Lights, Chaplin, Action!: A Tribute To Charlie Chaplin

Charles Spencer Chaplin, better known as Charlie Chaplin is recognised by many for his flair as a comedic actor, a filmmaker, and to few even a music composer. He is often deemed to be the centrefold of Comedy during the Silent era. Spanning a career of over 75 years, he single-handedly managed to turn the novelty of making people laugh into an art form. Chaplin’s movies along with the comedic entertainment that they brought, carried a deeper message pointing towards social inequality, spreading the message of humanity, and above all shared his sentiment to be kind to each other. You can see and feel these values in underlying tones converging as a whole if you see them through larger lenses in his incredible work of satire. Today on his death anniversary, we reflect on the intricacies of his work.

   

Courtesy: Los Angeles Times

Chaplin was a child of a broken home. Growing up he had a childhood riddled with downtrodden poverty and hardships. His mother often suffered from ill-health, and his father was an alcoholic. This resulted in him living in an orphanage at the mere age of seven. Chaplin often took his mother’s place at different shows whenever she was unable to, ultimately sparking his interest in performing. Chaplin’s early career comprised clog dancing at various music halls. Although the act was a huge success, he quickly realised that dancing was not something cut out for him. He aspired to form a comedy act. What followed was a series of different gigs throughout his teen years.

By May 1906, Chaplin joined Casey’s Circus and quickly became the star of the show. By the time the act finished around July 1907, the 18-year-old had become an accomplished comedic performer. He went on to make his film debut in 1913, starring in “Making a Living”. It would be a disgrace to not talk about his famous persona, the Little Tramp. The character came to life in 1915 in the movie ‘The Tramp’ (unpredictable much?). When we say Charlie Chaplin, we envision a short man with baggy trousers, large shoes, a flexible cane, and of course the legendary toothbrush moustache, but that was Little Trampone of Chaplin’s prominent persona! He played Little Tramp in 25 out of 36 movies he made in association with the Keystone studios. So we do not blame you for being uninformed of his other characters!

Courtesy: Pinterest

Chaplin’s talent and potential at his work weren’t hard to spot, leading to considerable press attention. Many critics went as far as citing him as “one of the best pantomime artists ever seen here”. Think about it, in the present world where launching people into the land of fame is barely one viral post away, Charlie Chaplin managed to become a revolutionary comedic figure in the 1910s when the film industry was very young. Neither was there colour nor words in most of his work. But that never stopped him from making movies that remain to be relevant even after several decades. His actions and movements were enough to send everyone into a spiral of guffaw.

Making people laugh by weaving stories, is already an assiduous task, managing to do so triumphantly by replicating how humans react and treat each other under different circumstances and drawing the comical juice out of it tells that you are in the presence of a true genius.

However, Chaplin didn’t earn the ‘icon’ status overnight; he kept tweaking and refining his look and sensibility throughout his prolonged career without ever abandoning his style. Now, 42 years after his demise, we see all of these performances as subtly different but still recognise them as expressions of the overall Chaplin persona. Surprisingly, Chaplin at the start of his career declared his dislike for keystone films. Little did he know he would belt out some of the biggest classics of that era, movies that will pass down to different generations, being watched over and over again due to their brilliance, some exceptionally well known to this date. The two most notable works of his in this domain capturing the unjust social backdrop of that time namely The Great Depression and the atrocities of the Nazi government are “Modern Times” and “The Great Dictator” respectively.

Courtesy: IrishCentral 

“In this world, there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.”

Charlie Chaplin, The Great Dictator.

Sadly when you realise these words from the movie’s monologue hold true after eighty years since his demise you contemplate not only how well Chaplin understood human psychic warfare but also how little we’ve come far as a society.

In the movie ‘Modern Times’, Chaplin portrayed Little Tramp as a factory worker who’s deeply affected by the aftermath of The Great Depression. Mass Unemployment and the industrial revolution were two social issues people faced during the 1930s. Guess what we are facing in 2020? Bingo! We are facing the worst ever economic recession to exist after the Great Depression. Millions of people have either lost their jobs or fear losing them anytime soon due to obvious reasons. But what we fail to notice is that be it the 1930s or the 2020s the anxiety people would go through in the face of unemployment will always remain dreadful, and that is precisely the reason why Chaplin’s work would forever remain evergreen.

 

“Unemployment is the vital question… Machinery should benefit mankind. It should not spell tragedy and throw it out of work.”

-Charlie Chaplin, Modern Times

He already predicted the substitution of people by machines. It is truly disheartening to know that the world is still unable to secure the human race of their livelihood in the face of adversity.

Amongst Modern Contemporary films ‘Joker’ is one of the best movies ever to exist; it’s more than just a psychological thriller, it shows how society could turn a man with mental illness into a villain capable of starting a riot. ‘Modern Times’ is very similar to Joker in that aspect, even though the former is supposed to be an act of humour, Chaplin never failed to incorporate the tragic reality in his work.

The movie ‘Modern Times’ revolves around how Little Tramp goes berserk after a journey through a conveyor belt. This serves as an analogy to the monotonous and anxious workstyle to have existed back in the 1930s. The analogy, unfortunately, works perfectly well for the present work style as well. Everyone is too busy being part of the rat race that we forget we are living for ourselves. It is very surreal to know that all of Chaplin’s works are timeless and eternal, making them relevant to this date.

Courtesy: Twitter 

 

What set Chaplin Apart from the general farceurs of the silent eras and those present even today is not only the way of delivery of his work but the work itself. Silent era comedies were works full of untimed falls, sight gags, and the classic “slipping on a banana peel” skit. Many comedians at the time built their entire careers around this and were successful as well, It was an impregnable and risk-free road to travel on, but Chaplin was different. His brand of work connected to people on a deep, psychological level. The characters in Chaplin’s most popular works that end up being the butt of the joke in his stories are often observed to be sturdy and powerful people in position, making it simply more enjoyable for us.

Have you ever found yourself laughing at a frail, helpless little boy? Unless you’re a sadistic maniac, the answer would be no. It’s possible Chaplin knew this; we as humans find a certain degree of delight in others misfortunes as a way to feel if not superior, equal to those who we aspire to be-schadenfreude as the Germans call it., It’s the whole premise of takedown culture, misery loves company as they say.

Chaplin took it upon himself to play this part. He incorporated this tendency in his work to get a reaction out of the audience. Watching the muscled guy trip and fall makes us laugh, why? Because he is strong, we are not. Watching Chaplin play a game of cat and mouse with a bumbling cop who is not able to beat him at his own game, gives us satisfaction. Why? Because he has authority in real life, we don’t. (you get the gist.)

Chaplin was a skilful maestro at attaching personal strings in his characters and jokes. We laughed not only because it’s hilarious, but also because we can relate to it, the suffering. This defence mechanism of knowing you are not alone in your hardships brings relief to troubled hearts of some sort. Hence the reason why tragedy and comedy strolled so neatly alongside in his work! Popularity, however, comes at its own cost.

Courtesy: Daily Mail

Towards the end of his career, Chaplin often found himself in hot waters due to his political affiliations and ideologies. The American political landscape was very delicate at the time. Added to this, his personal life, failed marriages and clandestine affairs became fodder for tabloids. What followed was enormous backlash and general detest from the audience. People who kept Charlie Chaplin at the highest point of the flagpole now decided to lower him down and throw him away. Chaplin however, in the face of this backlash, kept his focus on making art. 

There were several comparisons drawn between him and Hitler. Both were born four days apart and carried a toothbrush moustache as many called it. Chaplin clapped back by making “The Great Dictator” making fun of Hitler and his beliefs, renouncing them. What could’ve been his riskiest work yet, went on to become one of his most commercially and critically successful projects, landing him five Oscar nominations.

Courtesy: Hollywood Reporter 

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.”

Charlie Chaplin’s career and life were full of upheavals. Most people in his position would have lifelong carried the childhood trauma of losing their parents and growing up poor. Chaplin, however, found a way of making a lark out of his misery and playing with this pain is essentially why he is still standing tall at the precipice of the cinematic mountain. It is also the reason why echoes of his works and methods can be found in slapstick comedies worldwide, going on to inspire generations of humour!

 

Written by Adil Khan and Shradha Nair for MTTN    

Edited by Rithik Talwar for MTTN

Featured Image by Manmeet Singh for MTTN

Leave a Reply

Proudly powered by WordPress | Theme: Baskerville 2 by Anders Noren.

Up ↑