Central Arguments in the Film and the Reading: The Great Dictator

Name
Professor
Course
Date
Film and Reading Analysis
Film: The Great Dictator
Reading: Jonathan D. Tankel's The Impact of The Jazz Singer on the Conversion to Sound
Central Arguments in the Film and the Reading
The Great Dictator is an American political satire and a comedy-drama film produced in 1940 starring the celebrated British actor Charlie Chaplin as Adenoid Hynkel. This film was Chaplin's first sound film since he transformed from the silent film. This makes the film among the most celebrated of Chaplin's movies. The central idea in the movie is the dictatorship regime. Chaplin uses this film to document when Europe experienced a rise in dictatorships, especially Adolf Hitler in Germany. He never wanted anybody to outshine him, and those who tried to be democratic were taken into concentration camps. The film teaches countries and other leaders that democracy and consensus are good when Barber impersonates Hynkel and stops the soldiers from attacking Osterlich ("The Great Dictator 1940").
The other important aspect of the film is its historical relevance in transitioning from silent films to sound. The Great Dictator is Charlie's first movie, where we, the audience, enjoy his voice accompanying the motion images. This is a historical development in film history because it enhances the movie's comprehension and subsequent films.
The reading explores the transition from silent films to the sound film era. It uses the film The Jazz Singer to describe the reaction to the development to sound. The emergence of sound in film in 1928 with the release of The Jazz Singer changed the film industry as the audience could comfortably follow the visual film scenes and sound. This helped the audience understand the plot without guessing the events and probable conversations within a scene like in the silent film era. This reading's argument relates to The Great Dictator's because they both envisage the excitement that followed the incorporation of sound in motion pictures (Tankel, 21-25).
Film's Social, Cultural, Political and Historical Focus
The film describes Adolf Hitler's dictatorship-era when Hynkel uses the military to pursue his political and dictatorship interest ("The Great Dictator 1940"). It is a political as well as a historical representation of many dictatorship countries in the World. For example, in Uganda, an African country, the regime uses the military to frustrate the opponents who are on a campaign trail for the 2021 general election in the country (Adebayo).
Socially, the film focuses on how different governments treat minority groups. The Jews, in the film, were confined to ghettos. Hynkel oppressed them by forcing them to live in ghettos where life is not good. Similarly, anybody who opposed him was taken into concentration camps ("The Great Dictator 1940"). This is also a vice that ...