My essay!

Modern Times

An excellent tool to show history in a dynamic way

Modernity was, undoubtedly, one of the most important periods during the history. With it, many changes modified people lifestyle, ways of seeing and behavior. The film “Modern Times” portrays all facts people experienced in order to get used to living in this period.

The following essay will be focused on showing how the film goes through three main events Modernity brought with it. It will also show the utility this movie has to future English teachers, who not only teach the Language, but also the culture and the story of the nation where that language is spoken.

Finally, I will provide the readers with a summary my main ideas, and with some strategies future teachers should apply when they show this movie to complement their teaching.

Beginning with my first purpose, based on the events happened during Modernity, one of the most important was the process of Industrialization, characterized by the development of industries and factories in the city of London, under the idea of progress. This fact affected people common life. The introduction of machines inside work places demanded a huge increasing in men work performance. They had to work as quickly as machines did, without time to eat or resting properly. Men didn´t know their rights, nor their condition in which they had to be paid or considered. Therefore, it resulted easy to bosses to abuse and manipulate them. This situation is appropriately performed by Charles Chaplin in the film. Besides, the mixture between irony, humor and reality in which he acted, produces a more strong impact in people.

On the other hand, another relevant event during Modernity which is deeply shown in the movie is the role women had inside society. Females were seen and considered only to work on the house chores. They were not allowed to have a job like men. Their main aim was to raise their children and living a traditional life, where the only fun activity was going to social parties, in the case of high classes or sweeping and washing up in the case of low ones. Females were thought to be inferior or not quite prepared as men were. This issue reflected the serious male chauvinism that existed in those times and the terrible discrimination women suffered without even being aware of that. In addittion, the fact let sus realizing sexism has been always present.

Definitely, the third event the movie portrays extremely well is the feeling of hope people acquired, after realizing they could fight against bosses and factories who only thought in their own economical progress. During Modernity and due to its consequences, people started manifesting their dislike about treatment they received, by making strikes. As this actions worked out, they renewed their feeling of getting a better life and human condition. Hope in the middle of diversity and a lot of changes, was a crucial motor which helped citizens to face the enormous revolution Modernity brought to their life. At the end of the film, Charles Chaplin and his significant other made a great demonstration of how we can face adversity and find a good solution to every obstacle we have.

This is, briefly, how the film illustrates the main changes Modernity provoked in the early 20^th century. Denigration of human being conditions, discrimination, early sexism and hope despite of adversity. Therefore, the movie results a very good element to teachers, when they want to educate in a more dynamic and representative way all things happened in the past that influenced our whole present life.

As future teachers, we do need to be aware of transmitting not only concepts of the Language. We must also transmit and educate its history, its evolution and what events, like Industrialization, made the Language became into one of the most important and spoken ones among the whole world.

Together with that, when teaching, we must motivate students to learn about history, by letting them expressing their ideas, feelings and thoughts and by helping them to create their own vision of the world. With these strategies, education can become much better and a real useful tool to face reality.