Modern Times

Cross-posted at MDNF:

No class that covers Marx and Weber would be complete without some discussion of the classic Chaplin film, “Modern Times.”  I won’t offer a full discussion of the film here; for now, I simply wish to have you watch a couple of the most famous scenes:

The first five or so minutes of this excerpt are the most important for our purposes.  In particular, you should be thinking about what these scenes are designed to show: what is the film’s perspective on modern technology and industrial production?  How does this perspective relate to Weber and Marx?  Would you say that the mood of these scenes is more Marxist or Weberian?  Why?  Comments on this are welcome.