Chaplin going hard in THE IMMIGRANT (1917), cutting from a shot of the Statue of Liberty to the dehumanizing treatment of the immigrants aboard a ship (with a tiny dallop of slapstick thrown in).
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Just as important to point out that so many of the ignorant republicans had ancestors that were on these ships, and were granted citizenship by stepping off the boat and signing a log book. Now they complain about people who have to spend 5-10 years while their paperwork is ignored.
Koko's linguistic skills ere exaggerated and used by her trainer for sexual harassment (really). Her communication was nonsensical when examined by actual experts in sign language.
Chaplin is often dismissed with a hand-wavey "Oh, he had pathos" but the political content of his comedies has been aging like fine wine, unfortunately.
The original core moviegoing audience in the USA was made up of people who had either experienced these ships themselves or were related to people who had. This sort of empathy for immigrants, the poor and the working class was the backbone of Chaplin's enduring popularity.
I think him being a socialist is why his comedies have been aging so well with its political commentary and unfortunately led him to exile in Switzerland.
It's fascinating to see the change, even in the last few years. When I got on twitter in 2013, nobody but nobody admitted to liking anything so cringe as a Chaplin comedy.
I used to play this for my 4th and 5th grade drama students as an arts/social studies integration project. They were learning how to tell stories without words and Chaplin was a great resource. We also watched The Kid -- they were riveted! Modern Times I saved for 7th grade.
The fact that he was exiled from the US for years because his politics were too left leaning to be an American should tell you everything you need to know about America.
He was British, partly of Romani family. His politics were rooted in his early life, which was quite Dickensian – music halls, the workhouse, a mentally-ill mother…
Me clicking on the unmute icon like an absolute eejit 🤦♀️
Maybe I was expecting music or something. Eejit 😁
Side note: Chaplin and Harold Lloyd are my all time favourites of the era (so many happy memories of Harold Lloyd shows on Friday night BBC2 in the 80s - just before Monkey 🥹)
Ask every maga you know, why haven’t any Iowa meat packing plants been raided, or farms in CA or TX or FL? Isn’t that who they were worried about? Why no tech worker visas revoked? $$$$$
This film came out a few yrs after my Grandfather left Sweden for America. He followed a bro & sister. He married my Grandmother in 1917, a child of Norwegian immigrants who left Norway 10 yrs earlier to build farms in Kansas. I have their Citizenship booklets from this time. Gpa told me of his...2)
2) experiences. When looking for work, he was chosen near the end, due to his heavy Swedish accent, but ahead of workers from Italy, Ireland or southern Europe. He said he witnessed discrimination worse than what his bro & sister had described. But he built a furniture company & was successful...3)
3) He was so proud to be an American & showed me his Citizenship booklet & papers. Both my Grandparents told me Sweden & Norway were poor when they left - still a feudal society where the king & nobility ruled the peasants. Kind of like what America is becoming today.
Ha ha ha. Me, watching this on my phone and for a split second worrying about accidentally playing the movie audio over the podcast audio my kids are listening to on the Bluetooth speaker. 🤦🏼♀️
That’s probably what it like right at this moment, except they you real batons high pressure hoses with freezing cold water, with complimentary beatings while your wet and naked!
Between this, Modern Times and The Dictator, Chaplin knew what was up and tried to tell people. What's crazy is that his work is still so relevant today!
I would like to thank mildly subversive beatnick 1970s Public TV affiliate programming directors for paying the reasonably low fees & for Geraldine Chaplin getting the licenses sorted so a young generation of eyes would be exposed to Charlie's vision of the USA, & beyond.
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Alas, Koko was another victim.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/feb/21/2
His expressions and physicality were just amazing, even for a time when those were the only tools performers had.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDHlL8i67jY&ab_channel=trogwallaby
Maybe I was expecting music or something. Eejit 😁
Side note: Chaplin and Harold Lloyd are my all time favourites of the era (so many happy memories of Harold Lloyd shows on Friday night BBC2 in the 80s - just before Monkey 🥹)
Since the USA No Longer Represents 'Life, Liberty and Happiness.'
Kompromatted Krasnov... Bigly Sad.
*turns on sound*
*remembers he was a silent movie star*