CHARLIE CHAPLIN’S THANKSGIVING DINNER: A PARABLE FOR OUR TROUBLED FINANCIAL TIMES

Posted on November 26th, 2008

Charlie Chaplin transformed his childhood experiences with poverty and starvation into comedy. Chaplin grew up at times living beneath the poverty line. As a 14-year-old he personally witnessed the harrowing spectacle of his 38-year-old formerly glamorous and vivacious showgirl mother being driven mad by severe hunger and chronic malnutrition to the point of hallucinations and delusions (as well as other factors discussed in CHAPLIN A LIFE). Nothing if not a survivor, Charlie left us with a message of hope for the economic adversity of our modern times. [Chaplin himself is the narrator commenting on the film clip below. The original version of THE GOLD RUSH--the classic one--did NOT have this narrative commentary.]