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Chaplin and American Culture
Charles Maland focuses on the cultural sources of the on-and-off, love-hate affair between Chaplin and the American public that was perhaps the stormiest in American stardom.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 18, 2013
As a disclaimer, I'm going to start by stating that I didn't actually finish this book because it is long and I needed to get it back to the library.
However, what I read I really enjoyed. In the preface, Charles Maland states that he wants to examine how Charles Chaplin's star image evolved over time in relation to American culture. He does this well and has clearly done an incredible amount of research. I've only seen a few of Chaplin's films and I had no idea a) how popular and powerful he was and b) how much his star image changed over time. There are some flaws. Like any biography that deals with the life of such an influential figure over a long period of time, it contains a lot of people and sometimes I was like 'Which newspaper editor is that?' Also, Maland does rely heavily on Chaplin's autobiographical material without critically interrogating the limitations that are inherent in that kind of material. I also hate the line '[famous person] must have felt ...' in biographies, where in fact the biographer is projecting their own interpretation of events on the subject. Those quibbles aside, this is an excellent, detailed, well-researched star study of a really important figure in film history.
However, what I read I really enjoyed. In the preface, Charles Maland states that he wants to examine how Charles Chaplin's star image evolved over time in relation to American culture. He does this well and has clearly done an incredible amount of research. I've only seen a few of Chaplin's films and I had no idea a) how popular and powerful he was and b) how much his star image changed over time. There are some flaws. Like any biography that deals with the life of such an influential figure over a long period of time, it contains a lot of people and sometimes I was like 'Which newspaper editor is that?' Also, Maland does rely heavily on Chaplin's autobiographical material without critically interrogating the limitations that are inherent in that kind of material. I also hate the line '[famous person] must have felt ...' in biographies, where in fact the biographer is projecting their own interpretation of events on the subject. Those quibbles aside, this is an excellent, detailed, well-researched star study of a really important figure in film history.
November 17, 2014
A strong "portrait of the artist"-type biography that goes beyond the films themselves--albeit with a lot to say about the films--and focuses on how American political and cultural tendencies affected Chaplin's star image, both positively and negatively. Very comprehensive and insightful.
The book's one glaring flaw, and it's no fault of the author, is that the epilogue discusses Chaplin's posthumous star image in relation to IBM's use of the Charlie character to sell personal computers (The book's copyright is 1989) as a "current" phenomenon. Given our current pace of technology and how hopelessly outdated these 1980's home computers now seem, the book needs a newer edition with an updated epilogue. Though, to be sure, the irony of the Modern Times Charlie being used to sell technology is something that would've horrified Chaplin himself.
The book's one glaring flaw, and it's no fault of the author, is that the epilogue discusses Chaplin's posthumous star image in relation to IBM's use of the Charlie character to sell personal computers (The book's copyright is 1989) as a "current" phenomenon. Given our current pace of technology and how hopelessly outdated these 1980's home computers now seem, the book needs a newer edition with an updated epilogue. Though, to be sure, the irony of the Modern Times Charlie being used to sell technology is something that would've horrified Chaplin himself.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews