Wednesday, May 1, 2013


The Gold Rush

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
                Charlie Chaplin, creator and originator, defined silent comedy and is king of that realm. His character “the Tramp” represented the underdog, the outsider. In the film The Gold Rush Chaplin takes us through a journey to Alaska and back, striking gold as well as love. Took over a year to make and is noted that The Gold Rush is Chaplin’s favorite film. Many themes were represented in this picture, such as, Hunger, happiness, the dread of rejection from a woman. Chaplin defines many themes during the silent era, his character the tramp lusts for woman, money and respect.
             It is said that Chaplin wanted to create a character he could use in his type of style of acting. Chaplin tackled major world issues such as poverty, alcoholism, hunger and crime. Charlie Chaplin tackled all these world issues with use of comedy in his films. So what comes with a laugh also comes with a serious situation.

2)  Find a related article and summarize the content.
                Writer and director Charles Chaplin, directed The Gold Rush comedy at costs of 900,000 dollars (TCM.com). The article continues to state the little details behind the making of this terrific comedy. The scene where Chaplin eats his shoe, took around 69 takes and a sick Chaplin to get the picture perfect. The film was shot under rustic conditions as well as cranky cast members to deal with. Originally Charlie Chaplin wanted a different actress to play the role of Georgia, but issues of pregnancy came into play. The article continues to state that this would be the one film Charlie Chaplin wanted to be remembered by.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class
            The article supports my view towards the film. I like the way the article breaks down the witty scenes involving the cabin and the eating of the shoe. Charlie Chaplin was a perfectionist of his craft. Until the reading of this article, I didn’t know that Chaplin wrote the score for the film as well as the narration. This article showed me that Charlie Chaplin could do it all for his time. From writing to directing and composing, this article showed me that Chaplin was a true artist masterful in many talents. I can say I have a new found respect for Charlie Chaplin.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film
                The Gold Rush is a terrific silent comedy, starring a wonderful cast. Undergoing very rustic conditions, Chaplin is right to be remembered by this film. Charlie Chaplin is considered the ultimate gag actor and to this day his character traits still live on. You can see a bit of Chaplin embodied in a character like Cosmo Kramer from the television series Seinfeld. After watching this film and other Chaplin films, it wasn’t long till I realized where Michael Richards adapted his characters quirks from. The silent era I believe is ruled by Chaplin and his movies, Chaplin in my opinion is a comedic genius and still makes me laugh to this day. I loved the cinematography he used and the type of techniques used to accomplish shots like the ones in the cabin. All in all Charles Chaplin’s legacy lives on and is proved in this film. 


CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 
1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) (x  ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) (x  ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) (x  ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.

7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.

8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: _____________Erik L. Rivera_________________________  Date: ____________5/1/2013________________


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