Charlie Chaplin and the History of Silent Films

Running head: CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND THE HISTORY OF SILENT FILMS
Charlie Chaplin and the History of Silent Films
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CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND THE HISTORY OF SILENT FILMS
After the world war one, there was robust technological improvement in America.
The exponential development in science and technology created a deep impact in the
lifestyles of the people living in America. Along with development of automobile, another
invention that heavily affected the entertainment industry was the development of the motion
picture. Unlike modern form of entertainment, the silent film era was devoid of sound and
other colour graphics. The silent film era spanned over three decades, that is, 1890s to the
1920s and one of the pioneering figure in that age was Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin was not only
a great performer but he was also an avid innovator, for he has been a director,
cinematographer, and even a composer. Chaplin was such a vaudeville performer that his
name got included in the discussion of Popular entertainment. It acquired a place distinct
form of modern art, that is a specific cultural position and Chaplin rose to an era defining
popularity of the 19th century (McCraw et al., 2018). The purpose of this paper is to show that
the plight of Chaplin witnesses the major social and cultural transformation and the multi-
access of things that helped Chaplin to raise to its prominence of cultural touchstone.
The invention of “Motion Toys” attracted the audience and were responsible for
creation of Mass culture. People suffering from their day-to-day anxieties wanted to forget
their pain and trues to seek pleasure in silver screen. The filmmakers of 1885 to 1900s tries to
push the pictorial representation towards newer creativity by exploring on the backdrops,
script and the visual flow of the film. The kind of movies that Chaplin starred created a newer
version of visual art named Tramp, which is a smart film that fold pathos neatly into the
slapstick (Carr, 2018). The role of Chaplin in the history of Film industry is very important
because it was during his time there was birth of super hero. Chaplin became the cultural icon
that represented the era, which for the first time produced the popular culture. The content
that was depicted in the films like The Great Dictator and or the Modern Times was also
responsible for the drawing a large mass of audience. Another important factor which added