What is language? According to Weber dictionary, language is “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way”. For me, it is a method to express humans’ emotion and ideas. Thus, it plays a significant and extraordinary sign in the silent pantomime. It makes people think about what we really need in our society.

In the movie “Modern Times” there are two scenes that language presents and impresses people. One is the supervisor in factory gives orders to his employees thought monitors. Another one is when Chaplin sings in the restaurant. In the first scene, it embodies the industry revolution. The factory and its supervisor are side of capitalism, the language (orders) that the supervisor gives to another side of society- proletariat, it presents a dominate relationship. The supervisor sits in his comfortable office wears a suit and doing nothing except monitors his employees. His voice and tone are full of unrespect and arrogance, Thus, the scene of language makes people feel unpleased and anxiety, just like what people feel about the machines in the factory. Also the pace when workers are working seems inhumane and unreasonable. Here, in this time of the machinery and technology, human resources are like machines in the industry for capitalism. The only value of them is creating the benefit. In the second language scene, it was the first time that people heard Chaplin’s voice. In the first, Chaplin works as a waiter and prepares to sing to customers, but he keep forgets the lyrics. At the end, Chaplin just made up a nonsense song. The song that Charlie sang was absolutely not fit the melody but it sounded so joyous and romantic, so nobody even cared and noticed what if the lyrics were right. Chaplin was so confidence when he sang and danced in front of the customers. That was the life should be look like, being confident and happy.

In this silence pantomime, the language is no long the factor to show us about the reality of the society, on the contrary, the silence is. The machines in the factory, the workers on strike, or the family on the starving all relate and reflect the unfair relationship of the classes in our society. The industry evolution is supposed to make humans’ life more comfortable and joyful, but it isn’t. Based on that, human beings need to rethink about the revolution.