Film Persona

Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” In 1927, Alan Crosland released " The Jazz Singer ," the first sound film. By 1931, most of Hollywood had transitioned to producting primarily sound pictures. Writers from across the country began migrating to Southern California to participate in the booming industry that would become known as the world’s stage for film. In 1931, Charlie Chaplin released what many believed would be his final silent film, " City Lights ." However, five years later, Chaplin made one last contribution to this timless art form with his masterpiece " Modern Times ." Although " Modern Times " is not entirely a silent film - it features occational dialogue and sound effects - it is largely told from the perspective of Chaplin’s most iconic character, the Tramp. Through this character's lens, the film retains the spirit of silent cinema. Sadly, " Modern Times " marked the Tramp's final appearance on screen, giving audie...

Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” In 1929, America experience a financial depression unlike anything ever seen in history. The Great Depression would go on to last until early 1933, in which American film studios would utilize the newfound technology of sound to release talking pictures that were frivolous in nature, so as best to distract the nation from the woes they faced. Charlie Chaplin knew that the era of the silent film was coming to an end but decided to make one last silent picture (until he decided once again to make one final stamp on the silent era 5 years later with Modern Times). Charlie, who had never made a film for a depression-era audience did what he knew to do best, mix the frivolity of laughter with the emotion of drama. With this foundation, he made what some consider the greatest of his work, City Lights, in 1931.  The film opens with a crowd awaiting the unveiling of a new city statue. Political figures are giving speeches to the crowd before the unveil. Chap...

Charlie Chaplin’s “The Circus” Thematic Elements:   Charlie Chaplin is no stranger to circus life. In 1906 at age 17, Chaplin joined a juvenile act at Casey’s Circus after spending his childhood being a young performer for Victorian Music Halls and West End productions. Chaplin’s film, The Circus, presents not only the circus life that Chaplin has been familiar with throughout his life, but also the entertainment industry in general. The film begins with the image of a star. At the next moment, a woman crashes through the star to reveal that it was the image of a star of a paper circus prop. The viewer sees that they are in a performance in which clowns are running around the ring while a girl stands on a horse as it encircles it. Perhaps the image of the star then cutting to the performance itself if Chaplin suggesting the stardom that comes from performing for an audience – the lights, the attention, and the applause. However, as the show concludes and the woman gets off the hors...

Charlie Chaplin’s “The Gold Rush” Thematic Elements:  In 1925, America was facing an economic boom signifying an increase of the material wealth for the average citizen. In retrospect, this economic boom would deem the decade to be called “The Roaring Twenties” for its remembered celebration of the increases in wealth and the lavish lifestyles of the benefactors of this wealth increase. However, Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush would question the origins of this newfound American lifestyle and all those who would be riding this prosperity train further and further away from their common fellow citizens.  The Gold Rush takes place in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush of Alaska. America had been experiencing a gold rush since 1848 when thousands would travel across the western lands of the continent to mine and search for golds and other riches, hoping to catch hold of the American dream they were promised. This promise is the entire foundation for that which America is founded ...

  Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid” Thematic Elements:  To understand Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid”, first you must understand Charlie Chaplin’s childhood. Chaplin and his brother Sydney had to endure a very difficult childhood with an absconding father and a mentally ill mother, leading Charlie and Sydney to frequently be in and out of various institutions. This aspect of Chaplin’s life informs the themes present in The Kid, in which Chaplin presents a story set firmly in poverty-stricken streets with its characters facing real hardships. However, it is Chaplin’s embracing of these hardships and offering the antidote of emotional bonding that overcomes this. The horrors of the world and the abandonment felt by the characters create a need for both sentiment and humor. The Kid begins when a woman is released from a charity hospital and abandons her baby soon after. She feels she cannot provide for the baby and places him in someone’s car with a note asking whoever finds him to take ca...

Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” Thematic Elements:  In 1946, a lot of Americans looked back on the last half century as a dark and stormy period – one that consisted of a viral pandemic, a great global war, a financial collapse that resulted in nationwide poverty, and then a second ever more destructive war. During this reflection of this dark period, many people were exhausted from the major crises that had plagued them throughout the years causing a national temperament of depression, resentment, and psychological and financial suffering. Upon returning to Hollywood after the war, Frank Capra and James Stewart created one of the most popular films of all time – one that represented this deep depression that society was facing at the time. It is the story of a man who starts with lofty dreams, only to realize over time that life wasn’t what he thought it would be and that tragedy and ruin are always around the corner. However, Capra’s film offers up hope in the face of this ...

Frank Capra’s “Arsenic and Old Lace” Thematic Elements:  In 1944, Frank Capra adapted the popular stage play, “Arsenic and Old Lace” for the film screen. This was during a time when the entire world was thrown into chaos with World War II. The temperament at the time was that of confusion and chaos, ultimately resulting in questions about morality, both individual and collective morality, and the judgement of others that extends from it. Arsenic and Old Lace is a film that poses such questions. Throughout the 30’s Capra had participated in what many consider ‘screwball comedies’ in which lively and likeable characters come across uncertain and questionable circumstances, circumstances that place them in the opposite situation of which they find comfort. When the 1940s came, so did the war. Along with the war came much darker American films, most notably the film noir movement. Arsenic and Old Lace is not at all a noir film, but Capra does do something interesting; he takes the prot...