tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post5066775312937617409..comments2023-11-05T07:27:43.837-05:00Comments on Narrative and Technology: Charlie and the Artistic ExpressionAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-59655403974586504032014-02-22T13:05:55.062-05:002014-02-22T13:05:55.062-05:00I really like your argument. It takes many example...I really like your argument. It takes many examples from "Modern Times" and successfully applies them to Marcuse's idea of the Great Refusal. <br /><br />The paragraph about symbolism is done very well. It takes the ideas of the previous paragraph, and takes it a step further in saying he has succeeded with his own version of the Great Refusal. I would not have thought of this symbolism myself, but reading your essay I completely agree with you.<br /><br />I do get a little lost in your second paragraph, though. It seems to discuss how Charlie didn't fit in to the upper class world, but it seems quite scattered. You make a few different points that don't have much of a transition in between. I think it would be helpful if you stated what the scene meant after each example, and then made a more clear conclusion at the end of the paragraph. It would be much easier to follow that way.<br />Jessica Merrillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10384903718135324965noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8692381608294018617.post-82544639185333218402014-02-22T11:18:56.480-05:002014-02-22T11:18:56.480-05:00There is a moment - in chapter three of Marcuse, I...There is a moment - in chapter three of Marcuse, I think - where he writes about the importance of characters who "cannot or will not making a living in an ordinary way" (I may not have the quote exactly). Your discussion, which doesn't use this specific quote, does make some attempt to work both with Chaplin's status as a member of the lower class and his inability to function as such. One thing I'd like you to pay attention to if you revise, though, is that neither in Chaplin nor in Marcuse is this just a class thing - the boss might be very well off, but he isn't in much control of the situation either.<br /><br />I like this line: "For an extended period of time, Charlie tries to play by the upper class’s rules, and fruitlessly attempts to fit in." <br /><br />While I don't by any means entirely disagree with your analysis of what his performance at the end means as rebellion, I do think you spend too much energy generalizing and not enough energy analyzing the specifics of what actually happens. How does he end up performing? What are the relevant details of his performance, including the "nonsense"? What about the Gamin as dancer (including the problem of sexual exploitation/objectification which circulates around her character)?<br /><br />It's not that your discussion of the performance-as-rebellion has not merit. It just feels like you have decided what it means and then write about it at length, rather than really working through the details? For instance, does the fact that he has prepared and loses notes for his song - and only "succeeds" when he sings what he didn't intend to sing at all - have any impact on your reading? I think that it raises problems with your representation of Chaplin as rebel. I'm not saying it makes it wrong or impossible - I'm just saying I would like to see you come to these conclusions through a detailed analysis.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com