Thompson supported this view that Chaplin provided, as he believed that a change in time lead to a change in the workers discipline as workers were not only alienated because of employee and employer relations but also because of what employees wanted to do and what employees have to in order to survive which also caused alienation for example Chaplin preferred be in jail rather then work in the factory therefore resistance was created which caused Chaplin to have a nervous breakdown.
A explicit scene in modern times which perfectly represents this is when the boss of the factory decided in order to drive efficiency he would no longer give employees a lunch break by introducing a new machine that would feed them known as ‘Billows feeding machine” and was enticed to the president of the factory by the salesman saying “remember if you wish to keep ahead of your competitor, you cannot afford to ignore the importance of this machine’. Yet it is the tramp that is used to test this device and once abused by the machine the president just turns and says “not practical” therefore is a key aspect in showing how employees were exploited and driven to the brink of nervousness.
Whatmore Bythell supports this view and believed that through the introduction of machines men were demotivated and exploited of their labour, he was quoted to have said “there is seemingly endless round of drudgery : the pace of their labour is determined by the persistent pulse in the ceaseless clanking of machines so and the sole beneficiary of their efforts. This is known as a characteristic of Fordism, because fordism is known as a representation of a new kind of society, worker, lifestyle and specific form of the state and civil society. This involves the moving assembly line to workers resistance, as well as a mode of regulation. Therefore from the film modern times thou Chaplin critics this remark we see how Chapin has criticised society by his representation of fordism through the factory scenes.
Another aspect of a modern industrial society is social class; this is an important aspect towards a modern industrial society because capitalism leads to an increase in wealth due to the increase in productivity via machinery. In a capitalist society class is separated by those who own the means of production therefore have power and control to those who have to work in order to survive.
This was clearly illustrated in the factory scene at the beginning of the film as you could clearly see that the president of the factory had ownership and power because of the way he would sit in his office and watch everyone else do the work by watching them from the T.V, yet order them to do work if he felt that were looking tiredsome. Furthermore there is another abstract that illustrates the social structure which is when the tramp is invited to have tea with the Chaplin and his wife which occurs on a regular basis, yet because of the tramp being from working class the woman looks down on the Tramp because of their difference in class e.g. they both react to gurgling after tea differently because of being from different background. Therefore from these two different respects Chaplin is illustrating how there was a difference in the social structure because of ownership and control in a modern capitalist society.
Lee and Newby supports this view and believed that “in the wake of the industrial revolution the notion of class became common sense, each person knew there place, for each class was identified by its principal means of monetary” goals e.g. the working class owned no land or capital, this again was illustrated in the film when Chaplin was working in the department store the orphan and the tramp tried what the upper class could afford e.g. a big white furry coat and so shows the different opportunities for different social classes.
However through an industrial capitalist society rebellion can occur because of social tensions and material poverty due to the intolerable exploitation of workers and political rebellion. This lead to time and time again waves of desperation breaking out.
In the film Modern times this was a core feature from the start to finish from the orphan stealing food to provide for her family when her dad is unemployed to when Chaplin was taken over by a communist demonstration who were unhappy with the way they had been treated in the workplace yet due to holding a flag Chaplin was known as the communist leader and so again was arrested.
Yet does Chaplin’s film modern times really represent a modern capitalist society through class because how do we really define class? To Lee and Newby the factory owner would have been middle class because he did not own the land but just participated as a professional in the industrial process, therefore is hard to define therefore has Charles Chaplin represented a true reflection of classit in his film.
A connection to social class is gender as your gender role was dependant on you class for example those who were wealthy had the typical household which involved the male being the breadwinner and the wife staying at home to care for the home and family, yet the desperation of working class in order for them to survive lead them to the women also having to work.
This was illustrated in the film, from both a middle class point of view when the tramp and the orphan dreamt of what it would be like to have a home and for the orphan to play the housewife, yet the reality of it was the orphan had to work in a bar in order to survive.
However what we also see from this film which isn’t part of a modern capitalist society is how the orphan is given equal status to Chaplin, yet according to a capitalist society it is men who have power, therefore does it show a true refection of what happen in a modern capitalist society?
Alice Clark supports this and she believed that women had better opportunities before the industrial revolution because women had more opportunities as well as experiencing equality between husband and wife, whilst in a modern industrial society this was not the case, according to Shorter he believed that women’s labour was controlled by the husband because of living in a patriarchal society. Women were seen as inferior therefore had less equal rights.
To conclude, the film Modern Times can be seen as a representation of mass production via the assembly line and how workers was treated for example how Chaplin was dehumanized by machinery. This film represents a rage against machinery. Whatsmore it also shows other aspects of a modern society for example gender and class from how the orphan has been characterised to the hierarchy within the factory. Yet though we can see main characteristics of a modern industrial society a counter argument of this is Chaplin specifically says that “
