‘Modern Times’, an all-time classic was made in 1936, seventy-seven years ago. But it’s not just the hilarious situational comedy that gives the film its timelessness. There’s more to take away from the movie than the obvious fun it offers. It is true that the movie is tagged in the ‘comedy’ genre by default and there can be no dispute about it. But a closer look might tell us that Charlie Chaplin’s theme was born out of the hunger, poverty, pain and suffering he had witnessed. If you read about the Industrial Revolution and have some knowledge about it, the infamous assembly line method of production in factories, and the Great Depression of the 1930’s, I wonder if you won’t be able to laugh as much watching the movie as you would otherwise. way. . The appeal of Modern Times lies in the fact that the lessons of its theme extend far beyond the boundaries of the period in which it was made and the realities that inspired its making. The lessons remain valid to this day. What lessons?
One: if you’re a manager, you would do well to recognize that you’re likely to get better performance from your human resource by creating conditions that make work enjoyable rather than focusing entirely on things like the quality of machinery and quality. employment force. terms of the contract. If you don’t see it, you’ll only end up driving the people who work for you crazy, leading to chaos.
Two: Despite the supreme power of the human will, as Steve Jobs said, there is something called karma or destiny, whatever it is called, and you have to believe in it. He may just be waving a flag to alert his owner and that could make him an instant unionist, a leader the next moment, and a prisoner the next. Not to deny Ayn Rand’s philosophy, but the sad fact is that our control over our lives, what we do and don’t do, what happens and what doesn’t, is quite limited. Remember the corporate truth that career planning is an oxymoron?
Three: All of your problems could suddenly be reduced to the size of a speck the moment you find someone with whom you share chemistry. You know, the chemistry is wonderful and it makes a rickety old shed feel like Buckingham Palace. Suffering, while inevitable, is less terrible when there is someone to share it with.
The bottom line in the film’s storytelling style is that there is something that can make even the darkest and ugliest side of life entertaining. That’s what you call perspective: being able to take it all in stride and laugh. It may seem like a futile compromise, but it has its own value when there is no other option, doesn’t it?