I feel as though I need to re-establish, primarily for myself, the purpose of a Saturday Morning Cinema segment. The likelihood of consistently watching a movie and piecing together cogent, worthwhile thoughts to publish on a Saturday morning is nil. Instead, Saturday Morning Cinema should aim to be the marker identifying a spot to talk about movies. Currently, nearly all the movies in the conversation are part of the AFI Top 100 as I expand my viewing horizons. Yet, there can also be movies that surprise and just plain make you feel good – the kind that feel like a hug or a shield to the world whenever they are on. So, Saturday Morning Cinema is not a movie on a Saturday; it is simply a conversation about movies trying to carve out its place in the world. Why bother sharing thoughts about the films I watch? Movies are the best. They can mean so much in their art and to the people who consume them. There can never be too many places to talk about movies.

The pursuit of happiness is like a fingerprint; it will look different from one person to the next. There can be any number of variables that shape what form the pursuit takes. Birth demographic, geography, personal experiences, and the state of the global community are all possible factors creating the idea of “individual” and the goals driving someone through life. Some people may achieve their goals while others will give up entirely, and another segment will fail time after time but persist. Much of a person’s welfare depends on others – their actions and power to influence outcomes in other people’s lives, so where possible, humans are trained to fit into systems and work those systems effectively to increase the power of those with power while striving to someday suckle from the same golden teat. Industries and the companies therein become machines themselves with the time clock-punching human capital serving as the fuel turning the gears of commerce. At the end of the day, the sheep (at least those fortunate enough to only work one job) can go home to eek out a few hours of living before repeating the process the following day. Generically, that is what the pursuit of happiness looks like today, similar as it was to the grind in 1936 when Modern Times perfectly portrayed adult working life.

Charlie Chaplin was a Hollywood treasure, and I lament the fact Modern Times was my first exposure to his talent. I wasted over a third of my life (fingers-crossed) only casually knowing about Chaplin and, to a lesser extent, his portrayal of The Tramp. Chaplin wrote, directed, and starred in Modern Times opposite Paulette Goddard, playing an equally mesmerizing female protagonist, and it happened to be Chaplin’s last dance with the iconic Tramp he created. The film ended up being aptly named as it followed The Tramp’s struggles in an evolving world while the movie itself was a silent film released nearly ten years after the advent of talking pictures. The Tramp’s prime in film mirrored Chaplin’s, being near the end of the road but still attempting to find a place in the world.

Being a silent film, Chaplin used visual expression and allegorical happenstance to deliver his social commentary. In fact, I cannot take credit for creating the imagery above of humans being sheep and turning the gears; these are all comparisons Chaplin smoothly weaves into the fast-paced narrative. The bosses give the orders and say who stays and who goes while workers bustle about knowing their place and purpose, hoping they can please management to get by. The working man and woman cannot, however, take even a moment for themselves without risking falling behind and losing it all. Emphasizing this point is Goddard’s character, a young girl from a destitute family, who has nothing but to live for herself and her family. She has dreams of a comfortable life, but at the same time, she does not have to answer to anyone. This raises the question of who is better off: The Tramp and his endless monotony and failure under the thumbs of others, or the gamin who has nothing but is essentially free? We are back to the pursuit of happiness – it will be different for both characters, but the pursuit’s presence is what makes their existences worthwhile.

The film itself is masterful. Crisp and clever, you are transported from scene to scene without any hyperbolic slinging that can ruin a film relying on so much physical emoting. Instead, Chaplin and company generate a palpable, breathing energy that appropriately rises and falls and while hooking and pulling you through the journey as you exclaim, “What can possibly happen next?!” I understand now, these are the charms of Chaplin’s films. His physicality and masterful direction extract every ounce of enjoyment from each scene and set piece; there is no background dressing in this film. It is a full experience that melds the imagination of theater with the magic of film.
Modern Times delivers the full package. There is social commentary mixed with allegory, comedy, and spectacle. Talent bursts from the screen at every opportunity. The action is as nimble as the actors, and the score sits atop the film without ever being obtrusive enough to make you realize it’s there. This movie is not the end of my pursuit of happiness, but Modern Times created a moment to enjoy. I was happy watching this film and appreciated the escape before rejoining the flock.