The Great Dictator

PALOMA ÁLVAREZ SEBASTIÁ 4ºB
THE GREAT DICTATOR

INFORMATION OF INTEREST

Original title: The Great Dictator
Director: Charles Chaplin
Main cast: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Godard, Jack Oakie
Country: United States
Year: 1940
Music: Charles Chaplin, Meredith Willson
Writer: Charles Chaplin

SPACE AND TIME OF ACTION

Time: Twenty years after the end of the World War I
Space: The filmtakes place in Tomania (Germany)
Is the story connected to a real, important historical event?:
Yes, twenty years after being defeated in WWI, Tomania (Germany) is now governed by Adenoid Hynkel, a nazi dictator.
Is the narration of events linear in time?:
Yes, but it is very fast sometimes comparing it to real history.
Is the space-time setting appropriate?:
Yes, it totally represents,always with some satirical points, how cities, society and living were in those days.
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Description of the social model:
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The two main characters represent the society of that time. The barber shows the disadvantaged side, the Jewish people that are chased by the Nazism just for being Jewish.Hynkel is the most important person in Tomania and he decides everything people must do. It was not a good idea to disagree with him, otherwise, they could be sent to a concentration camp. Society is totally manipulated by his speeches and they support everything he decides, even the soldiers, treated as machines.
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Analysis ofdifferent lifestyles, housing, food, transport, cities and villages:
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Jewish people live in the ghetto and it actually doesn’t look bad in the film. They have normal houses, good food and transport, but it worsens because of the Nazi police, who disturb them and destroy their houses and commerce.
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The film doesn’t showthe low social Nazi class, we can only see the magnificent palace Hynkel lives and works in, so it is not very useful. But we can appreciate Tomania’s big cities when Hynkel gives a speech to the crowd.
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Adequacy of costumes, makeup and hairstyles:-------------------------------------------------
In this Charles Chaplin’s film the adequacy of costumes, makeup and hairstyles is total. From the adapted Nazi uniform to the clothes of the women of the ghetto, we can perfectly see the costumes and styles of that time.
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THEME OF THE FILM AND ITS TREATMENT

What is the main theme ofthe film?: Nazi persecution of Jewish.
Other secondary topics: Social differences, dictatorial governments, political relationships between countries and dictators, etc.
What are the ethical and social values the film tries to give us?:
It is trying to teach us that we can’t treat someone as a inferior person just for thinking different or for being Jewish, in this case. We also have to fightfor democracy, because it is the only way to freedom and peace. Nazism and racism will only bring us problems, they have no ethics.
These values, are they typical of that past time or are they still relevant nowadays?:
Fortunately, they are still relevant these days and most people think that way. Otherwise, dictatorial governments would have spread and now we would not had democratic countries.There are Nazi and racist people nowadays, but they are minority, so we shouldn’t worry about that. We are not supposed to make past mistakes again.
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What is the ideological standpoint the film is based on?:
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It is a standpoint against the Nazism and it tries to set Jewish people free, to end...