZRXOGVHOIFRQVFLRXVO\FKHFNWKHRPQLSRWHQFHRIWHFKQRORJ\

Radical critics who inclined toward Marxism similarly stressed the social sigQLFDQFHRIOPUDWKHUWKDQLWVHQWHUWDLQPHQWYDOXHDQGWZRDPRQJWKHPVLQgled out Chaplin for criticism. Harry Alan Potamkin complained that Chaplin indulged in maudlin pathos, and Lorenzo Rozas attacked him as an accomplice WRFDSLWDOLVPLQKLVSUHModern Times OPV0DODQG7KLVFULWLFLVPgoaded Chaplin into thinking about modern society and the opportunities for OP WR DGGUHVV LVVXHVRI LPSRUWDQFH'XULQJKLVZRUOG WRXU LQ WRSURmote the release of City LightsWKHDWWHULQJDWWHQWLRQKHUHFHLYHGIURPSROLWLFDOand intellectual dignitaries, with whom he readily shared his views on politics and economics, burnished his standing not simply as a celebrity but as a man of FRQVHTXHQFHDQGEROVWHUHGKLVFRQGHQFHLQFRPPHQWLQJXSRQVHULRXVPDWWHUV)RUH[DPSOHZLWK$OEHUW(LQVWHLQKHGLVFXVVHGWKHQHHGWRUHOLHYHZRUNHUVRIexcessive hours, which occasioned the physicist famously to remark, Youre not a comedian, youre an economist. With Gandhi, Chaplin disagreed about the QHJDWLYHLQXHQFHRIPDFKLQHWHFKQRORJ\GHIHQGLQJLWDVDODERUVDYLQJDGYDQFHPHQW0DODQG+LVDOWHUQDWLQJV\PSDWK\IRUZRUNHUVDQGKLVGHIHQVHRIWHFKQRORJ\LQWKHVHKLJKSUROHH[FKDQJHVSURYLGHDJOLPSVHLQWRWKHDPELJXLW\that infuses Modern Times.

On the same tour, Chaplin also came into contact with popular audiences, and he readily associated the outpouring of public admiration from crowds of adoring IDQVZLWKWKHVXHULQJRIWKHPDVVHV3 $OWKRXJKDWWHULQJWKLVIDQDGXODWLRQDOVRimposed an emotional burden about which he wrote to Thomas Burke: When WKRVHFURZGVFRPHURXQGPHOLNHWKDWVZHHWDVLWLVWRPHSHUVRQDOO\LWPDNHVme sick spiritually, because I know whats behind it. Such drabness, such ugliness, such utter misery, that simply because someone makes em laugh and helps HPWRIRUJHWWKH\DVN*RGWREOHVVKLP5RELQVRQ$OWKRXJKKHGLG

Lawrence Howe | ESSAYS

not associate the misery he inferred from the crowds with industrial technology, an early experience working as a printers devil helped to make the connection between technology and the plight of workers that becomes central to Modern Times+HUHFDOOHGEHLQJKRUULHGE\WKHHQRUPRXVSULQWLQJPDFKLQHLQVWLOOLQJLQKLPDNLQGRIDZHDQGIHDURIEHLQJGHYRXUHGE\LW0F&DEH7KLVSHUVRQDOH[SHULHQFHPDGHDQDFFRXQWRI)RUGVDVVHPEO\OLQHV\VWHPUHFROOHFWHGin Chaplins autobiography, all the more compelling to him. In his own words, LWZDVDKDUURZLQJVWRU\RIELJLQGXVWU\OXULQJKHDOWK\\RXQJPHQRWKHIDUPVZKRDIWHUIRXURUYH\HDUVDWWKHEHOWV\VWHPEHFDPHQHUYRXVZUHFNV&KDSOLQ,QWKLVUHFROOHFWLRQZHFDQGHWHFWDGLUHFWLQXHQFHRQWKH7UDPSVfactory experience in Modern Times.

6WLOO GHVSLWH WKLV MDXQGLFHG YLHZRI WHFKQRORJ\&KDSOLQV RZQ VXFFHVVZDVDFKLHYHG LQ DQ DUW IRUPGHQHG E\ WHFKQRORJ\$V KH EHJDQZRUNRQModern Times, more inclined than ever before to charge his art with a social critique WDUJHWLQJWKHLQGXVWULDOLGHRORJ\WKDWLQIRUPHGWZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\OLIHWKHOPVpolitical thesis became somewhat tangled in ambiguity, equivocating between the terms of its own technological production and its production of a critique of technology. Noting Chaplins ambivalence is, of course, not a new idea, but KHUHWRIRUH &KDSOLQV FRQLFWHG IHHOLQJV KDYH EHHQ DWWULEXWHG SULPDULO\ WR KLVstruggle to combine entertainment and didacticism. However, the ambivalence in Modern Times,ZLOODUJXHLVVSHFLFDOO\FRQGLWLRQHGE\&KDSOLQVFRQLFWHGUHODWLRQVKLSZLWKWHFKQRORJ\ERWKLQVRFLHW\DQGLQDUW7KHOPVGUDPDWL]DWLRQof this tension shows how Chaplins political critique of technology confronts his artistic investment inWHFKQRORJ\LQZD\VWKDWDOVRDHFWWKHSROLWLFVRIOPreception. The collision between his evolving interest in social themes and his own exercise of power as the impresario of cinematic production produce a complexity and an unevenness that suggest both Chaplins lack of control over the narratives multiple meanings and his inability to fully comprehend them. IroniFDOO\ WKHVHFLQHPDWLFGLFXOWLHVPDUNWKHOPDVDJDXJHRI LWVHUD&KDSOLQVVWUXJJOHZLWKWKHOPDQGWKH7UDPSVFRQWLQXHGIDLOXUHVZLWKLQWKHQDUUDWLYHUHHFWWKHZD\V LQZKLFKWKH LQWUDFWDELOLW\RIWKH*UHDW'HSUHVVLRQSHUSOH[HGthe economists, bureaucrats, and ordinary citizens who grappled with the vicissitudes of capitalism.

,QWKLVHVVD\,ZLOOH[DPLQHWKHOPVRZQDPELJXRXVVWDQFHWRZDUGLWVVRFLDOFULWLTXHDQGVKRZKRZWKHOPVXQXVXDOGRXEOHUHH[LYLW\JHQHUDWHVWKLVDPELJXLW\&XWWLQJERWKZD\VWKHUHH[LYLW\ LQModern Times suggests allegories of OPSURGXFWLRQRQWKHRQHKDQGDQGDOOHJRULHVRIVSHFWDWRUVKLSRQWKHRWKHU*RLQJEH\RQGSXUHO\FLQHPDWLFWHUPV,ZLOODUJXHWKDWWKLVGRXEOHUHH[LYLW\derives from the tension in Chaplins attitudes about technological change in society and the technological basis of art, and highlights parallels between his GLOHPPDDQGWKHHTXLYRFDOFXOWXUDODWWLWXGHVWRZDUGWKHLQXHQFHRILQGXVWULDOtechnology on economics, politics, and aesthetics.

7KHOPVUHH[LYHDOOHJRULHVRISURGXFWLRQUHJLVWHUERWK&KDSOLQVIDVFLQDWLRQZLWKOP WHFKQRORJ\ DQGKLV DQWDJRQLVP WRZDUG LQVWLWXWLRQDO DXWKRULWLHV


W\SLFDOO\LGHQWLHGZLWKWKHFRQWURORIWHFKQRORJ\7KLVDQWDJRQLVPOHGKLPWRFRQDWHWKHRSSUHVVLYHFRQWURORIWKH+ROO\ZRRGFRUSRUDWHVWUXFWXUHZLWKKLHUDUFKLFDOFRQWURORI)RUGLVWLQGXVWULDOLVP&RQYHUVHO\WKHOPVUHH[LYHDOOHJRries of consumption signal Chaplins anxieties about his ability to continue to satisfy the demands of his audience, but they also tap into widespread anxiety about the collapse of industrial society and its inability to satisfy the needs of its consumers. By acknowledging production and consumption as dynamic proFHVVHV WKH OPV UHFLSURFDO UHH[LYLW\ HQULFKHV LWV UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ RI FODVV DQGWHFKQRORJLFDO DQ[LHW\ DQG WKXV UHHFWV WKH FRQLFWV RI WKH FXOWXUH ,Q RWKHUZRUGVEHFDXVHWKHOPVUHH[LYLW\RSHUDWHVLQWZRGLUHFWLRQVLWFRPPHQWVRQWKHG\QDPLFVRFLDOUHODWLRQVKLSEHWZHHQSURGXFWLRQDQGFRQVXPSWLRQRIVXSSO\DQGGHPDQGWKDWZDVFHQWUDOWRERWKWKHH[SHULHQFHRIDQGWKHDWWHPSWVWRXQGHUVWDQGWKH*UHDW'HSUHVVLRQ(TXDOO\WKHOPVVRFLDOFULWLTXHWXUQVLQZDUGRQLWVHOIDVD+ROO\ZRRGFRPPHUFLDOOPModern Times epitomizes the complementary relationship between production and consumption both as a critique of technological culture and a commodity produced by it.

THE TRAMP IN THE MACHINE

Modern TimesVLJQDOVLWVFRQLFWVIURPWKHRXWVHW,WVRSWLPLVWLFVHOIGHVFULSWLRQ$VWRU\RILQGXVWU\RILQGLYLGXDOHQWHUSULVHKXPDQLW\FUXVDGLQJLQWKHSXUVXLWRIKDSSLQHVVFODVKHVZLWKDMDUULQJO\RPLQRXVIDQIDUHRIGLVFRUGDQWKRUQV7KHopening montage that follows carries the disquieting mood forward in the openLQJLPDJHVDODUJHFORFNGLVVROYLQJUVWWRDKHUGRIVKHHSDQGWKHQWRDWKURQJRIpeople as they emerge from the subway on their way to work in a large urban facWRU\DOOSXQFWXDWHGZLWKWKHUK\WKPLFDOO\WHQVHPLQRUNH\VRXQGWUDFNSHULRGLcally shifting to ascending modulations that increase the intensity. This opening PRQWDJHUHHFWVDNLQVKLSLQWHFKQLTXHDQGFRQWHQWZLWK)ULW]/DQJVMetropolis ZKLFK IUDPHG WKHRSSUHVVLYH FRQGLWLRQVRI LQGXVWULDO ODERU VLPLODUO\ DVZHOODVZLWKWKHSURMHFWLRQRIGDLO\URXWLQHVLQ']LJD9HUWRYVMan with a Movie CameraDOWKRXJKZLWKQRQHRIWKHFHOHEUDWRU\SOD\IXOQHVVRI9HUWRYVOPInside the factory, Chaplins set also recalls Henry Adamss awestruck descripWLRQRIWKHJUHDWKDOORIG\QDPRVDWWKH3DULV([SRVLWLRQLQ7KHODUJHKXPming turbines, oversized switches, valves, and gauges convey the importance of $PHULFDQ LQGXVWULDO SRZHU MXVW DV IRU$GDPV WKH G\QDPR EHFDPH D V\PERORI LQQLW\ +RZHYHU UDWKHU WKDQ HYRNLQJ$GDPVV VXEOLPHSHUFHSWLRQRI WKHIRUW\IRRWG\QDPRDVDPRUDOIRUFHPXFKDVWKHHDUO\&KULVWLDQVIHOWWKH&URVV$GDPVRUWKHPHQDFLQJSRZHUFRQYH\HGE\/DQJV+HDUW0DFKLQHLQMetropolis, Chaplins gleaming factory is rather quickly converted into the arena RIFRPHG\:KHQWKHOPIRFXVHVRQWKH7UDPSWLJKWHQLQJDQHYHUHQGLQJVHULHVRIEROWVRQDQDVVHPEO\OLQHWKHYLHZHULQVWDQWO\UHFRJQL]HVWKHLFRQLFJXUHDVan agent of humor. Still, as the awkwardly vulnerable Tramp struggles to keep up with the pace of the assembly line and exhibits the stress imposed by a repeti


tive and accelerating work routine, Chaplin makes clear that he has enlisted the Tramp in order to engage with the pitched debates of the era.

(YHQEHIRUHWKH'HSUHVVLRQLQGXVWULDOZRUNHUVKDGJURZQLQFUHDVLQJO\DQ[LRXVMXVWLDEO\IHDULQJWKDWWKH\ZRXOGORVHHLWKHUWKHLUMREVWRDXWRPDWLRQRUif fortunate enough to remain employed, their identities as an impersonal, corporate bureaucracy threatened to turn men into automata. In taking up these contemporary concerns from the outset, Modern Times RHUVDSHUVSHFWLYHPLVVLQJIURPWKHPRUHXQLODWHUDOFXOWXUDOKLVWRU\RILQGXVWULDOL]DWLRQRHUHGE\&HFLlia Ticchi in Shifting Gears 7LFFKLSRLQWV WR WKH LQFUHDVLQJ IUHTXHQF\RImechanized imagery and the prevalence of the American engineer as hero in WKHDUWDQGOLWHUDWXUHRIWKLVSHULRGDVDQH[SUHVVLRQRIFRQGHQFHLQWHFKQRORJ\DQGLQWKHDELOLW\RIWKHHQJLQHHUWRUHVKDSHWKHZRUOGLQSRVLWLYHZD\V7KHpresidential election of Herbert Hoover, himself an engineer, shows the degree to which the culture had come to identify the profession with expert management. But the Wall Street Crash only eight months after Hoovers inauguration and the economic decline that he oversaw throughout his single term in the White House shook the cultures faith in the engineers competence.

The notion that unbridled technology was the solution to modern problems retained some currency even in the midst of the Depression, as summed up in WKHLQGXVWULDOERRVWHULVPRIWKHPRWWRRIWKH&HQWXU\RI3URJUHVV([SRVLWLRQLQ&KLFDJR6FLHQFH)LQGV,QGXVWU\$SSOLHV0DQ&RQIRUPV2FLDO*XLGHERRN +RZDUG6FRWWWKHIRXQGHURIWKH7HFKQRFUDF\PRYHPHQWH[SUHVVHGVWLOOJUHDWHUXWRSLDQFRQGHQFHLQKLVDUWLFOH$5HQGH]YRXV:LWK'HVWLQ\ SXEOLVKHGLQDLVVXHRIAmerican Engineer. Articulating the messianic vision of the movement, Scott zealously preached about the promise of technology in leading civiOL]DWLRQRXWRIWKH'HSUHVVLRQ7HFKQRORJLFDOO\XSGDWLQJWKHQLQHWHHQWKFHQWXU\theme of Manifest Destiny, he declared, God is good and God is kind. God SURYLGHGWKLV&RQWLQHQWZLWKWKHJUHDWHVWQDWXUDOUHVRXUFHV6FRWW)XUther, he warned that governments that interfered with the march of technology and the economics of abundance were obstacles that must be remedied radically. They will be compelled in spite of their reluctance to meet this epochal issue in WKHPDUFKRIFLYLOL]DWLRQDQLVVXHWKDWKDVEXWRQHSRVVLEOHHQGLQJWKHGHIHDWand abolition of every political government on the Continent of North America 6FRWW7 But boosterism for technological progress omits half of the story. &KDSOLQVSRUWUDLWVRIWKH(OHFWUR6WHHOSUHVLGHQW$OODQ*DUFLDWKHLPSUDFWLFDOLQYHQWRURIWKH%LOORZVIHHGLQJPDFKLQH0XUGRFN0DF4XDUULHDQGWKHHQJLQHHUWUDSSHGLQWKHLGOHPDFKLQHU\RIDGHFRPPLVVLRQHGIDFWRU\2VFDU&RQNOLQUHHFWDFRXQWHUYDLOLQJSHVVLPLVWLFDWWLWXGHWRZDUGWHFKQRORJ\DQGLWVPDVWHUV

8QVHWWOLQJ VLJQV WKDW WHFKQRORJ\ ZDV QRW \LHOGLQJ HYHULQFUHDVLQJ SURVSHULW\ZHUHOHJLEOHHYHQEHIRUHWKH&UDVK&RQGHQFHLQWHFKQRORJ\SHDNHGLQWKHPLGV DQG WKHQ ZDQHG MXVW DV TXLFNO\ EHIRUH ERWWRPLQJ RXW E\ WKH HDUO\VZKHQWHFKQRORJLFDOXQHPSOR\PHQWZDVJHQHUDOO\VHHQDVDFRQVHTXHQFHof unchecked optimism.:ULWLQJLQRQHFRPPHQWDWRULQFortune magazine WUDFHGWKHFULVLVWRDQHYHQHDUOLHUSRLQWFLWLQJDVWKH\HDUZKHQWHFKQRORJLFDO


innovation began to increase productivity sharply, leading to a spike in technoORJLFDOHPSOR\PHQWE\(YHQLIRQHZHUHIRUWXQDWHHQRXJKWREHHPSOR\HGindustrial practices, as the anonymous writer notes, had replaced man permanently as a source of energy and . . . installed him in a new and limitable function DVDWHQGHURIPDFKLQHV2EVROHWH0HQ,QRWKHUZRUGVLQGXVWULDOL]Dtion was rendering workers into what the title of the article calls Obsolete Men.

6XUSULVLQJO\ 7LFFKLV KLVWRULFDO DFFRXQW DOVR RPLWV WKH LQXHQFH RI OPWriters and painters may have adapted engineering concepts as metaphors of their practices, as Ticchi notes, or become enthralled with images of industrial machinery or engineering marvels like the Brooklyn Bridge as a kind of homage WR WKH WHFKQRORJLFDO GLUHFWLRQ RI WKH FXOWXUH EXW OPPDNHUVZHUH WKH DUWLVWVZKRVHFUDIWPRVWGLUHFWO\SDUWLFLSDWHG LQ WKH PDFKLQHDJHHWKRV&LQHPDDQart form utilizing numerous technologies, transformed conceptions of art and the role of the artist in ways that eluded traditional forms of representation.9 7KHH[SRQHQWLDOO\H[SDQGLQJFXOWXUDOLQXHQFHRIFLQHPDLQWKLVHUDPDGHOPa medium uniquely poised to address the issues in this public debate. Thomas (GLVRQWKHSLRQHHURIFLQHPDLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVZKRSHUVRQLHGWKHSURPLVHRIHQJLQHHULQJUHFRJQL]HGWKLVHPHUJLQJLPSRUWDQFHRIOP+HDVVHUWHGKLVIHUYHQWFRQGHQFHLQLWVSRWHQWLDOIRUHGXFDWLRQEHFDXVHWKHLPPHGLDF\RILPDJHVto stimulate cognition, he believed, outstripped the ability of text to impart information and provide instruction. Although his company produced many attractions for the Kinetoscope and the Vitascope, KHFRQVLGHUHGOPVXVHIRUentertainment as a very low purpose, far short of its potential.

9LUWXDOO\LQWDQGHPZLWKWKHHPHUJLQJSUHVWLJHRI(GLVRQ)UHGHULFN:LQVORZ7D\ORULQWURGXFHGWKHSKLORVRSK\RI$PHULFDQLQGXVWULDOHFLHQF\WKURXJKKLVH[WUHPHO\LQXHQWLDO7KH3ULQFLSOHVRI6FLHQWLF0DQDJHPHQW7LFFKLDFNQRZOedges the role of Taylor, who has been widely recognized by cultural critics and KLVWRULDQVIRUKLVLPSDFWRQDEURDGUDQJHRIHDUO\WZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\SUDFWLFHV%XWZKDWKDVEHHQLJQRUHGZLWKUHVSHFWWROPLVWKDW7D\ORUV LPPHGLDWHVXFFHVVRUVLQWKHHOGDSSOLHGKLVSULQFLSOHVYLDPRWLRQSLFWXUHWHFKQRORJ\,QVWHDGof simply observing the movements of workers when performing occupational WDVNV WKH VHFRQG JHQHUDWLRQ RI 7D\ORULWHV OPHGZRUNHUV LQ RUGHU WR DQDO\]HPRUHFDUHIXOO\WKHVWHSVRIODERUDQGGHYLVHPRUHHFLHQWVROXWLRQV$VHDUO\DV D WH[WERRN IRU VFLHQWLFDQDO\VLVRI LQGXVWULDOSURFHVVHVTime and Motion Study, included a chapter on Taking Motion Pictures for Motion Study, in ZKLFKHTXLSPHQWOLJKWLQJVFKHPHVDQGFDPHUDWHFKQLTXHVDUHGHWDLOHG/RZU\0D\QDUGDQG6WHJHPHUWHQ$VXEVHTXHQWFKDSWHURQ)LOP$QDO\VLV3URFHGXUHVPHWKRGLFDOO\H[SODLQVKRZWKHDQDO\VWVKRXOGHFLHQWO\XVHWKHLURZQOPVWXG\ZRUNVWDWLRQWRPD[LPL]HWKHHHFWLYHQHVVRIWKHDQDO\VLVRIDIDFWRU\ZRUNVWDWLRQ7KXVOPWHFKQRORJ\LWVHOIZDVUHDFKLQJLQWRRWKHUDUHQDVOHQGLQJFUHGHQFHWR(GLVRQVH[SHFWDWLRQV


early success of American cinema. And in Modern Times the Tramp combines the mediums ability to entertain with its ability to challenge audiences to think. Although we cannot be sure that Chaplin was targeting Taylorism in the iconic factory sequence in Modern Times, the Tramps shortcomings in that work enviURQPHQWFRUUHVSRQGVWULNLQJO\WRWKHGHFLHQFLHVRIWKHSRRUZRUNHUGHVFULEHGin Time and Motion Study:

:KHUHWKHVNLOORIDQRSHUDWRULVFRQVLGHUHGWREHSRRUDIWHUKHKDVKDGVXFLHQWWLPHWROHDUQWKHMRELWZLOOJHQHUDOO\EHIRXQGWKDWKHLVDPLVWWKHVRFDOOHGVTXDUHpeg in the round hole. He knows what to do but does not seem able to do it with ease. His movements are clumsy and awkward. His mind and his hands do not seem to coordinate. /RZU\0D\QDUGDQG6WHJHPHUWHQHPSKDVLVDGGHG

,QFRQWUDVWWR7D\ORULVPVP\RSLFHPSKDVLVRQFRPSHWHQWHFLHQF\&KDSOLQVOPEXLOWDURXQGD PLVWSHUVRQDRXWPDWFKHGE\ WKHGHPDQGVRIPRGHUQVRFLHW\HYRNHG KXPRU VHQWLPHQW DQG URPDQFH LQ RUGHU WR HQWHUWDLQ and to question the expert wisdom about the technological direction of society.

The three distinct segments in the factory episode displace the emphasis on RXWSXW DQG LQVWHDG VWUHVV WKH FRQQHFWLRQ EHWZHHQ WKH GHWULPHQWDO HHFWV RImachine technology on workers and the class hierarchy that separates capital IURPODERU$WWKHKHDGRI(OHFWUR6WHHO&RUSWKHSUHVLGHQWVLWVLGO\LQKLVTXLHWVSDFLRXVRFHRFFDVLRQDOO\LQWHUUXSWLQJKLVFRQWHPSODWLRQRIDMLJVDZSX]]OHRUhis reading of newspaper comics to supervise his facility on a large screen. On WKH IDFWRU\RRUZHQG WKHERVVV ODERULQJFRXQWHUSDUW WKH7UDPS LQFUHDVingly harassed by the repetitive motion of his task, the periodic acceleration of the assembly line ordered by the boss, and the hostile criticism from his foreman DQGFRZRUNHUVIXUWKHUGRZQWKHOLQH6HHNLQJUHIXJHIURPWKHKHFWLFSDFHWKHTramp takes an unauthorized cigarette break in the workers bathroom, where WKHIUHQHWLFDOO\SHUFXVVLYHVFRUHLQWKHDVVHPEO\OLQHVFHQHJLYHVZD\WRDVRRWKing soundtrack of lush legato strings. But the comfort of his languorous solitude is abruptly punctured when the video surveillance of the factory boss intrudes. 'HVSLWHWKHFRPLFVXUSULVHRIWKHHQODUJHGFORVHXSRIWKHZHOOGUHVVHGJORZHULQJWDONLQJKHDGPD[LPL]HGE\WKHVRXQGRIKLVYRLFHLQV\QFKZLWKKLVLPDJHRUGHULQJWKH7UDPSWR4XLWVWDOOLQJJHWEDFNWRZRUNDQGWKHVWDUWOHGGHIHQsive reaction of the comparatively diminutive Tramp at being discovered, this brief confrontation comments on the regimented duress of factory labor. The bosss distrust of the worker echoes Taylors condemnation of soldiering, the deliberate slowing down of work output, which, according to Taylor, constitutes WKHJUHDWHVWHYLOZLWKZKLFKWKHZRUNLQJSHRSOHDUHQRZDLFWHG7D\ORU,QGHHGWKHERVVVVXSHUYLVLRQRIDOODVSHFWVRIKLVFRPSDQ\LVQRWVRPXFKDversion of Taylorism as a modernization of Benthams panopticon, blurring the GLHUHQFHEHWZHHQIDFWRU\DQGSULVRQDVZHOODVDQWLFLSDWLQJWKHVFUXWLQ\WKDWdistinguishes Orwells 1LQHWHHQ(LJKW\)RXU. In the Tramps unauthorized smoke EUHDN&KDSOLQPD[LPL]HVWKHSROLWLFDODQGFLQHPDWLFHHFWV7KHIDFWRU\RZQHUnot only oversees his workers through technological surveillance but also appears PDJQLHGDVDQRPQLSUHVHQWSRZHUWKURXJKKLVLPDJHRQWKHVFUHHQ


Lunch break at the factory provides the Tramp his only sanctioned opporWXQLW\ IRU UHOLHI HYHQ LI WKH UHVLGXDO HHFWVRI UHSHWLWLYHPDFKLQH ODERU OLQJHUGXULQJKLVKLDWXVIURPWKHVWUHVVIXOURXWLQH7KH7UDPSVUHVSLWHLVVKRUWOLYHGhowever, once he is chosen as the guinea pig on whom to test the wonders of the Billows feeding machine, a contraption that abuses him no less than the assembly lines unrelenting pace. The absurdity of utilizing a machine to perform one of the most fundamental of organic functions passes without comment. The ostenVLEOHEHQHWRIWKLVLQYHQWLRQLVWKDWLWDOORZVWKHZRUNHUWREHIHGZLWKRXWLQWHUrupting his labor. But the utter failure of the machine to perform as advertised DQG WKHQHHG WRKDYH DW OHDVW RQHRSHUDWRU LI QRWPRUH GHQLHV DQ\EHQHW DWall, even if the contraption werent plagued by malfunction. The absurdity of WKHIHHGLQJPDFKLQHLPSOLFLWO\TXHVWLRQVWKHREVHVVLRQZLWKHFLHQF\LQ7D\ORUVV\VWHPRIVFLHQWLFPDQDJHPHQW But in light of the bosss failure to note the absurdity of the phonographic salesman delivering the pitch when the inventor UVWLQWURGXFHVWKHIHHGLQJPDFKLQHZHVKRXOGDOVRQRWHKRZWKHLQDELOLW\RIWKHIHHGLQJPDFKLQHV WXUQWDEOH WR IXQFWLRQHFLHQWO\ VXJJHVWVDFRPPHQWRQWKHHDUO\WHFKQRORJ\RIVRXQGOPZKLFKZDVRIWHQSODJXHGE\V\QFKURQL]DWLRQGLIFXOWLHVEHWZHHQWKHSKRQRJUDSKLFVRXQGDQGWKHFLQHPDWLFLPDJH7KHIDFWRU\ERVVVUHMHFWLRQRIWKHIHHGLQJPDFKLQHDVQRWSUDFWLFDOHFKRHVWKHFRPSODLQWVof studio executives who resisted adopting sound technology. Although Chaplin UHVLVWHGVRXQGWHFKQRORJ\ IRUGLHUHQW UHDVRQV WKHSDUDOOHO WKDW LV VXEWO\ VXJJHVWHGEHWZHHQWKH(OHFWUR6WHHOSUHVLGHQWDQGWKHSUHVLGHQWRI&KDUOHV&KDSOLQ)LOPV,QFZLOOHPHUJHPRUHGLUHFWO\LQWKHQH[WVHJPHQWRIWKHVHTXHQFH

More broadly, however, the feeding machine scene critiques the fascinaWLRQZLWKWKHPHFKDQLFDORYHUWKHKXPDQ7KLVFRQLFWRIPDQDQGPDFKLQHHPHUJHV VWDUNO\ LQ WKH WKLUG VHJPHQWRI WKHUVW IDFWRU\ VHTXHQFH WKHOPVmost frequently referenced scene. As the boss continues to order an increase in the factory belts speed, the Tramp continues to struggle with the acceleratLQJSDFH)LQDOO\GULYHQE\WKHFRPSXOVLRQWRSHUIRUPKLVWDVNKHSXUVXHVKLVpiecework into the machinery. Becoming one with the assembly line itself, the 7UDPSLVGUDZQWKURXJKWKHJHDUVRIWKHJLJDQWLFPHFKDQLVPVHHJ:LWKa cymbal crash, the soundtrack transitions abruptly from the frantic pace that punctuated the images of the factorys intensifying speed to a rubato lullaby with the delicate timbres of the celesta and piccolo. Once extricated from the EHOO\RIWKHLQGXVWULDOEHDVWWKH7UDPSHPHUJHVWUDQVIRUPHGE\KLVPDFKLQHLQGXFHGWUDXPD+LVSHVWHULQJDQWLFVWRZDUGKLVFRZRUNHUVSURYRNHWKHPWRchase him with the hope of subduing him, but this simply prolongs his interference with what was known during the period as the factorys continuous RZSURGXFWLRQ&KDVH*DLQLQJWKHXSSHUKDQGWKH7UDPSGLVFRYHUVWKDWKHFDQHDVLO\GLVWUDFWKLVSXUVXHUVE\UHDFWLYDWLQJWKHDVVHPEO\OLQHwhich causes them to return to their stations in a Pavlovian response. Their robotic attention to the machinery recalls the image that Stuart Chase invoked in Waste and the Machine Age, his critique of how industrial technology was wastLQJQRWMXVWUDZPDWHULDOVRUPRQH\EXWDOVRKXPDQSRWHQWLDO


7KHUHLVDURRPOOHGZLWKSXQFKLQJPDFKLQHV,QIURQWRIHDFKPDFKLQHVWDQGVDworker, feeding it pieces of steel by hand. A lever is geared to the mechanism, and WRWKLVOHYHUWKHPDQLVFKDLQHGE\DKDQGFXORFNHGWRKLVZULVW7RORRNGRZQWKHORQJURRPLVWRVHHPDFKLQHVOHYHUVDQGPHQLQXQLVRQIHHGSXQFKMHUNEDFNIHHGSXQFKMHUNEDFN,KDYHKHDUGQRRWKHUVLQJOHWDVNWRGD\ZKLFKVRFORVHO\DSSUR[LPDWHVWKHJORRP\SURSKHWVSLFWXUHRIWKHURERW&KDVH

Granted, Chase proceeds to a more sanguine view of the potential for technology to improve modern life than this excerpt might suggest. Likewise, Chaplins VHQGXSRIWKHDXWRPDWHGIDFWRU\PLWLJDWHVWKHGLUHJORRPRIWKHPRVWUDGLFDOcritics of the Machine Age. Wreaking havoc throughout the factory in a parRG\RIWKHVZDVKEXFNOLQJDFWLRQWKDW&KDSOLQVIULHQG'RXJODV)DLUEDQNVPDGHfamous, the Tramp unleashes a carnivalesque chaos that delivers a rich comic SD\RXW6LPXOWDQHRXVO\LWFRQUPVKLVVWDWXVDVPLVWIRUZKLFKVRFLHW\SUHscribes a stint in a sanitarium as the only remedy.

Chaplins humorous critique of technology is not limited to the regimentaWLRQRIDXWRPDWHGIDFWRULHV7KHFURVVVHFWLRQYLHZRIWKH7UDPSEHLQJGUDZQWKURXJKWKHJHDUVDQGVSURFNHWVLQWKHIDFWRU\VLQWHUQDOPHFKDQLVPDOVRSURMHFWVWKH7UDPSJXUDWLYHO\ DVOP VWRFNEHLQJGUDZQ WKURXJK WKHPHFKDQLVPVRIWKHFDPHUDDQGWKHSURMHFWRU7KXVUHH[LYHO\&KDSOLQVLPDJHU\FRQDWHVWKHpolitical objectRIUHSUHVHQWDWLRQLQGXVWULDOWHFKQRORJ\ZLWKWKHmeans of repUHVHQWDWLRQFLQHPDWLFWHFKQRORJ\,QGHHGWKLV LPDJHVXSSRUWV:DOWHU%HQMD

)LJXUH7KHWUDPSLQWKHPDFKLQHModern Times5R\([SRUW6$6


PLQVSRLQWDERXWWKHGLHUHQFHEHWZHHQWKHDWULFDODQGFLQHPDWLFSHUIRUPDQFH7KHDUWLVWLFSHUIRUPDQFHRIWKHVWDJHDFWRULVGHQLWHO\SUHVHQWHGWRWKHSXEOLFby the actor in person; that of the screen actor, however, is presented by a camera. . . . Guided by the cameraman, the camera continually changes its position with UHVSHFW WR WKHSHUIRUPDQFH %HQMDPLQ 7KH7UDPSV VLQXRXV URXWHthrough the bowels of the factory mechanism reminds us that he is an image produced through the analogous machinery of cinematic technology, and registers Chaplins own equivocal fascination with technology: as both a yoke that EXUGHQVPDFKLQHDJHZRUNHUVDQGDWRRORIDUWLVWLFH[SUHVVLRQWKDWSURSHOVKLVown professional success.

The similarities between how Chaplin recalled his attempt to renegotiate his FRQWUDFWZLWK)LUVW1DWLRQDODQGWKLVUHSUHVHQWDWLRQRIWKH7UDPSVLVRODWLRQPXOtiply the meaning of this famous scene. Despite having eloquently explained that the extra costs entailed in making Shoulder ArmsZDUUDQWHG)LUVW1DWLRQDOto revise his contract, Chaplin surmised that he might as well have been a lone IDFWRU\ZRUNHUDVNLQJ*HQHUDO0RWRUVIRUDUDLVH&KDSOLQ7KXVWKHVWUHVVRIKLVDUWLVWLFOLIHLVUHHFWHGLQWKH7UDPSVVWUHVVIXODOLHQDWLRQLQWKHfactory scene. Chaplins experience with the studio pointed a new direction in his career; in the following year, he formed United Artists with Mary Pickford, 'RXJODV)DLUEDQNV+DUROG/OR\GDQG':*ULWK MRLQHG ODWHUE\'DYLG26HO]QLFN)RUPLQJWKLVFROOHFWLYHZDVDVPXFKDSROLWLFDODQGDUWLVWLFVWDWHPHQWDVLWZDVDEXVLQHVVVWUDWHJ\)RUDVLWVIRXQGHUVWROGUHSRUWHUV8QLWHG$UWLVWVZDVDGHFODUDWLRQRILQGHSHQGHQFHIURPSURGXFHUVDQGH[KLELWRUVRIPDFKLQHPDGHOPV0DODQG-XVWDVWKHVHDUWLVWUHEHOVHFKRHG$PHULFDVIRXQGLQJSROLWLFDO UKHWRULF LQ WKHLU UHMHFWLRQ RI WKH W\UDQQ\ RI WKH+ROO\ZRRG VWXGLRV&KDSOLQIUDPHVWKH7UDPSVIDFWRU\H[SHULHQFHWRDUWLFXODWHKLVREMHFWLRQWRERWKindustrial oppression and Hollywoods production demands.

Nor do the multiple meanings end there. In addition to the scenes obvious DSSHDOWRDZRUNLQJFODVVDXGLHQFHOLNHO\WRLGHQWLI\ZLWKWKH7UDPSVRUGHDOLWraises at least one other competing interpretation that signals Chaplins ambivalence about the power of technology in society and within the industry that DRUGHG KLP FRQVLGHUDEOH DXWKRULW\7KH QHJDWLYH LPDJHV RI FRUSRUDWH SRZHUH[SORLWSRSXODUDQ[LHW\DERXWFDSLWDOVLQGLHUHQFHWRODERUEXWWKH\SURMHFWDVZHOOKLVUHVHQWPHQWDWFRUSRUDWHVWXGLRKHDGVOLNHWKRVHDW)LUVW1DWLRQDO


WRIRXUWHHQRUVRPHWLPHVWZHOYHIUDPHVSHUVHFRQGZKLFKVWDQGDUGSURMHFWLRQVSHHGZRXOGVFUHHQDVWKH7UDPSVK\SHUDQLPDWHGVW\OHRISK\VLFDOKXPRU6RMXVWDVWKHSUHVLGHQWRI(OHFWUR6WHHO&RUSFDOOVIRUDFFHOHUDWLRQRIWKH7UDPSVDVVHPEO\OLQH&KDSOLQUHSHDWHGO\KDUDQJXHG7RWKHURKWRVORZGRZQKLVKDQGFUDQNLQJRIWKHFDPHUDLQWKHVHLPSRUWDQWFRPLFPRPHQWVWR\LHOGWKHVSHGXSDFWLRQ0F&DEH

Chaplin was a notoriously demanding director, and his cameraman was not WKHRQO\RQHVXEMHFWWRKLVDXWKRULWDULDQZLOODQGVLQJOHPLQGHGGHGLFDWLRQWRWKHHHFWKHZDVDWWHPSWLQJWRDFKLHYH$V&KDUOHV&KDSOLQ-UUHFDOOHG

0XVLFLDQVHQGXUHGSXUHWRUWXUH'DGZRUHWKHPDOORXW(GZDUG3RZHOOFRQcentrated so hard writing the music down that he almost lost his eyesight and had to go to a specialist to save it. David Raksin, working an average of twenty hours a GD\ORVWWZHQW\YHSRXQGVDQGVRPHWLPHVZDVVRH[KDXVWHGWKDWKHFRXOGQWQGVWUHQJWKWRJRKRPHEXWZRXOGVOHHSRQWKHVWXGLRRRU5RELQVRQ

7KHRSSUHVVLRQGHVFULEHGKHUHWVXQFRPIRUWDEO\ZLWKWKHOPVSROLWLFDOUKHWRric. Chaplins demanding treatment of his musicians, as well as the other artists DQGWHFKQLFLDQVZKRPKHGLUHFWHGUHFUHDWHVWKHRSSUHVVLRQWKDWKHKDGREMHFWHGto in forming United Artists and that the narrative of Modern Times criticizes. 7KXV WKHOPV UHH[LYLW\ DUWLFXODWHV&KDSOLQV RZQ FRQLFWVZLWK UHVSHFW WRSRZHUDQGWKHWHFKQRORJ\DVVRFLDWHGZLWKSRZHUDQGWKHVHFRQLFWVFRPSOLFDWHWKHUKHWRULFRIWKHOPVVRFLDOFULWLTXH

THE DYNAMO AND THE GAMIN

,IWKHOPVLPDJHVRIFDSLWDOLVWDQGODERUHUVXJJHVWDSRODULW\EHWZHHQ&KDSOLQVrole behind the camera and his representation on screen as the Tramp, then the DXGLHQFHVLGHQWLFDWLRQLVVLPLODUO\PDQLSXODWHGLQRSSRVLWHGLUHFWLRQV-XVWDVWKHOPSURPRWHVV\PSDWK\EHWZHHQWKHVSHFWDWRUDQGWKH7UDPSWKHIDFWRU\ERVVDQGWKHVSHFWDWRUDUHDOOLHGDVREVHUYLQJVXEMHFWVZKRJD]HXSRQWKH7UDPSDVREVHUYHGREMHFW/LNHWKHERVVWKHVSHFWDWRUZDWFKHVWKH7UDPSDQGGHPDQGVa satisfactory performance from him. And when, for example, the Tramp is struck LQWKHKHDGE\DIDOOLQJEHDPLQWKHVKDQW\ZKHUHKHDQGWKHJDPLQ3DXOHWWH*RGGDUGKRSHWRQGGRPHVWLFEOLVVRUKHGLYHVKHDGUVWLQWRNQHHGHHSZDWHUthe spectators laughter helps to establish the audiences distance from him, even as they generally sympathize with him as a victimized laborer.

Conversely, notwithstanding the delight the spectator may take in watching WKH7UDPSVVXEYHUVLYHSOD\RQHFDQQRWHVFDSHWKHFRQWUROWKDWWKHOPH[HUWVover this very act of watching. The slapstick tempo inhibits a viewers critical HQJDJHPHQWZLWKWKHOPEHFDXVHWKHLPDJHVDQGWKHQDUUDWLYHWKH\FRQVWUXFWSURFHHGLQDQRUGHUDQGDWDSDFHGHWHUPLQHGE\WKHGLUHFWRU7KHOPWURSHVLWVcontrol over the spectator not only in the factory bosss control over the assembly line but also, and to a greater degree, in the image of the Billows feeding machine. 'DYLG-DPHVVXJJHVWVWKDWDOPVLPDJHVDQGVRXQGVQHYHUIDLOWRWHOOWKHVWRU\RIKRZDQGZK\ WKH\ZHUHSURGXFHGWKH VWRU\RI WKHLUPRGHRISURGXFWLRQ


LQModern Times, the same holds true of the story those images tell about how they are to be received, the story of their mode of consumption. Thus, if &KDSOLQXVHVWKHDVVHPEO\OLQHDVDPHWDSKRUIRUKRZOPDQGLWVYLVXDOHHFWVare mechanically produced, then he deploys the feeding machine as a metaphor IRUKRZWKRVHHHFWVRSHUDWHRQWKHOPVVSHFWDWRU

During the demonstration of the Billows feeder, when the camera shifts its IRFXVWRWKHHDURIFRUQRQWKHURWLVVHULH[WXUHRIWKHIHHGLQJPDFKLQHVWXUQtable, the spectators gaze is directed away from the Tramp to the mechanized IRRGWKDWKHVHHV7KLVVXEWOHLVRODWHGIRFXVH[SOLFLWO\VLJQDOVKRZRXULGHQWLFDtion with the Tramp in this sequence is to work. As the spectator gazes on the same rotating ear of corn which the Tramp is about to consume, ones experience RIZDWFKLQJWKHOPDQDORJL]HVWKDWRIWKH7UDPSEHLQJPHFKDQLFDOO\IRUFHIHGalthough without the assault that he endures for our entertainment. The framing DQGFDPHUDDQJOHVWUHVVWKLVDQDORJ\EHWZHHQWKHOPDQGWKHPRWRUL]HGIRRGDQGWKXVDFNQRZOHGJHKRZWKHFDPHUDFRQWUROVWKHDXGLHQFHVJD]H)RUXQOLNHDprinted text, which a reader takes in at her own pace, pausing to question or to UHUHDGLIVRLQFOLQHGWKHOPVVFDOHRILPDJHVDQGHGLWLQJSDFHQRWWRPHQWLRQWKH HPRWLRQDO HYRFDWLRQV RI WKH VRXQGWUDFN FRQWURO WKH VSHFWDWRUV UHVSRQVHVby determining what she sees, how, when, and for how long she sees it. Georges 'XKDPHOH[SUHVVHGKLVGLVWUXVWRIOPIRUSUHFLVHO\WKLVUHDVRQLWVPRWLRQKHcontended, replaced the motion of ones own thought.

7KHOPVFOHDUHVW VWDWHPHQWVDERXWFRQVXPSWLRQHPHUJHZKHQWKH7UDPSbegins his relationship with the gamin. Immediately after having escaped the long arm of the law together, they observe a suburban homemaker waving her EUHDGZLQQHU R WR ZRUN $OWKRXJK WKH 7UDPS LQLWLDOO\ PRFNV WKLV VFHQH RIGRPHVWLFFRQYHQWLRQDOLW\KLV MHVWJLYHVZD\WRDGD\GUHDPLQZKLFKWKHJDPLQDQGKHVKDUHDSHUIHFWPLGGOHFODVVEXQJDORZ+LV IDQWDV\RI WKHLUDWWDLQLQJDpiece of the American dream, a term whose coinage is attributed to James TrusORZ$GDPVRQO\ D IHZ \HDUV HDUOLHU LQ JDOYDQL]HV WKHPERWK VHH$GDPV,QWKLVQDUUDWLYHGHYHORSPHQW&KDSOLQSURMHFWVWKHLGHDVRI+RUDFHKallen, one of the most enthusiastic theorists of the consumer cooperation movement in the United States of this period and whose seminal volume Decline and Rise of the Consumer was published the same year that Modern Times was released. In America, Kallen writes, the primacy of the consumer is a postulate of the foundations. The American Dream is a vision of men as consumers, and the American story is the story of an inveterate struggle to embody this dream in the LQVWLWXWLRQVRI$PHULFDQOLIH.DOOHQ

However, the Tramps version of the American Dream includes several disWLQFWLYH XSGDWHV )LUVW DOO RI WKH VDPH SULQFLSOHV RI HFLHQF\ WKDW RUJDQL]HGthe modern factory are present in the home he imagines, including a cow who appears at the kitchen door as if on a conveyor belt to provide milk automatically RQFXHZLWKRXWWKHODERURIPLONLQJLW7KLVUHHFWVWKHLQURDGVWKDW7D\ORULVPwas making into American culture beyond the industrial sector. After World :DU,,WKHHPSKDVLVRQKRPHHFLHQF\DQGGRPHVWLFODERUVDYLQJPDFKLQHU\


ZRXOGDFFHOHUDWHIXUWKHU6HFRQGWKH7UDPSVIDQWDV\UHHFWV7KRUVWHLQ9HEOHQVconcept of pecuniary emulation, the propensity to indulge in escalating conspicuous expenditure out of a desire to conform materially, supporting a sense RI VRFLDO EHORQJLQJ 9HEOHQ $FFRUGLQJO\ WKH7UDPSV IDQWDV\ DQGthe gamins mutual embrace of it show how they have internalized the desires VSRQVRUHGE\WKHPDVVSURGXFWLRQDQGFRQVXPSWLRQRIWKHPDFKLQHDJH)LQDOO\the utter incongruousness of the Tramps daydream to his life here or elsewhere in Chaplins representation of him is noteworthy. The Tramp had not heretofore expressed anything close to this acceptance of conventionality. Indeed, a large PHDVXUHRIKLVDSSHDOLVQRGRXEWDE\SURGXFWRIKLVLQGLHUHQFHWRWKHSUHVVXUHVWR FRQIRUP:KDWPDNHV WKH7UDPSV H[SHULHQFHGLHUHQW LQModern Times is the motivation that the gamin inspires in him. No sooner do they bond than he begins to imagine a life together, which prompts him to proclaim his willingness WRZRUNWRUHGRXEOHKLVHRUWVDVDSURGXFHU LQRUGHUWKDWVKHPD\HQMR\WKHEHQHWVRIEHLQJDFRQVXPHU

The Tramps daydream conveys this quite clearly in the comfortable furnishings and conventional aesthetics of the fantasy bungalow, and especially in the JDPLQVPLGGOHFODVVPDNHRYHU*RQHLVKHUZDLVK3HWHU3DQFRVWXPHWDQJOHGhair, and soiled face; instead, the Tramp imagines her in a stylish dress and an DSURQDIDVKLRQDEOHFRLXUHDQGPDNHXSHPERG\LQJFRQWHPSRUDU\VWDQGDUGVRIIHPLQLQHEHDXW\,IZHFRPSDUHRXUUVWJOLPSVHRIWKHJDPLQRQWKHGRFNVstealing bananas and distributing them to hungry children while striking a SLUDWHVSRVHDVVKHFOHQFKHVDNQLIHEHWZHHQKHUWHHWKWRKHUVW\OLVKGRPHVWLFimage in the Tramps daydream, we can track the source of the Tramps awakened motivation to work. The fantasy itself registers the allure of the prevailing tenets of material consumerism.

The consumerist ideal reaches its climax, appropriately, in the department store sequence. This important choice of PLVHHQVFqQH WKH VSDFH WKDW GHQHGmodern American consumerism, gives visual presence to the opulence of commercial goods provided by mass production. The department store scenes, moreover, emphasize the role of women as consumers. Like the Tramps daydream RI KRPH RZQHUVKLS WKLV HSLVRGH UHHFWV KLV HDJHUQHVV WR VDWLVI\ WKH JDPLQVneeds and wants. Department stores had long recognized that women exercised considerable economic power in their role as the purchasers of domestic goods. 0DUVKDOO)LHOG WKH VXFFHVVIXO&KLFDJR UHWDLOHUKDLOHG DV D PHUFDQWLOH JHQLXV'HQQLVKDGGUDZQWKHOHVVRQIURPKLVPHQWRU3RWWHU3DOPHUWKDWZRPHQFXVWRPHUVVKRXOGEHWUHDWHGZLWKXWPRVWUHVSHFW7KRXJK)LHOGUHFRJnized womens power to a degree considerably short of Henry Adamss reverence for Venus and the Virgin, he acknowledged his appreciation for women as consumers in a motto later adopted as the title of his biography, Give the Lady What She Wants! . Thus, the department store became an extension of the home as womans sphere, a gendered space catering to women responsible for PDWHULDOO\RXWWWLQJ WKHLUKRPHV DQG IDPLOLHV LQ WKH LPDJHRI UHVSHFWDELOLW\ 5HHFWLQJWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIWKLVFRPPHUFLDOLQVWLWXWLRQWKHGHSDUWPHQWVWRUH


in Modern Times thrills the gamin with its abundance, both creating and satisfyLQJHYHU\FRQVXPHUGHVLUH,QWKHFDIHVKHHQMR\VWKHRQO\FRPSOHWHPHDOWKDWshes ever shown eating, and from the gusto with which she devours it, we might LQIHUWKDWLWVWKHUVWVKHVKDGLQDYHU\ORQJWLPH,QWKHWR\GHSDUWPHQWVKHdelights in the carefree experiences of childhood denied to one of her marginal existence. In the haute couture department, she swaddles herself in the luxury of a IXUFRDWREVFXULQJKHUZRUQDQGOWK\UDJRIDGUHVV$QGQDOO\LQWKHIXUQLWXUHGHSDUWPHQW VKH VOHHSV LQ DQ DFWXDO EHG IXUQLVKHGZLWKQH OLQHQV EHQHDWK Dplush comforter that embraces her in its warmth, and surrounded by an excess of pillows. If the shanty she had found for them disappoints the expectations of the Tramps fantasy, the department store provides a glut of consumer goods that RYHUVDWLVHVWKHPDWOHDVWIRURQHQLJKW

Still, for all of its appeal to domestic satisfaction and its strategies of piquing womens desires and facilitating their power as consumers, the department store is an institution in sync with mechanized culture. This large mercantile orgaQL]DWLRQQRWRQO\EXUHDXFUDWL]HVFRPPHUFH LQWRGLHUHQW UHWDLOXQLWVEXWDOVRmechanizes the consumers exposure to its wares by using elevators and especially escalators to shuttle the shopper from department to department. The escalator SURYLGHV&KDSOLQZLWKDQHHFWLYHVLJKWJDJZKHQKHIDLOVWRHVFDSHWKHPLGQLJKWEXUJODUVE\DWWHPSWLQJWRUROOHUVNDWHXSWKHGRZQHVFDODWRU%XWWKDWJDJGRHVQWEHJLQWRPHDVXUHXSWRWKHVLJQLFDQFHRIWKHHVFDODWRUDVDFRUROODU\WRWKHIDFtory assembly line. Where modern industrialism achieves the mass production of goods on a mechanical assembly line, the mechanized retail operation uses the escalator analogously to assemble consumers, constructing their desire for FRPPHUFLDOSURGXFWVE\WKHWDVWHIXODUUDQJHPHQWRIDEXQGDQFHDQGH\HFDWFKLQJnovelty in each department.

Of course, the Tramp and the gamin are not actual consumers in the retail sense; they have no real purchasing power, which in the circular logic of the Depression makes them both complicit in the cause of the economic stagnation and victims of it. Indeed, in Successful Living in the Machine Age GHSDUWPHQWVWRUHPDJQDWH DQG VRPHWLPH SKLORVRSKHU (GZDUG )LOHQH RHUHG DQ XQRUWKRdox analysis of the prevailing social dilemma that the Tramp and gamins life WRJHWKHUUHSUHVHQWV(PSKDVL]LQJWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIFRQVXPSWLRQQRWSURGXFWLRQDVDGULYHURIWKHHFRQRP\)LOHQHDGYDQFHGWKHQRWLRQWKDWWKHDELOLW\RIWKHLQGXVWULDODJHWRVDWLVI\KXPDQQHHGGHSHQGHGRQNHHSLQJZDJHVVXFLHQWO\KLJKDQGSULFHVVXFLHQWO\ORZDQGRQZRUNHUVKDYLQJDPSOHOHLVXUHZLWKRXWZKLFKWKH\ZLOOQRWEHFRPHFRQVXPHUVRQDVXFLHQWO\ODUJHVFDOH)LOHQH In other words, without the means to consume, workers like the Tramp cannot provide the demand that production seeks to satisfy. Its perhaps not surprising that a philosophical department store owner would recognize that a favorable ZDJHWRSULFHUDWLRLVQHFHVVDU\WRPD[LPL]HFRQVXPSWLRQ%XW)LOHQHDSSHDUVWRKDYHXWWHUHGKHWHURGR[\LIZHFRQVLGHU&KDVHDQG6FKOLQNVLQXHQWLDODQDO\VLVof the misplaced emphasis on production during this period. They referenced WKH GHSDUWPHQW VWRUH WR XQGHUVFRUH KRZ D QHDUO\ XQLYHUVDO [DWLRQ RQ JURVV


VDOHVWKH VDFUHG FRZRI WKH UHWDLOHU IHG LQWR WKH PDNHZRUN WKHRU\WKDWSURGXFWLRQLVJRRGLQLWVHOIUHJDUGOHVVRILWVYDOXHWRFRQVXPHUV&KDVHDQG6FKOLQN Chaplin, too, would have been similarly sensitive to these condiWLRQVIRUFRQVXPSWLRQ$VDOPPDNHUKHZRXOGKDYHUHFRJQL]HGWKDWKLVRZQSURWGHSHQGHGXSRQSHRSOHKDYLQJOHLVXUHWLPHWROODQGVXFLHQWH[SHQGDEOHLQFRPHWRFRQWLQXHWREHSDUWRIDWLFNHWEX\LQJDXGLHQFH

,Q WKLV UHJDUG WKHOPV UHH[LYLW\ZLWK UHJDUG WRFRQVXPSWLRQUHSUHVHQWV&KDSOLQV RQJRLQJ FRQFHUQ DV D OPPDNHU Modern Times, like all Hollywood OPVLVDSURGXFWRIPDVVFRQVXPSWLRQ$VDSURGXFHURIVXFKSURGXFWVDOPmaker must be concerned with the likelihood of return on the investment in production. But unlike other saleable merchandise, in which price is calculated ODUJHO\IURPFRVWWKHUHWXUQRQD+ROO\ZRRGOPLVGHWHUPLQHGQRWE\DFRVWprice ratio but by volume of ticket sales.7KXVLIDOPVSURGXFWLRQFRVWVHVFDODWHUHWXUQRQWKDWLQYHVWPHQWGHSHQGVRQLQFUHDVHGFRQVXPSWLRQWKDWLVRQGHPDQG6DWLVI\LQJWKDWGHPDQGZLWKDQ\JLYHQOPLVDIXQFWLRQRIQRYHOW\ &KDSOLQDUHPDUNDEOHLQQRYDWRUUVWLQSDQWRPLPHDQGODWHULQGHYHORSLQJKLVpantomimic talent to construct sustained narratives, had an impressive record RI VDWLVI\LQJ DXGLHQFHGHPDQG%XWE\ KLV VFUHHQSHUVRQDZDVQR ORQJHUYHU\QRYHO$QGDV%HQMDPLQQRWHVWKHVFUHHQDFWRUVUHODWLRQVKLSWRWKHFDPHUDnever enables him to forget the audience: While facing the camera he knows that ultimately he will face the public, the consumers who constitute the marNHW%HQMDPLQ$OWKRXJK&KDSOLQFRQWLQXHGWRUHO\RQWKH7UDPSVsilent pantomime, the market had been transformed by Hollywoods leap into talking pictures.

Chaplins persistence as a silent actor long after the talkie had become the industry standard gave rise to a perception that he was resistant to innovation, clinging to an outmoded form of cinema. But Modern TimesLVDVLOHQWOPLQRQO\the strictest sense; Chaplin adopted sound technology in a number of inventive ZD\V7KHHHFWVRIKLVVWUDWHJLFXVHRIVRXQGXQGHUPLQHWKHFKDUJHWKDWKHZDVWLPLGUHJUHVVLYHRUDQWLWHFKQRORJ\LQKLVFLQHPDWLFDSSURDFK,QGHHGModern Times includes a number of instances in which the sound of the human voice is heard, but the speech represented on screen is almost exclusively mechanically UHSURGXFHGE\SKRQRJUDSKUDGLRRUPRVWVWULNLQJO\LQWKHPHGLDWHGLPDJHRIthe factory bosss talking head. And this crafty use of the new cinematic technology thematically matches the narrative by implicitly criticizing the imbalance of power between a capital class that controls the technology through which it DUWLFXODWHVLWVGHPDQGVDQGDODERULQJFODVVVLOHQWO\VXEMHFWHGWRFDSLWDO:LWKRXWWKHDELOLW\WRWDONZRUNLQJFODVVLQGLYLGXDOVOLNHWKH7UDPSDUHUHGXFHGWRDJXUDWLYHVWDWHRI LQIDQF\LQWKHHW\PRORJLFDOVHQVH IURPWKH/DWLQ QIQV, PHDQLQJQRWDEOHWRVSHDNDVWDWHWKDWKHRYHUFRPHVLQKLVVZDQVRQJFDEDUHWSHUIRUPDQFHDOEHLWLPSHUIHFWO\)RUZKLOHWKH7UDPSQDOO\UDLVHVKLVYRLFHKHsings nonsense lyrics in place of those he has failed to memorize. The story in WKH VRQJ LVSHUIRUPHGPRUHHHFWLYHO\ DV&KDSOLQ LQVLVWHGRI WKHEHVW DFWLQJin pantomime rather than in words. The Tramp is a hit, and his success yields


the elusive promise of steady work. In other words, to maximize the irony, the 7UDPS&KDSOLQVVLOHQWSHUVRQDQDOO\VXFFHHGVLQWKHRQHMREWKDWUHTXLUHVhim to use his voice. Although Chaplin may appear to have been stuck in practices upon which he had relied throughout his career, he instead employed the QHZVRXQGWHFKQRORJ\MXGLFLRXVO\WRDUULYHDWDQLQQRYDWLYHFULWLTXHRIERWKFODVVand the dubious merits of much sound cinema.

Of course, there was no turning back to the silent mode once the Tramps ORQJDZDLWHGYRLFHKDGEHHQKHDUGHYHQLIKHXWWHUHGRQO\JLEEHULVK%XWZLWKLQModern Times, Chaplin found himself precariously balanced between criticism of a society that had mechanized itself into an intractable economic depression, and artistic expression that relied on analogous methods of technological production. 7KURXJKWKHPHGLXPRIOP&KDSOLQGHSOR\VUHSUHVHQWDWLRQVRIWHFKQRORJ\WKDWRHUVHOIUHIHUHQWLDODQDORJLHVWRKLVFRQWURORYHUFLQHPDDQGWRFLQHPDVFRQtrol over the imagination of the spectators whose attention is dominated by the LPDJHVWKDWWKHOPSDUDGHVEHIRUHWKHP,QWKLVFRPSOH[RIWURSHVKHV\QFKVup Modern Times with the uncertainties of its moment.

Chaplins balancing act, appropriate for a physical comedian who often teeters on the brink of danger, enables us to see Modern Times DVDVXFFHVVIXOOPLQLWVRZQULJKW%XWLWDOVRUHDOLJQVWKHHLWKHURUFRQWHQWLRQVZLWKLQWKHFXOWXUHLQGXVtry debate as both/and propositions. Granted, Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno have reason to criticize the Culture Industry as a powerful institution serving the capital interests of the status quo against the individual. But Chaplins OPFKDOOHQJHVWKHLUVZHHSLQJJHQHUDOL]DWLRQWKDWWKHFXOWXUHLQGXVWU\SHUSHWXally cheats its consumers of what it perpetually promises . . . ; the promise, which LVDFWXDOO\DOOWKHVSHFWDFOHFRQVLVWVRILVLOOXVRU\+RUNKHLPHUDQG$GRUQR7RWKHFRQWUDU\WKHUHH[LYLW\RISURGXFWLRQDQGFRQVXPSWLRQWKDWModern Times employs asks the audience to recognize its critical engagement with mechaQL]HGVRFLHW\UDWKHUWKDQVLPSO\RHULQJDFRPPHQGDWLRQRIWKHGHSUHVVLQJHYHU\GD\ZRUOGLWVRXJKWWRHVFDSH+DYLQJFKDOOHQJHGWKHYHUWLFDORUJDQLzation of the studio system, Chaplin based his practices on artisans principles, not on the industrial hegemony that characterizes Horkheimer and Adornos view of modern culture gone awry. This is not to tip the balance in the direction RI%HQMDPLQZKRVHDVWXWHDQDO\VLVLQ$UWLQWKH$JHRI0HFKDQLFDO5HSURGXFWLRQ LQFOXGHV WKH RYHUO\ FRQGHQW FODLP WKDWZLWKLQ D SRSXODU DUW IRUP OLNHOPWKHFULWLFDODQGUHFHSWLYHDWWLWXGHVRIWKHSXEOLFFRLQFLGH%HQMDPLQ7RWKHFRQWUDU\EHFDXVHModern Times is a technological product that taps into popular anxiety about technology to evoke the audiences sympathy for the 7UDPSDVDWHFKQRORJLFDOYLFWLPWKHOPDOOHJRUL]HVFLQHPDVDXWKRULW\RYHULWVaudience while obscuring the actual power of its maker through his role as a beleaguered character who wins the audiences sympathy. In other words, contra %HQMDPLQWKHOPHHFWLYHO\VKRUWFLUFXLWVWKHPHUJHURISRSXODUDQGFULWLFDOUHFHSWLRQ%\SURMHFWLQJWKHGLOHPPDLQKLVRZQWHFKQRORJLFDOO\LQYHVWHGFULWLTXHof technological society, Chaplin occupies a complex position not reducible to either of these critical poles.


2EVHUYLQJ WKLVG\QDPLF UHH[LYLW\ LQModern Times is not to argue that all OPVRSHUDWHLQWKLVZD\EXWWKHSUHVHQFHRIWKLVUHFLSURFDOWHQVLRQLQ&KDSOLQVOPRHUVDQLUUHGXFLEOHUHVLVWDQFHWRSROHPLFVZKLOHPHUJLQJKLVWZRREMHFWLYHVentertainment and critique. As the product of a particular historical moment of transition in cultural attitudes about technology and about cinema, Modern Times marks an intersection of the technological production of material goods and art. Grave doubts had arisen about the promise of industrial technology to PHHW VRFLDO DQGHFRQRPLFQHHGV DQG VLOHQWOPKDGJLYHQZD\ WR VRXQGOPIn that intersection, Modern TimesUHHFWVQRWRQO\&KDSOLQVRZQSROLWLFDODQGaesthetic concerns, but also the complex meanings that technology had acquired in both the production of culture and the culture of production.

NOTES

I am grateful to the astute suggestions that my colleagues Mike Bryson, Regina Buccola, .LP5XQDQG-DQHW:RQGUDSURYLGHGRQDQHDUO\GUDIWWRWKHUHVSRQVHVWRGLHUHQWparts of my interpretation from my Roosevelt students; and to the constructive comments RIWKHWZRDQRQ\PRXVUHDGHUVRIWKHMRXUQDO6SHFLDOWKDQNVWR*UDKDP0DF3KHHDQG(OL]DEHWK/XNHQVDWCollege LiteratureDQGWR$UQROG/R]DQRDW5R\([SRUW6$6 I am not suggesting that the public was ignorant of his celebrity status. As Charles 0DODQGQRWHV&KDSOLQPDGHHYHU\HRUWWRDXQWKLVFHOHEULW\LQKLVVHULDOL]HGPHPRLURIKLVZRUOGWRXUA Comedian Sees the World$QGLQDNew York Times article, Ten Men Who Stand as Symbols, which grouped Chaplin with the Prince of Wales, 0XVVROLQL6WDOLQWKH3RSH)RUG*DQGKL/LQGEHUJK(LQVWHLQDQG6KDZ&KDSOLQZDVpresented as being able to personify oppositions: he was the highbrow who happens to be a hobo, the duke who was only born a dustman, the utterly genteel who is utterly VKDEE\0DODQG+RZHYHUWKHSURSHQVLW\RIDXGLHQFHVWRLGHQWLI\V\PSDthetically with the Tramp within the sentimental comic narratives of his invention LQGXFHVDVXVSHQVLRQRIDZDUHQHVVRIKLVRVFUHHQLGHQWLW\

'HVSLWHKLVHQWKXVLDVPIRUOPDVPHDQVRIDFKLHYLQJWKHQHRWHFKQLFSKDVH0XPIRUGFULWLFL]HGQHDUO\DOO$PHULFDQOPPDNHUV IRUVTXDQGHULQJOPVSRWHQWLDOE\ LQGXOJLQJVFDUFHO\DGROHVFHQWIDQWDVLHVFUHDWHGDQGSURMHFWHGZLWKWKHDLGRIWKHPDFKLQHWKHUHE\PDNLQJWKHPDFKLQHULWXDOWROHUDEOHWRWKHYDVWXUEDQRUXUEDQL]HGSRSXODWLRQVRIWKHZRUOG0XPIRUG

3 Indeed, the original title for Modern Times was The Masses. It was abandoned because RILWVHFKRRIWKHWLWOHRIWKHUDGLFDOVRFLDOLVWMRXUQDO

See Maland, who describes Modern Times as a case study of ambivalence about the relaWLRQVKLSEHWZHHQDHVWKHWLFVDQGLGHRORJ\

,QFRQVLGHULQJWKHUHFLSURFDOUHH[LYLW\LQModern Times, I am indebted to Robert Stams UHPDUNVRQDOOHJRULHVRISURGXFWLRQDQGVSHFWDWRUVKLSFKDSWHUVDQGModern Times appears to stand alone in combining the two. To be sure, Keaton deployed the one in The Cameraman DQGWKHRWKHULQSherlock Jr. EXW,FDQWKLQNRIQRRWKHUH[DPSOHFRQWHPSRUDQHRXVZLWK&KDSOLQRUODWHUWKDWGHSOR\VERWKLQRQHOP

7KHVHLQWHUGHSHQGHQWIRUPVRIUHH[LYLW\SRVLWLRQWKHOPEHWZHHQWKHWZRSROHVWKDWDavid James ascribes to a much later distinction in the historical development of the PHGLXPEHWZHHQLQGXVWULDOFLQHPDZKLFKHPSKDVL]HVOPDVFRPPRGLW\DQGDOWHUQDtive cinema, which reimagines and restructures the relationships among those engaged


LQWKHSURFHVVIURPSURGXFWLRQWRFRQVXPSWLRQ6HHHVSHFLDOO\WKHUVWVHFWLRQRI&RQVLGHULQJWKH$OWHUQDWLYHV-DPHV

76FRWWZHGVODLVVH]IDLUHHFRQRPLFVDQG&DOYLQLVPWRKLVWHFKQRORJLFDOYLVLRQZKHQKHdeclares that:

)ORRGVDQGGURXJKWVDUHWKHZDUQLQJRI3URYLGHQFHWKDWZHFLWL]HQVRIWKLV&RQWLQHQWKDGEHWWHUPHQGRXUVLQIXOZD\V$JURWHFKQRORJ\LVRQWKHPDUFKZLWKLWV)DUDGD\)OXLG)HHGLQJ3URFHVVRUWDQNIDUPV'URXJKWVZLOOIRUFHWKHIXUWKHUHFRQRPLFliquidation of farmers in the United States and Canada.

This forcing is seen as a providential blessing for it simultaneously compels the LQWURGXFWLRQRQDFRPPHUFLDOVFDOHRIDJURWHFKQRORJ\E\ZKLFKPDQIRUWKHUVWtime in his history will no longer be dependent upon the fertility of soil and the vagaries of the weather. Technocracy wishes to express its thanks to this providential DLG6FRWW

Although the title of his article quotes Roosevelts famous phrase, his antagonism toward New Deal policies could not have been more pointed. He singled out only these IHZZRUGVIURPWKHSUHVLGHQWLDOVSHHFKDVVLJQLFDQWDQGGLVPLVVHGWKHUHVWDVLUUHOHYDQW6FRWW

6HH%L[HVSHFLDOO\KHUUVWFKDSWHU96HH:LOVRQ3LOJULPDQG7DKMLDQIRUDQDFFRXQWRIWKHHVWKHWLFIDVFLQDWLRQZLWK

machines and machine design in the work of a wide array of visual artists. Indeed, &KDSOLQKLPVHOIVHUYHGDVDUHDGLO\LGHQWLDEOHJXUHIRUDUWLVWVZKRWDSSHGLQWRWKHethos of the machine age, as can be seen in Hart Cranes explicitly attributed poem &KDSOLQHVTXHDQGLQ)HUGLQDQG/pJHUVSDLQWLQJ&KDUORW&XELVWH7KHODWWHU LQVSLUHG/pJHU WRFROODERUDWHZLWK*HRUJH$QWKHLORQDQDQLPDWHGOPBallet Mcanique LQZKLFKWKH7UDPSLQWHUDFWVZLWKDYDULHW\RIWUDGLWLRQDODUWREMHFWVsuch as the Mona Lisa. Sherwood Andersons Perhaps Women, a meditation on the machine age as an assault on masculinity, includes an account of his visiting a factory DWQLJKWZKHUHKHZLWQHVVHVWKHJKRVWO\LPDJHRIWKHODWHVKLIWZRUNHUV)ULJKWHQHGE\WKHLPSRVLQJSUHVHQFHRIDURDGEXLOGLQJPDFKLQHKHLGHQWLHVZLWK&KDSOLQWRH[SUHVVhis sense of vulnerable impotence:

I became a Charlie Chaplin that night by the mill gate. I was, to myself at least and IRUWKHWLPHWKHUHLQWKHKDOIGDUNQHVVMXVWWKHJURWHVTXHOLWWOHJXUH&KDSOLQEULQJVupon our screen.

+H&KDSOLQWKHOLWWOHJXUHZLWKWKHFDQHSXWWLQJWKHKDWEDFNFRUUHFWO\on his head, pulling at the lapels of his worn coat, walking grotesquely, standing EOLQNLQJWKXVEHIRUHDZRUOGKHGRHVQRWFRPSUHKHQGFDQQRWFRPSUHKHQG

%UXVKLQJKLV FORWKHV DV ,ZDVGRLQJZLWK D VRLOHGSRFNHWKDQGNHUFKLHIKHZRXOGKDYHEHHQ,WKRXJKWMXVWWKHRQHWRUXQDV,KDGGRQHIURPDQLGOHURDGPDNLQJPDFKLQHWKLQNLQJLWDPDQKLVTXLFNUDWKHUIUDJLOHPLQGDQGIHHOLQJXSVHWKLVH\HVGLVWRUWLQJWKLQJVDV,VRRIWHQGR$QGHUVRQ

6HH)RXFDXOWIRUDQDQDO\VLVRIWKHSDQRSWLFRQVRSSUHVVLYHVFUXWLQ\+Halso stresses the importance of disciplinary power . . . exercised through invisibility; at WKHVDPHWLPHLWLPSRVHVRQWKRVHZKRPLWVXEMHFWVDSULQFLSOHRIFRPSXOVRU\YLVLELOLW\7KHFRUUHVSRQGHQFHRIWKLVSRZHURIYLVLRQLVFHQWUDOWROP,Q&KDSOLQVQDUUDtive, the prison is ironically the one place the Tramp comes to prefer.

6HH+LWHZKRGHYHORSVDFRPSOH[DUJXPHQWDERXWWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIHDWLQJDQGWKHGHSULYDWLRQRIWKH*UHDW'HSUHVVLRQWKDWGUDZVRQSRVWVWUXFWXUDODQDO\VLVRIKLVWRULFDOLQXHQFHVVXFKDVWKHHFLHQF\REVHVVLRQLQLQGXVWULDO$PHULFDLQWKLVSHULRG


Dan Kamin also observes this allusion in a caption under a photograph of this image, but he sees this as merely reinforcing Chaplins confrontation with sound movies in this OP-XOLDQ6PLWKPRUHSRLQWHGO\UHDGVWKLVVFHQHDVDSOD\IXOFRPPHQWDU\on the internal and external pressures upon Chaplin to keep up his level of productivity, WRNHHSWKHOPVPRYLQJRQKLVRZQDVVHPEO\OLQH6PLWK+RZHYHUDOWKRXJKChaplin did announce rather ambitious plans for his output, he had settled into a much more deliberate pace which slowed his output considerably in this period of his career. So he seems not to have responded to those particular pressures. In fact, it seems hard to imagine that Chaplin would have considered his own process under United Artists WREHDQDVVHPEO\OLQH7RWKHFRQWUDU\WKHFRPSDQ\ZDVIRUPHGE\OPDUWLVWVZKRresented being treated as interchangeable parts in the Hollywood machinery, for the express purpose of reclaiming control of their art.

:HPLJKWDOVRQRWHWKDWWKLVJOLPSVHLQWRWKHLQQHUZRUNLQJVRIWKHIDFWRU\EHOWPDFKLQHUHSOLFDWHVWKHHPSKDVLVRIWKHHDUO\DGYHUWLVHPHQWVIRU(GLVRQV.LQHWRVFRSHDQG9LWDVFRSHLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVDQGIRU/XPLqUHV&LQHPDWRJUDSKHLQ)UDQFHWKXVVXERUGLQDWLQJWKHFRQWHQWRUHHFWRIOPWRWKHSHUIRUPDQFHRIWKHDSSDUDWXVDQGWKHGLVSOD\RILWVPDJLF-DPHV

The Billows feeding machine sequence is complemented by the later factory scene LQZKLFKWKH7UDPSDVVLVWVDVXSHUYLVLQJPHFKDQLF &KHVWHU&RQNOLQ LQSUHSDULQJDdecommissioned plant to resume production. Reversing the terms and conditions of the visual rhetoric, the Tramps incompetence in the later episode leads to the mechanic being devoured into the machine, not the Tramp. The reversal is extended when the lunch whistle blows, for it is not the Tramp who is fed, as in the demonstration of the Billows machine, but rather he who feeds the supervisor trapped in the machine. The Tramps role reversal from eater to feeder corresponds to the split between Chaplins positions as both character in and creator of the narrative.

:DOWHU%HQMDPLQUHIHUHQFHV'XKDPHOVGLVWUXVWRIOPDVPDQLSXODWLQJWKHVSHFWDWRUVWKRXJKWSURFHVVDOWKRXJKLWLVDQRWLRQWKDW%HQMDPLQUHMHFWV+HDUJXHVLQVWHDGthat the interruption to the spectators typical process of association . . . constitutes WKHVKRFNHHFWRIWKHOPZKLFKOLNHDOOVKRFNVVKRXOGEHFXVKLRQHGE\KHLJKWHQHGSUHVHQFHRIPLQG%HQMDPLQ

Veblen makes a comparable point, noting that vicarious consumption and vicarious OHLVXUHDUHIXQFWLRQVSHUIRUPHGFKLH\E\WKHZLIHLQERXUJHRLVIDPLOLHV9HEOHQ

Of course, the stimulation of desire begins even before a shopper enters the store with advertisements and the spectacle of window displays. The analogy of windows to movie screens is particularly apt with department store displays. See Lancaster who attributes WKHVKRZPDQVKLSRIUHWDLOGLVSOD\VWR/)UDQN%DXPZKRDGDSWHGKLVHDUO\ZRUNPDQDJLQJKLVIDPLO\VWKHDWHUVWRKLVLQYROYHPHQWLQ&KLFDJRUHWDLO/DQFDVWHU

,QDGGLWLRQWRPDNLQJWKLVSODLQLQKLVLQWURGXFWRU\FKDSWHU)LOHQHIRFXVHVLQFKDSWHUon the importance of buying power to a sound economic system.

5HMHFWLQJWKLVWKHRU\&KDVHDQG6FKOLQNEOXQWO\DVVHUWHGWKDW0DQGRHVQRWOLYHWRkeep money in circulation; money circulates to help him live. If it does not, the whole HFRQRPLFV\VWHPKDGEHVWEHVFUDSSHGDVWKHODVWZRUGLQWRSV\WXUY\QRQVHQVH&KDVHDQG6FKOLQN

(SVWHLQVUHFHQWDQDO\VLVRI+ROO\ZRRGQDQFHVUHYHDOVDPXFKPRUHFRPSOH[DUUDQJHment of licensing agreements in the contemporary era.


7KHGHPDQG IRUQRYHOW\ LVQRWH[FOXVLYH WROP9HEOHQV DQDO\VLVRI WDVWH DQG IDVKion emphasizes the transitory qualities of novelty that generate shifts under a canon of reputability under which anything will be accepted as becoming until its novelty ZHDUVR9HEOHQ

In the opening scene of City Lights&KDSOLQPRFNVWKHLPSRUWDQFHRIVSHHFKE\distorting the orations of civic dignitaries at the dedication of a statue into a cacophony of squawks, subtly ridiculing the enthusiasm for the cinematic innovation of talking pictures. However, this opening satire of talkies in City Lights is undercut by the end of WKHVWRU\7KLVOPH[SOLFLWO\HPSKDVL]HVWKHUHOHYDQFHRIYLVLRQE\HQDEOLQJWKH7UDPSWREHPLVWDNHQE\DEOLQGZRPDQ9LUJLQLD&KHUULOODVDPDQRIFRQVLGHUDEO\KLJKHUmeans. Structured around the disparity between what she imagines and what the audience can see, City Lights FRQYH\V WKHSDWKRVRI WKH7UDPSV VDFULFH LQ IXOOOLQJKLVbeloveds dreams by giving her the money to restore her sight, and thus the means both to see and to elevate her status from street vendor to the proprietress of a legitimate RZHU VKRS+RZHYHU WKH IXOO LURQ\ RI WKH HQGLQJ WXUQV RQ WKH DELOLW\ RI WKH QRZVLJKWHGZRPDQWRUHFRJQL]HWKH7UDPSVYRLFHDYRLFHWKDWZHFDQQRWKHDUFRPLQJfrom the disheveled Tramp she now sees before her. In this epiphany, she realizes the true class identity of the man who rescued her. Thus, while the power of the spectators YLVLRQDVRSSRVHGWRWKHEHORYHGVYLVXDOGHFLWJHQHUDWHVWKHFRQLFWWKHVWRU\VUHOLance on her ability to hear what we cannot exposes the approaching limit of Chaplins HQJDJHPHQWZLWKWKHVLOHQWOP

WORKS CITED

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%L[$P\ 6XH Inventing Ourselves Out of Jobs?: Americas Debate Over Technological 8QHPSOR\PHQW. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

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sumers Dollar. New York: Macmillan.City Lights. 'LUHFWHGE\&KDUOHV&KDSOLQ'9'&KDWVZRUWK,PDJH(QWHUWDLQPHQW

'HQQLV-RKQ-U0DUVKDOO)LHOG$*UHDW0HUFDQWLOH*HQLXV(YHU\ERG\V0DJD]LQH

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Movies. Brooklyn: Melville House.)LOHQH(GZDUG$Successful Living in the Machine Age. New York: Simon and Schuster.)RXFDXOW0LFKHO Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison, translated by Alan

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-DPHV'DYLGAllegories of Cinema: American Film in the Sixties. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

.DOOHQ+RUDFHThe Decline and Rise of the Consumer: A Philosophy of Consumer Cooperation1HZ

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