“I should like to help everyone if possible…We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.” (Chaplin) What appears to be a simple statement continues to inspire the world even 70 years post production. Still appreciated for more than a decade, Charlie Chaplin’s well-known speech in The Great Dictator makes for one of the most thought-provoking and inspiring film speeches of all time. Like all of his other films, Charlie Chaplin wrote, directed, and starred in The Great Dictator, which is a satirical piece on Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Chaplin plays a double role in this film, one of a Jewish barber and the other of Adenoid Hynkel (Adolph Hitler), who both look alike. The barber, who has been mistaken for Hynkel, is taken to the capital to make a speech upon their victory over Osterlich. Instead of speaking about slavery, inequality, and other outdated ideas like Hynkel would have, the barber speaks about having free speech, a democracy, and declares Osterlich a free nation. (Charlie Chaplin –Official Website) The speech also expresses that to have a free world, people must “do away with greed, hate and intolerance.” (Chaplin) The barber’s great speech not only reached out to Hynkel’s soldiers in 1940 but also to the viewers of the film even 70 years post-production. It calls for a new era of science, progress, and reason that will eventually lead to the happiness of all people. Charlie Chaplin uses the speech in The Great Dictator as a medium to recuperate the state of humanity that has been lost to power, greed, and hatred by stimulating an emotional atmosphere with the help of style and speaks for the common good that rallies his people to “fight to free the world” (Chaplin) and in turn provide the world a r...
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...t they set out to look for. There are still problems in this world that need fixing, and watching this speech to find a reason to fight and carry forward can be a great start to be part of a solution. Chaplin’s speech is homage to people all around the world and should be treasured by all. By encompassing an influential delivery and creating an emotional atmosphere, Chaplin motivated people to fight against the “unnatural men” (Chaplin) as one and learn to fight for justice themselves.
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...ything up and says, “you the people... have the power to create happiness.” Ending the speech on a positive note, he notes that we as human beings can be happy if we all work together and fight for what is right.
“Among these dictators was Adolf Hitler, who called on the German masses to restore the national glory that had been damaged by defeat in 1918. He urged German scorn democratic rights and roo...
The film “Modern Times,” directed by Charlie Chaplin, is set in the mid nineteen thirties. This time frame places the characters in the middle of the Great Depression and the industrial revolution. The film depicts the lifestyle and quality of living for people in this era by showing a factory worker who cannot take the monotony of working on an assembly line. The film follows the factory worker through many of his adventures throughout the film. The film’s main stars are Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.