Using Modern TImes To Teach The Industrial Revolution
Got ya! I did not mean I was using the modern era that involves AI, robots, high tech... and slave labor and sweatshops to teach my students about the Industrial Revolution. I mean the actual movie Modern Times starring the very talented Charlie Chaplin. Although this movie was released in 1936, it did an amazing job of satirizing big business and the Industrial Revolution which had ended at the turn of the century.
I originally was planning on directing my students to take a gallery walk of images of the problems of the Industrial Revolutions but kind of like Hive, the pictures weren't quite doing it for me. I wanted a little more pizazz. After a little research, I discovered that, because it is a brilliant satire, Modern Times is chocked full of scenes that I could use to teach my students about some of the negative consequences of the Industrial Revolution. Here's the first clip. See if you can spot what problems are being illustrated before reading my commentary after the clip (that is what my students will be doing as well). You will need to manually stop it at the 3:19 mark.
I hope you, and my students, noticed how workers during this time were treated like livestock (the sheep). In addition, hopefully you noticed just how many workers were needed. If you have a very keen eye, you may have noticed the pollution the factory was causing.
Let's try the next one. Be sure to stop the scene at 6:21.
The point of this clip is to show a few things. First, the toll the repetitive work takes on the body. Next, the sheer speed of the work that needs to be done. Third, the fact that employees were expected not to take breaks, and if they did they had to punch in and out. And finally, the overseer of the factory is always watching to make sure workers are constantly working.
We are on a roll so let's keep going.
This clip is directly related to the previous clip and I might actually show the two together before discussing.
This clip satirizes the lengths a business owner and management will go in order to get the most work as possible out of each employee. In the clip, the factory owners have commissioned the invention of a feeding machine so that workers do not have to take a break to eat.
In what may be the most famous scen of the movie, Chaplin again spoofs the factories and their owners. This one should be easy to spot.
I am showing that scene to illustrate the idea of unsafe working conditions. It is also just an amazing feat of movie making!
The next one is tough. you might have to pay attention what is NOT happening as much as to what is happening. Make sure to stop at the 31:21 mark.
Did you notice what the children were not doing? Where were they not at?... School! The scene also shows the violence that could take when so many desperate people are unemployed. It illustrated the need for jails as well.
Here's another one that you need to be clever to spot.
The purpose of that scene is to show students the challenges workers faced when they tried to organize. At the end of the scene, the police actually come and bust up the workers' protest.
Here's the next one. Make sure to stop at 1:00:25
This scene beautifully portrays the terrible living conditions workers faced during the Industrial Revolution. It also shows the number of unemployed workers and how desperate they were to get back to their horrible pay and terrible working conditions.
After that scene I plan on showing some photographs from the time to fill in some of the other problems of the time. I also plan on introducing the activity by highlighting some of the positives of the Industrial Revolution like the new inventions and products that became available. I'm hoping that by using theses clips along with the photographs, I will provide enough "edutainment" to keep my students engaged.
How did you do? Did you spot all of the problems of the Industrial Revolution in the clips? Do you have any suggestions?
Thats pretty cool. Some of the clips wouldn't load for me, bit I am sure that won't be an issue for you in class. I've never really gotten into the old movies like this. As I said last week i one of my posts, I have always been more of a musical guy!
Did some of them work? I used 2 different ways to embed them.
Regarding the vids: Only the vids with below image didn't play in my region (Europe). The rest did.
Damn. I see what happened. The ones that were already clipped worked. The whole movie is on YouTube and I used code to get it to start at a certain time.
Ah okay, that makes sense. I just got these, so I won't reply to your other comment.
Of course, my friend, with that Educational Entertainment you'll keep your students' attention. Besides, the Industrial Revolution has taught us a few things, especially the workers of that era, and it's incredible how a film over 90 years old can portray a reality we still live with today.
She found a great way to make her classes much more engaging so that students could understand all the disadvantages workers suffered during the Industrial Revolution. They had to do it to put food on the table for their families and feed their children. This is a reality that hits hard in countries like Venezuela, where I live, with its meager salaries. Sometimes it's incredibly difficult to even afford three meals a day, so we have to hustle to stretch our wages as far as possible.
Using Modern Times instead of just pictures makes it feel more real and engaging. Chaplin makes you laugh, but at the same time he’s showing something serious underneath it all. That mix of humor and meaning will probably stay with your students much more than a regular gallery walk would.
I appreciate how you’re not just showing the clips but guiding students to observe first and analyze later.
The jail and protest scenes are great choices. They open the door to discussions about labor rights, unemployment, and social unrest without feeling like a textbook lecture. Pairing those with real historical photographs should really deepen their understanding.
Actually not a lot has changed in the work places compared to this, expecially in factories... not to speak about third world countries
Chaplin movies are great, at school we watched this one and also The dictator (not sure the english name matches the italian one), they have been great... i think you should make them fully watch those movies and then write thoughts on it
Truly like the way you approach the outcomes of our industrial revolution. I wished for my teachers did the same back in the days. But they couldnt, since no YT, no Internet, not even de VIC20 and C64 out in the market. Uhm, perhaps the VIC20 was already available at the time, since I owned on when I was in high school, while my father had a C64. Anyways, great way of teaching the bad outcomes from the industrial revolution, and why and how such bad had to be resolved in becoming less bad. Sailaint detail, similar bad happened when production was moved to Asia, first to China and later to other Asian countries including Vietnam, Bangladesh and other countries.
Regarding the vids: Only the vids with below image didn't play in my region (Europe). The rest did.
BTW, a great great great movie! I washed this one a few times in my long history on planet earth. I can simply advise anybody to watch this - and many other movies - from the hands of master Chaplin.
I love Modern Times. Such a great movie. This and Duck Soup are two of my favorite old ones for their social commentary.
Oh wow! I haven’t thought about Duck Souo for years. Part of the advantage of only having limited channels when I was a kid was that I was forced into seeing some classics like the Marx Brothers.
Practical life teaches us the purpose of life. In today's world, with the help of software, we can only get information. When we ourselves go to the industrial area or any field, only then will we be able to learn the purpose of life