Probably the most famous film commenting on twentieth-century technology is Modem Times, (31)_______ in 1936. Charlie Chaplin was motivated to make the film by a reporter who, while interviewing him, happened to describe working conditions in industrial Detroit. Chaplin was told that healthy young farm boys were lured to the city to work on automotive assembly lines. Within four or five years, these young men’s health was ruined by the stress of work in the factories. Scenes of factory ...

Probably the most famous film commenting on twentieth-century technology is Modem Times, (31)_______ in 1936. Charlie Chaplin was motivated to make the film by a reporter who, while interviewing him, happened to describe working conditions in industrial Detroit. Chaplin was told that healthy young farm boys were lured to the city to work on automotive assembly lines. Within four or five years, these young men’s health was ruined by the stress of work in the factories.

Scenes of factory interiors account for only about (32)______ of the footage of Modern Times, but they contain some of the most pointed social commentary as well as the most comic situations. No one who has seen the film can ever forget Chaplin vainly trying to keep pace with the fast-moving conveyor belt, almost losing his mind in the process. Another popular scene involves an automatic feeding machine brought to the assembly line (33)_______ workers need not interrupt their labor to eat. The feeding machine malfunctions, hurling food at Chaplin who is strapped into his position on the assembly line and cannot escape. This serves to illustrate people’s utter (34)______ in the face of machines that are meant to serve their basic needs. Clearly, Modern Times has its faults, but it remains the best film treating technology within a social context. It does not offer a radical social message, but it does (35)______ reflect the sentiments of many who feel they are victims of an over-mechanized world.