Above I've posted a clip of Charlie Chaplin's final speech in The Great Dictator, which criticized the Hitler-Mussolini regime prior to U.S. involvement in World War II. The film condemns the fascist and antisemitic rule of the Nazi Party. The speech for which the film is known occurs at the end, in which Charlie Chaplin's character, a poor Jewish barber, is mistaken for the country's ruthless dictator, Adenoid Hynkel (Hitler), and is forced to give a speech in order to avoid being exposed and the subsequent persecution. The Barber however, decides to take advantage of the platform he has been given and delivers a powerful speech on equality and the need for humans to help one another, regardless of race or religion.
Chaplin's speech, despite being spoken over 70 years ago, maintains the same that same power and relevance, even today. All around us we witness terrible inequality and injustice that we as social justice students try to combat. Oftentimes this fight can become hard, it may even seem impossible, but we must not give in to those that oppress or constrict us. Instead we must rise up and fight for what we believe in as so many of you already have as in the words of Charlie Chaplin, "You the people have the power. the power to create machines, the power to create happiness, you the people have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure."
I hope that this speech may encourage and inspire us in all of our social justice endeavors, even when our prospects look bleak so that we too, may fight for a better future for all.
With that said I'd like to close with a message that Lego packaged with select doll houses in 1974, and has since been shared thousands of times online.
I hope that this speech may encourage and inspire us in all of our social justice endeavors, even when our prospects look bleak so that we too, may fight for a better future for all.
With that said I'd like to close with a message that Lego packaged with select doll houses in 1974, and has since been shared thousands of times online.
The message reminds parents and all those who read it, that people should be allowed to be who they are. That societal norms attached to ones gender should not dictate who they are allowed to be, or what they are allowed to create.
"You build whatever comes into your head, the way you want it." So lets all come together to build a better world.
Questions to Consider:
1. Despite being quite old, still maintain enormous significance today. How do these apply to modern day social justice? And what does this say about the progression of social justice since these articles were create
2. Have there ever been times in which you felt that what "you build" has been limited due to circumstances such as race, gender, etc.
3. As mentioned before, these articles are quite old, do you think there is anything that could be changed in them to better reflect the views of modern social justice? And if so what are they?
1. Do you mean, do the articles still maintain enormous significance? It's not quite clear from your question. If that's what you had in mind, I think these articles are still very relevant today, especially The Great Dictator. Charlie Chaplin's speech is one of the most enduring messages of social justice throughout history. It portrays the timeless struggle against those who would pervert power, and use it to oppress others.
ReplyDelete2. For myself, I've never felt that I specifically was limited by race, gender, or whatever. Of course, I am very lucky to have been born Male, White, and American. I do know many individuals who have been limited as accident of birth however.
3. The enduring messages of these articles is a timeless piece. They could be amended in order to appeal to a more specific issue, but they work better as timeless classics to serve many issues rather than just one.
1. Do you mean, do the articles still maintain enormous significance? It's not quite clear from your question. If that's what you had in mind, I think these articles are still very relevant today, especially The Great Dictator. Charlie Chaplin's speech is one of the most enduring messages of social justice throughout history. It portrays the timeless struggle against those who would pervert power, and use it to oppress others.
ReplyDelete2. For myself, I've never felt that I specifically was limited by race, gender, or whatever. Of course, I am very lucky to have been born Male, White, and American. I do know many individuals who have been limited as accident of birth however.
3. The enduring messages of these articles is a timeless piece. They could be amended in order to appeal to a more specific issue, but they work better as timeless classics to serve many issues rather than just one.
I love that Charlie Chaplin speech, it embodies nearly every major social social justice struggle from the twentieth century until today. His call for universal understanding is just as important today as it was in the shadow of fascism in the 1930's. One could argue that we understand each other better today as a result of our globalized society (cell phones, easy travel between countries, social media, etc.) but one could also argue that this wealth of information has made us apathetic towards the problems of the world. We are aware of poor conditions of people who have less than we do, but the injustice seems so insurmountable that we rarely take action against it. Chaplin's speech reminds us that it is necessary to think of our fellow man as an equal, regardless of where he was born or how wealthy he is.
ReplyDelete1. I believe that both of these works demonstrate that no matter what your inherent situation is there is a level of justice that is deserved. With the speech, he talks about how no matter your economic status each and every soldier holds entitlements. With the lego set it is that no matter your age, sex, or opinions you have the right to use legos how you wish.
ReplyDelete2. I would say I have never been limited by what I could build but rather what toys I could play with. In preschool and kindergarten there were always set toys for the girls and boys to play with.
3. With the lego advertisement I would suggest that there should be more direct language used to get across the point. In today's society we have become more direct with how we approach LBGT and I believe the ad should reflect that.
1. I really appreciated the speech but in all earnest, the concepts within this speech have not been lost nor have they been taken to heart. Stand in the UN and hear the speeches of developing countries as they plead for development strategies which don't require them to burden themselves with debt. You'll hear them all day. How countries should be equal, on a level playing field, partners. However, like the Dutch in the 1600s, we give money to Africa with the same end goal: make them so indebted they can't pay back. As a result, we extract all the resources we can consume. Wrong, manipulative, disrespectful, and common place.
ReplyDelete2. We all know the content of that speech is correct, liberal, and justified. What are we doing about applying it?
3. With the Legos ad, remember Devin, that was written in 1974 and was EXTREMELY progressive during their time. Go Legos for trying to make Legos gender neutral (and yes, boosting your appeal and sales while you're at it).
1. I think these effectively document the decades old struggle that social justice has had. Social Justice is something that doesn't just fall into oblivion, but is relevant throughout, even when not apparent. Especially with Chaplin's speech, we can see that social justice was very astute at how to get it's message to a wide public, even in that day and age.
ReplyDelete2. Being a white male, I haven't faced many challenges to "building" what I want, however, with my outside appearance, people don't always take into account my actual experiences. Spending most of my adolescence in the inner city of Denver, there are experiences that I have had that the average white male has not, and people don't take that into account.
3. Ultimately, I think they just need to continue to advance, stagnation is never a good thing, especially in social justice movements, so the continual adaptation is necessary.
1. I believe that both of these works demonstrate that no matter what your inherent situation is there is a level of justice that is deserved. With the speech, he talks about how no matter your economic status each and every soldier holds entitlements. With the lego set it is that no matter your age, sex, or opinions you have the right to use legos how you wish.
ReplyDelete2. I would say I have never been limited by what I could build but rather what toys I could play with. In preschool and kindergarten there were always set toys for the girls and boys to play with.
3. With the lego advertisement I would suggest that there should be more direct language used to get across the point. In today's society we have become more direct with how we approach LBGT and I believe the ad should reflect that.
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ReplyDeleteI think that most of the aspects of this speech still apply today. Although social justice issues have changed and adapted to various time periods, a lot of the same core problems still exist.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have felt limited by being female, frequently when I discuss my future career plans. Every single time I talk about what I want to do with my life to an adult, I hear "Are you sure you're cut out for that?", or "Well you'll have an easy time getting in that field since you're a girl". First, I know that. I know it's a tough field and it requires a lot of work, some of that physically intensive, and that's why it is mostly guys in that field. But just because I am a girl doesn't mean that I can't do the exact same thing. People think that girls can't be in that field because they are somehow "weaker" or "less cut out" for it than men are. Also, when I was little, I used to play with Legos all the time. I would build little cars and bring them to the car show with my dad, or make spaceships and play astronauts with my neighbors. I didn't know that wasn't typical for girls until kindergarten/first grade, when I started hanging out with more girls and began playing with Barbie's and American Girl dolls instead. Now, Lego has a specific line just for girls. I think that little kids should be allowed to play with whichever ones they want. So that little girl loves the Captain America tank and motorcycle, so what? Or if a little boy wants to play with the girl-aimed Lego Friends house, what does that really matter. I really like that Lego info sheet above, and I think that they have the right idea and other children's toy companies should follow suit.