Albert Einstein once said: “it has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” In today’s world of instant communication and technology, it is easy to get lost in a digital world. Her (2013), directed by Spike Jones, addresses this topic head-on through the romantic relationship between the protagonist Theodore and his Operating System, Samantha. Despite the story taking place in a future world, the message it offers is not unlike those of films of the past. Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936) uses film language to directly critique the industrialization of America and the poverty of the Great Depression. Despite the films having a seventy-seven year difference in production, both reflect and critique the world
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The “Feeding Machine” scene in which Chaplin’s character ‘The Factory Worker’ is being force-fed by a machine while having to do his production-line job is a direct critique on the working conditions of people during the industrialization period. The “Feeding Machine” itself is satire, as it represents harsh working conditions workers were forced into. Despite the movie being silent, the non-diegetic music creates a chaotic tone that helps portray the frenzied ‘efficiency’ of factory life. The music is fast-paced and hurried, similar to the themes used in other factory scenes in the movie. The machine’s functions are all shown in one long shot, focusing the audience on the Factory Worker’s reactions and physicality. As the machine begins to malfunction, physical comedy to used to lighten the mood, yet the critique of corporations and factories still evident in the undertones of the scene through the use of pacing. Lasting five minutes, the entire scene uses editing between characters to portray the chaos and heighten the humor for the audience. The camera repeatedly cuts from the Factory Worker to the businessmen and scientists scrambling to fix the machine, yet not helping the Factory Worker himself. More concerned with machine than man, the characters are used to poke fun at how factory owners were concerned …show more content…
Throughout the film, the characters have to depend on each other to survive and constantly long for what they can’t have. After they first meet, the Factory Worker daydreams about living in a ‘real’ home. The scene transforms from the dirty characters on the side of the road to them in a very clean, ‘stereotypical’ house. The idealized dream sequence uses humor to emphasize what the characters wish they had instead of what their reality is. The characters themselves transform in personality as well, they both conform to the standards that couples typically had during the time. The rough and tough Gamin becomes the sweet, obedient housewife, forced into the gender roles of the time that she typically breaks. The bumbling Factory Worker becomes the well-off businessman, wearing a crisp suit and milks a cow that comes walking right up to the kitchen door. Despite this being their “perfect” life, the characters interact awkwardly and rigidly with the setting around them, showing their unfamiliarity with this lifestyle. The scene then transitions to the Factory Worker acting out his dreams back on the side of the road, exemplifying the disconnect between his reality of poverty and the perfect life he wishes he had. Their struggle for a normal life continues when the Gamin finds a little shack to live in.
The “Feeding Machine” scene in which Chaplin’s character ‘The Factory Worker’ is being force-fed by a machine while having to do his production-line job is a direct critique on the working conditions of people during the industrialization period. The “Feeding Machine” itself is satire, as it represents harsh working conditions workers were forced into. Despite the movie being silent, the non-diegetic music creates a chaotic tone that helps portray the frenzied ‘efficiency’ of factory life. The music is fast-paced and hurried, similar to the themes used in other factory scenes in the movie. The machine’s functions are all shown in one long shot, focusing the audience on the Factory Worker’s reactions and physicality. As the machine begins to malfunction, physical comedy to used to lighten the mood, yet the critique of corporations and factories still evident in the undertones of the scene through the use of pacing. Lasting five minutes, the entire scene uses editing between characters to portray the chaos and heighten the humor for the audience. The camera repeatedly cuts from the Factory Worker to the businessmen and scientists scrambling to fix the machine, yet not helping the Factory Worker himself. More concerned with machine than man, the characters are used to poke fun at how factory owners were concerned …show more content…
Throughout the film, the characters have to depend on each other to survive and constantly long for what they can’t have. After they first meet, the Factory Worker daydreams about living in a ‘real’ home. The scene transforms from the dirty characters on the side of the road to them in a very clean, ‘stereotypical’ house. The idealized dream sequence uses humor to emphasize what the characters wish they had instead of what their reality is. The characters themselves transform in personality as well, they both conform to the standards that couples typically had during the time. The rough and tough Gamin becomes the sweet, obedient housewife, forced into the gender roles of the time that she typically breaks. The bumbling Factory Worker becomes the well-off businessman, wearing a crisp suit and milks a cow that comes walking right up to the kitchen door. Despite this being their “perfect” life, the characters interact awkwardly and rigidly with the setting around them, showing their unfamiliarity with this lifestyle. The scene then transitions to the Factory Worker acting out his dreams back on the side of the road, exemplifying the disconnect between his reality of poverty and the perfect life he wishes he had. Their struggle for a normal life continues when the Gamin finds a little shack to live in.