T H E N A I V E F I L M M A K E R

Charlie Chaplin is the most recognisable face in cinema and its entire 126 year history. But as a teenager I had very little knowledge of him, I understood the references to him in pop culture but despite being an avid film buff, my love of cinema was not born in the Golden Age but in New Hollywood.

My first brush with Chaplin was in an A Level History class (the one A level I successfully obtained). My history teacher was discussing with us the effects Nazi Germany had on the Arts. The fleeing of Fritz Lang to America and Charlie Chaplin’s standing up against a largely Nazi sympathising Hollywood.

Chaplin’s films were popular in Germany in the twenties and thirties. Our teacher proudly told us the story in which Charlie Chaplin refused to shake hands with a Nazi and responded to the idea of his being Jewish with “I’m afraid I don’t have that honour”. Making very clear his allegiances. It is difficult to believe that this was a move that effected his popularity in Hollywood for the worse.

Our teacher told us this story with such pride that one might think it was his own witty line and rebuff of an evil ideology. This story wasn’t in our A Level exam. But it made for an interesting lesson and encouraged me to first watch the 1992 Biographic Chaplin. Followed by the 1940 political satire The Great Dictator.

The Great Dictator was an important film in so many ways! While all of his films had been laced with political and social commentary, it had never been quite so conspicuous; especially in a time when the United States had not even decided whether they should join the war, and where a great deal of Hollywood held a questionable position on who’s side they were on.

But the speech delivered by The Jewish Barber in a case of mistaken identity stands as one of the most important of all time. It has stood the test of time more than any other speech in film history and continues to remain popular among audiences today. A quick Youtube search will deliver hundreds of copies of the speech, many with inspiring Hans Zimmer music edited into the background.

But the question is why is the relevance of this speech so significant in the world; with the threats of Hitler and Mussolini long in the past.

I have a few ideas based on the words of the speech:

“I should like to help everyone if possible. Jew, Gentile, Black Man, White, we all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery”. We don’t want to hate and despise one another. And this world has room for everyone, and the good Earth is rich and can provide for everyone”.

I suppose this is self-explanatory, the nature of man is that we want to love and help each other, regardless of our respective backgrounds. However even today we are still incredibly divided by such irrelevant traits such as race or religion. Individuals are generally good people, but the world is still so polluted by the plague of racism much of which is systemic and fuelled by misinformation and blame. Immigrants still continue to be scapegoated and many people of faith hold each other in contempt for slight variations of doctrine, regardless of the fact most religions have the same basic message. “Don’t be a dick”. It doesn’t take a world war or a global pandemic to see the poverty and suffering that people are going through throughout the world, made worse by corrupt governments and a minority of shady characters.

“…We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness…The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood, for the unity of us all”.

The aeroplane and the radio are machines that are no longer a luxury to many of us, international travel is more affordable than ever and we are living in an information age of television, internet, social media and constant connection to the rest of the world. But are we happier for it? I would say that in many cases these devices have been used for the betterment of the world and an increase of education.
But are we more socially anxious and uninterested in talking to people. A stranger speaking to me isn’t a daily occurrence anymore, but an occasional hassle I have to deal with. I live in an apartment building for which we all have a groupchat, we exchange jokes and make polite conversation, but then proceed to ignore each other and gaze at the floor in passing.

We all think we’re too clever for the world around us. Twitter is full of leftists trying to expose the fascist in anyone who feels like paying less tax and likewise the right are too busy trying to own the lib who has the audacity to suggest that everyone deserves healthcare.

I don’t think it would be completely out of order to say that people are just as isolated and lonely and lost as they were in 1940. Maybe even more?

“Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women, and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say do not despair. The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish”

Despite an aggressive start that highlights the suffering of many at the hands of others, which today is still just as much a result of war, poverty, corruption and violence as it was in 1940, there is a hopeful reflection in that it will one day pass and that the world will one day become free and all people will live a better standard of life.

In some ways this is coming to fruition, not only has the information age allowed us to hold others to account especially those in powerful positions. While once nearly everyone lived in poverty, that statistic is much lower now. Although every society has its forgotten and in the days of a global pandemic those numbers may begin once more to rise.

However the hopeful message is one that most people still need to hear, we still live in a world of dictators and of hatred and violence, continuing the relevance of the speech.

“Soldiers! Don’t give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think, and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you, treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate, the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!”

Our world is still torn apart by war. There are 40 active conflicts around the world at the moment. Opinions differ on the validity of these wars, varying from the belief that they are necessary conflicts to topple dictatorships to the theory that they are all motivated more by self-interest than the liberty we all crave so much. An estimated 36,000,000 people took part in Iraq War Protests in 2003 alone. Demonstrating a clear disdain in people for war. During elections anti-war candidates frequently score the highest popularity rates among soldiers. The second world war ended 75 years ago and yet the world is just as violent and divided as it once was. The world remains unstable and very little progress seems to have been made. So it’s no wonder people are attracted to an anti-war speech. Notably he is not demanding the dismantlement of the military as many seem to support these days. But he is saying they should fight for the right reasons. This was a direct call to action against the fascist regime of Hitler, although he would be accused of trying to stir up communist sentiment in the USA, something which ultimately lead to his exile in Switzerland.

“In the 17th Chapter of St Luke it is written: “the Kingdom of God is within man” (The Christian in me loves a biblical quote in an inspiring speech. But that isn’t relevant) not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people have the power, the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure”.

This is a very powerful call for unity and a shared goal that dominates the speech. It is hopeful in that it acknowledges the goodness in people and their ability to create amazing technology and innovations, the kind of products that we enjoy and rely on, however he is asking that they be used for the betterment of mankind. In many ways we have life easier than ever before, nearly everyone carries a small device that connects them to the entire world; the existence of cat pictures and memes is literally manufactured happiness. Travelling abroad is now the norm and not the exception and people are able to experience all kinds of cultures first hand. We have all the necessary pieces for happy lives, however that goal remains just out of reach for nearly everyone.

“…men a chance to work, that will give youth a future, and old age a security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise! They never will! Dictators free themselves, but they enslave the people! Now let us fight to fulfill that promise! Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness”.

This part of the speech is really the George Orwell effect.

It has been interpreted by some as a socialist utopian view and by others as a libertarian one. It could be simplified to be a humanist utopia and a generic criticism of bad things, most people agree that greed, hate and intolerance are bad, even if we do live in a world that is rife with it. I find Chaplin’s disdain for national barriers incredibly interesting as he spent the majority of his life as an immigrant in the USA. Just now in the UK Brexit has taken place and while there were many reasons both in favour of and against Brexit, it seems the domination of the debate was on immigration. It seemed unbelievable to me the disdain that people could have for their own kind over something as trivial as birthplace. As always the only people suffering as a result of the bitter interactions of nations are the innocent parties living in those nations.

“…Look up, Hannah. The soul of man has been given wings, and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow, into the light of hope, into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us.”

The end of the speech is the soundtrack to the seemingly happy ending of a film that would land Chaplin on Hitler’s personal Hit List and would play a huge role in rallying US support for military intervention in World War 2.

It’s an endlessly inspiring speech in an incredibly enjoyable film. The speech is as relevant today as it was in 1940 and we can only hope that one day things will improve and it will become less relevant and merely a much loved piece of film history.