Textual Analysis: City Lights (1931)

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The extract I have chosen is taken from Charlie Chaplin’s film City Lights and I am going

to analyze it in terms of social and economic context and then focus on how it uses Mise-en-

scène, cinematography, motifs, symbols, and themes to convey the meaning according to the

filmmaker’s intentions, vision and his influences.

Chaplin was born in London, England in extreme poverty. His father abandoned Chaplin

and his family at a young age. His mother had to struggle in order to earn enough money for

him and his older half-brother. However, Chaplin’s mother would later suffer mental issues and

eventually had to be put in a mental institution when was at a young age. Consequently,

Chaplin and his brother needed to find means of earning money for themselves.

Before the film’s release, Chaplin was accused of having multiple affairs with several

different women. In 1918 he married Mildred Harris, however, the marriage ended quickly and

in 1924 he married an actress named Lita Grey. Due to an unplanned pregnancy, the two

divorced in 1927. In 1936 he married a woman named Paulette Goddard and their marriage

lasted until 1942. What followed was a paternity suit with another actress Joan Barry. However,

it was proven by several tests that Chaplin was not the father but was still issued by the jury to

pay child support. This would be known as the Chaplin-Barry Affair. (Biography.com)

The story of City Lights reflects the problems that Charlie Chaplin was facing in his real

life. Just before its release Chaplin’s life was in chaos due to all the issues with many “affairs” he

has been accused of having. He was one of the most famous and influential actor and director

of his time. Due to the many accusations he wanted to demonstrate that he could produce a

well-made film despite all of the disorder occurring around him. He claimed that it would take

him three years to produce the film and that he did. During this time, films were being made

that had sound and were called “talkies”. Chaplin did not want his new film to be a sound film

because he claimed that the talkies were “ruining the great beauty of silence” (Charles J.

Maland, p. 113). This film would be the turning point of Chaplin’s career, his success depended

on the success of the film.

During the 1920’s there was great social changes happening throughout America.

Industrialization was taking effect and America was becoming more urban. After World War I

the economy boomed and the gap between the rich and the poor increased greatly. “As income

disparity increased, the great divide between rich and poor ignited the labor debate, and as

more people flocked to culture-rich cities” (Tomyn). Lower classes were struggling immensely in

order to earn enough income to support themselves and their families. The upper class looked

down upon the lower class due to the fact that many strikes were caused by labor workers.

These strikes were a result of the unsatisfaction the workers had with their pay. The film was

released in 1931, two years after the Great Depression. After the stock market crashed, millions

of Americans lost their jobs and were unemployed.

The sequence I have chosen to analyze is when the Tramp first meets the Blind Girl as

he is wandering alone in the city. This is the beginning of the Tramp and the Blind Girl’s

relationship. When the Tramp firsts meets the Blind Girl he is unaware of her blindness until the

she drops a flower on the floor and is unable to see where it fell. There is a certain moment in

the scene in which a wealthy man walks by in order to get into a cab and she mistaken this man

for the Tramp. From there on in the Tramp realizes that the Blind Girl is unable to judge him for

his appearance unlike many of the other characters in the film.

Blindness is a prevailing theme of the film. The Blind Girl cannot see the Tramp and

therefore cannot see his poverty. This causes her being unable to judge him for his appearance

as many of the other characters in the film has done; such as the newspaper boys, the sober

millionaire, and his butler; and to see the true nature of the Tramp. The tramp is being used by

several people throughout the film such as the millionaire and the boxing match. The Tramp

enjoys spending time with the Blind Girl and also enjoys her blindness. The Blind Girl believes

that the Tramp is in fact very wealthy even though he is the complete opposite. After the Tramp

is released from jail he wanders the city, similarly to how he did in the beginning of the film,

and meets the Blind Girl at her shop. Charlie Chaplin wanted to convey the message of judging

a person by their character rather than their appearance. During his career, the accusations of

him having multiple affairs with various women caused others to judge Chaplin and assume

that he was a horrible man.

Throughout the scene, the cinematography portrays how Chaplin intends to achieve a

physiological effect throughout the film. The camera moves from character to character and

various different shot types such as close ups and full shots are used. An example of this would

be when the Tramp pays the Blind girl his only coin and a wealthy man walks by. The Blind Girl

mistakes this man for the Tramp. Throughout the sequence of shots, the camera pans from the

wealthy man to the Blind Girl. Even though the camera is shifting the focus, the Tramp is within

the frame. This visually represents how the Tramp is caught in between the predicament of

being mistaken for someone else who is of a higher social class (Shown in Figure 1.)

Figure 1- Chaplin caught between the rich man and the Blind Girl

The flowers are a symbol of beauty and the relationship between the Tramp and the

Blind Girl. The scene begins with a close up shot of the basket of flowers. The selling of the

flowers marks the beginning of the Tramp and the Blind Girl’s relationship. The significance of

the flower is prevalent throughout the film. This scene is the catalyst for symbolizing

importance of the flower. The Blind Girl attempts to sell the flowers to everyone else, however,

no one seems to care enough to even look at her. It is the Tramp who seems to be the only one

who shows sympathy towards the girl. As the Blind Girl sells her flowers she holds one of them

and asks the Tramp if he wants to buy the flower. The flower can be compared to the Blind Girl

to represent her beauty (Shown in Figure 2). The flowers are white which symbolizes purity,

innocence, and goodness. Flower represents the Blind Girl’s goodness and innocence as she

cannot see and is unable to judge others simply by their appearance.

Figure 2- Blind Girl holds a flower and asks the Tramp if he wants to buy it

Through the use of Mise-en-scene, Chaplin conveys the message of the film’s narrative.

It is through Mise-en-scene that it is achieved because the film is silent and there is rarely any

dialogue throughout the film. The placement of objects, people, and setting play an essential

role of relaying the filmmaker’s intentions. The Blind Girl is sitting on a ledge on the side of the

sidewalk. This gives her the appearance of being smaller than those who walk around her. She

is the subsidiary contrast within the frame. She is off to the side and does not particularly stand

out in the shot (Shown in Figure 3).

Figure 3- The Blind Girl is off to the side while the wealthy people are in the center

In this particular shot, the Blind Girl is not in the center of the image. Instead, she is on

the side and does not stick out. The dominant image in this shot are the wealthy people who

walk down the sidewalk without glancing at the Blind Girl. In order to have enough money to

survive the Blind Girl needs to sell the flowers but is unable to do so until the Tramp buys one

from her. Chaplin displays how class systems are portrayed in this shot of the scene. The higher

classes do not associate or even want to look at those who are of a lower class than them. This

can relate back to when Chaplin was a young kid who was in poverty and had to earn money for

his family in order to survive when he lived in Britain. Seeing how America was reflecting off of

the social classes in Britain, it inspired Chaplin to incorporate social classes into the film.

The Millionaire does not know who the Tramp is when he is sober. The Millionaire is the

example of the higher social classes not associating with the lower classes. Only when the

Millionaire is drunk does he become friends with the Tramp. The Tramp is a character that

symbolizes those of the lower classes. He is a kind-hearted man who thinks of others and is

always willing to help. Despite the fact that the Tramp is in poverty himself, he still buys the

flower from the Blind Girl (Shown in Figure 4).

Figure 4- The Tramp buys the flower from the Blind Girl

The film addresses the social and economic issues occurring in 1920s America. Chaplin

felt that the division between the social classes was an issue and that it must be focused on. He

felt a deep connection with those who were of the lower social class because he himself was of

a social class in his early life. Charlie Chaplin associates himself with the Tramp. The character

portrays the goodness of those in the lower classes and that they should not be judged simply

by appearance but by the person’s character.

Word Count: 1675

Works Cited

Editors, Biography.com. “Charlie Chaplin.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 28 Apr. 2017, www.biography.com/people/charlie-chaplin-9244327.

Eggert, Essay by Brian. “City Lights.” Deep Focus Review, Deep Focus Review, 16 Jan. 2010, deepfocusreview.com/definitives/city-lights/.

Demain, Bill. “Charlie Chaplin's City Lights.” Masterpieces: Charlie Chaplin's City Lights | Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 24 Feb. 2012, mentalfloss.com/article/30080/masterpieces-charlie-chaplins-city-lights.

Hall , Mordaunt. “CHAPLIN HILARIOUS IN HIS 'CITY LIGHTS'; Tramp's Antics in Non-Dialogue Film Bring Roars of Laughter at Cohan Theatre.TAKES FLING AT ‘TALKIES‘Pathos Is Mingled With Mirth in a Production of Admirable Artistry. A College Comedy.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Feb. 1931, www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=980DE5DD173BE433A25754C0A9649C946094D6CF.

Ebert, Roger. “City Lights Movie Review & Film Summary (1931) | Roger Ebert.” RogerEbert.com, Ebert Digital LLC, 21 Dec. 1997, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-city-lights-1931.

Maland, Charles J. Chaplin and American Culture: the Evolution of a Star Image. Princeton University Press, 1991

Tomyn, Rosanne. “Changes in Social Class in America in the 1920s.” Synonym, classroom.synonym.com/changes-in-social-class-in-america-in-the-1920s-12083429.html.