Mural Displays Factory Workers example essay topic

There are so many strong factors in this film that describe the conditions of the time. I think the strongest qualities of this film included the opening scene of sheep herds representing the flocks of workers flooding into the factory to begin their work day. The president of the Company is also a strong role in the film's pursuit to stress the message of how upper management can make or break you in desperate times. It also conveys the message that the factory worker is being watched all the time as portrayed by the President's two way tv screen that monitors the workers.

The assembly line scenes represent the main object of work in the factories, hard and constant labor on a endless series of machine parts. The beaten up shack that Charlie and his girlfriend lived in is also another good example of how a lot of people lived at the time. This film relates to the time period by displaying the struggle of the industrial workers and the demand for work. A prime example of the desperate times that they were in is displayed by the girl stealing the bananas to feed her family.

Another very obvious element that relates to the time period is the factory, the film displays the work setting with humongous machinery and large quantities of workers. The factory also expresses the economic trends of the time, where one factory owner would be rich and cut the working conditions and pay of the factory workers to gain their own personal wealth. The only thing I think they could have done better with the factory set was to make it look dirty and crowded like many of the factories at the time. The jails were pretty right on the mark with the time setting. Since so many people had no place else to go they would commit crimes to get in jail and have 3 square meals a day and a roof over their head. The accusation that Charlie was a communist is also a great example of the times.

Everyone was so paranoid over communist spies during the early stages of the cold war, so basically anyone was a prime suspect. Chaplin's yearning to create quality work drove him over the edge, you could see how society's views changed from the begging of the film to the end. The economic situation went from having everything to nothing, they were forced to start new. If I had to relate this movie to a piece of art work from class I'd say it would be Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry's north wall mural. I'd choose this just because it embodies the pure raw elements of the factory worker and man. This mural displays factory workers wearing the same uniforms as Chaplin did and just gives the viewer a good sense of what factory life is all about.

The towering machines and assembly line in the factory are excellent examples. Although Rivera's mural has a sense of harmony and peacefulness to it, unlike Chaplin's screwball antics, it still relates to the movie greatly This film gave me a increased understanding of the impact that the industrial revolution left, and how it was a huge role in society. The industrial revolution changed everything, from the quality of life for people to the influence on artists and filmmakers. It was such a important change that almost every aspect in "Modern Times" is represented by the age of industrialism, from the work that people did down to the clothes that people wore. The post industrial rev. time period also influenced art as represented by works from Charles S heeler, Francis Pica bia, and Gerald Murphy.