Modern Times Movie Review

Virone Devine Jr

PAD 3104-001

March 25, 2021

 The movie Modern Times was based on a man working in the early 20th century around

the great depression who was in the industrial field. This movie was able to show us real life

examples of theories of organization through a man trying to adjust to new machinery at his

factory. In this movie the main character Charlie experiences firsthand one of the theories of

Marx in relation to modern organizations. In the movie when Charlie was forced to do the same

thing on an assembly line, he seemed to be showing characteristics that relate to the theory of

alienation. Marx’s theory of alienation in a sense says that people lose connection with their

purpose when they are stuck being told what to do and how to do it for a long period of time. In

the movie this happens to Charlie and as a result he goes kind of insane. His work was so routine

and cookie cutter that it made him go crazy as a result things began to go downhill from there.

As we continue in the movie modern times we can see how Taylorism connects to the movie in

the part where Charlie is on break Ann going through troubles with his boss at the end of the

scene the workers decide to go on strike. This strike relates to the workers retaliation to

Taylorism and scientific management. This specific scene relates to the strike that took place at

the federal government's Watertown Arsenal in 1915. Furthermore, it is clear that strategies used

in the factory that Charlie worked at were monopolistic like those who used Taylorism. In

addition to Taylorism informal theories of organization that take into account the human aspect

of working is also prevalent in the movie. while watching the movie I was able to see how the

industries during the time of the Great Depression neglected the human aspects of the work

environment and treated the workers as just machines without taking into account other factors

that influenced a worker's productivity. Even as we discussed the machine that was created to

help save time in the beginning of the movie this machine neglected the fact that humans need

breaks too and tried to be more efficient while ignoring the fact that people still need to take

Farazmand, Ali. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Second ed., Praeger, 2002.
breaks. In a nutshell I feel as if modern times help to point out the different issues in the work

environment and organizations at the time. What Charlie experienced during the movie is just an

example of what happens to many people whose feelings are disregarded, and their wellbeing is

put behind productivity. During the time many workers were stuck in a world where it was all

work and no time for their other needs. It was all about control a maximizing productivity the

rulers of the organizations of the time viewed the workers as machine operator’s 1st and people

second rather than as people first and worker 2nd. AS a result, the job satisfaction of the time and

the productivity did not increase as hoped for. just like in the movie walkouts did happen and

other strikes were common. these rebellious actions lead to different working conditions and

even some contemporary organization theories. contemporary organization theory included the

importance of external environment and its effect on an organization. This movie helped to show

others they were not the only ones who felt alone in this world of nonstop work that made them

feel alienated. I would also like to add that Chester Bernard made a good point when discussing

how you must treat people with dignity and respect in order to get the most out of them. In

Modern Times this is shown when Charlie goes to jail because despite it being jail, when things

went wrong, they were able to help his living situation. This led Charlie to begin enjoying his

stay in Jail. This enjoyment since they actually paid attention to his wants, is a satisfaction that

modern organizations begin to use with more modern theories to help get maximum production

out of their workers. This can be connected to the hierarchy of needs by Maslow which discusses

how every worker has a set of needs that start of basic and begin to get more complex but help

motivate workers to do well. At his factory job his needs were ignored while in jail his needs

Farazmand, Ali. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Second ed., Praeger, 2002.
were addressed and increased his motivation to stay in jail which is why he attempted to do

illegal things in the town to go back.

Farazmand, Ali. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Second ed., Praeger, 2002.
 Bibliography

Farazmand, Ali. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Second ed., Praeger, 2002.

Farazmand, Ali. Modern Organizations: Theory and Practice. Second ed., Praeger, 2002.