A Comparison Of Charlie Chaplin And Buster's The General
Question 1
The early 1900s mark a great boom within the genre of the silent comedy. By the 1920s it was not uncommon to see B list silent comedies ringing bigger bucks then the more prestigious features. As the decade would progress feature length comedies become more and more common place and stars are born. Stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. This paper aims to contrast the two comedian’s/director’s art forms. While doing so I will draw on a film for each, Charles’ feature, Modern Times as well as Buster’s the General.
Born the son of a music hall singer Chaplin was no stranger to entertainment, his love affair with comedy. He would later balloon into one of the most well known comedians of his time. Looking at Modern Times we see cater his act to the viewer. Pressured by the public to reflect social and political discrepancies of the world Charlie develops a topical approach to his art. Buster also developed his act to appeal to the masses as I will later discuss but when comparing our two films …show more content…
Just as audiences called for comedic realism Laura claims audiences of the 1920’s were looking for more sophisticated or complex comedic relief over what many would deem as simple slapstick comedy. "...almost all of the gags in The General serve similar double duty as gag and narrative element"7 It is interesting because by doing so gags not only are used to expand on the story but become key in the development and cohesiveness of the film. Once again looking at the scene where Buster potato sacs his damsel the gag is clearly working on the bigger picture of getting them back to their allies. Without this gag the story can not move forward as smoothly. In comparison to more random scenes within Charlies’ Modern Times such as his roller skating scene within the department store. Though comedic it is not intertwined within the
The early 1900s mark a great boom within the genre of the silent comedy. By the 1920s it was not uncommon to see B list silent comedies ringing bigger bucks then the more prestigious features. As the decade would progress feature length comedies become more and more common place and stars are born. Stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. This paper aims to contrast the two comedian’s/director’s art forms. While doing so I will draw on a film for each, Charles’ feature, Modern Times as well as Buster’s the General.
Born the son of a music hall singer Chaplin was no stranger to entertainment, his love affair with comedy. He would later balloon into one of the most well known comedians of his time. Looking at Modern Times we see cater his act to the viewer. Pressured by the public to reflect social and political discrepancies of the world Charlie develops a topical approach to his art. Buster also developed his act to appeal to the masses as I will later discuss but when comparing our two films …show more content…
Just as audiences called for comedic realism Laura claims audiences of the 1920’s were looking for more sophisticated or complex comedic relief over what many would deem as simple slapstick comedy. "...almost all of the gags in The General serve similar double duty as gag and narrative element"7 It is interesting because by doing so gags not only are used to expand on the story but become key in the development and cohesiveness of the film. Once again looking at the scene where Buster potato sacs his damsel the gag is clearly working on the bigger picture of getting them back to their allies. Without this gag the story can not move forward as smoothly. In comparison to more random scenes within Charlies’ Modern Times such as his roller skating scene within the department store. Though comedic it is not intertwined within the