Chaplin's Silent Success

Charlie Chaplin's film Modern Times is a perfect example of having a film give a complete understandable story while also being mostly silent. There are few times in the film when sound is actually heard. It is played from the boss yelling at his employees, the feeding machine, and sound effects of everyday objects. Very little speech is ever heard. We learn to read the characters facial expressions and sound effects to understand the story. The purpose of this film is too get the audience is more involved. The audience has to pay close attention to understand what’s happening. This film is well suited to a silent film because Chaplin is so great at expressions and making a film without sounds. Chaplin is talented enough to make a film that does not require sound.