The age for reimagining work

The silent film Modern Times was made in 1936 by genius filmmaker Charlie Chaplin. The world of Little Tramp – the film’s emblematic character – is a satirical and comic depiction of the Great Depression's bleak employment and financial situation. Because of industrialisation and efficiency gained by mechanising human jobs, Chaplin saw his age as a product of technological menace (a foreboding of a future he could not imagine).

Workers were rendered unnecessary, and the foremen, managers, and department heads with authority over them grew in stature and influence as a result. Modern Times may be more relevant now than it has ever been. In the battle to avoid alienation and preserve humanity in a modern, automated world, the film reflects powerfully on difficulties facing our current day.