The Evolution of Charlie Chaplin

The Evolution of Charlie Chaplin

Julie Gorham

Wednesday 10th November 2010

Writing Assignment #7

Individuals influence culture, and culture influences individuals. Cultural statuses, beliefs, and values intermingle with individual thoughts and behaviors, causing choices that affect culture, and so on, and so forth. However, in larger cultures, an individual’s influence is easier to detect if they happen to be prominent in some fashion. One such person was Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin escaped the oppression of his poverty and became a filmmaking legend, but he never forgot his origins and utilized his craft to portray the plight of the working class. This portrayal was well received in times of Depression, but admonished during the Red Scare. Eventually, the same country and system that gave Chaplin his wealth and legacy revoked his work visa, to prevent him from delivering the very message that had gained him success. Therefore, Chaplin underwent discernable evolution as an individual, influenced by, and in turn influencing the co-evolution of society, especially regarding wealth and class.

Chaplin became rich when he signed an American filmmaking contract with the Mutual Company for an unprecedented ten thousand dollars per week.[i] However, prior to this, Chaplin had been in the lower echelons of society. He had been born into English poverty. His alcoholic father died whilst he was still young,[ii] and his mother contracted syphilis and was in a madhouse by the time Chaplin was nine.[iii] After a year of homelessness Chaplin joined his brother in supporting themselves by performing, just as their parents had.[iv] It is clear that in his early formative years Chaplin was molded in the lower ranks of a society constructed in such a manner that places impoverished people below those with wealth. It is not surprising then, that this cultural influence became manifested through Chaplin’s character, The Tramp.

In his journal article, “Charlie the Trickster,” Evan A. Lieberman describes how The Tramp is the reluctant troublemaker, who disrupts via obligation of his character (which is shaped by his situation), rather than via evil intent.[v] Given that The Tramp “fulfills the all-important societal role of the disrupter of order and instigator of change” it is important that society be able to accept his behavior as somehow warranted.[vi] The Tramp challenges the system by deceiving figures of authority and wealth in a comical manner. However, he rarely triumphs entirely, often ending up exactly where he started.[vii] Chaplin created a cross-class accessible character that is a satirical representation of both the working and upper classes. Upper class individuals can view The Tramp’s antics with humor, knowing that he will lose in the end; working class individuals can sympathize with The Tramp’s character and situation, reveling in his momentary triumph over his oppressors. Coincidentally, this latter description fits, in at least one facet, the events of Chaplin’s life that led to him leaving the United States.

American capitalist society enabled Chaplin to become incredibly rich by making films. However, a quick glance at any online filmography will show that Chaplin rarely portrayed the role of the wealthy man, unless it was with the explicit intent of mocking said role (as in The Dictator).[viii] Chaplin made films during the Great Depression, when a satirical commentary on capitalist society would have been greatly appreciated. Chaplin’s portrayal of the capitalist system may have been humorous, but it also highlighted the evils of such a system for those at its bottom, which in turn would have influenced the public’s perception of such a system. Indeed, during the post-war communism-fearing years, the FBI acknowledged the output of Hollywood as “one of the greatest, if not the very greatest, influence upon the minds and culture” of human beings.[ix] People respond to, and are influenced by celebrities and film. It was this very fact that implicated Chaplin and his working-class Tramp as Communistic. Chaplin was not the only influencer of society, and post-World War II, American culture had changed, increasing in patriotism, and rallying against conflicting systems. In consequence of this change, Chaplin’s affiliation with Communism, and his constant mockery of the very system that provided him with his wealth led to the revocation of Chaplin’s United States work-visa in 1953.[x] He made only two films after that.[xi] The Tramp had had his laugh, but lost in the end.

Charlie Chaplin’s individual evolution was greatly influenced by a society that facilitated both his financial status, and success as a performer (without an audience, or cultural appreciation, there is no performance). However, in turn, Chaplin influenced society both by pioneering the medium of film, as well as perpetually calling into question the construct of society and its reflection on cultural values that change over time. Therefore, the life of Charlie Chaplin is illustrative of an individual and his/her culture’s reciprocal relationship of mutual influence and evolution.