Charlie Chaplin said it all in the movie 'The Great Dictator'

[icymist]

I'm sorry. I don't want to be an Emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone. Jew, Gentile, Black man white, we all want to help one another. Human Beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness, not each other's misery. We don't want to hate or despise one another. In this earth, there's room for everyone. The good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's soul, has blanketed the world with hate, has goosesteped up into bloodshed. We have developed speed, but have shut ourselves in machinery that has promised us abundance, but has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us against our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The airplane and the radio have brought us all closer together, the nature of these inventions cry out for the goodness in man, crys out for the universal brotherhood in us all. Even now, my voice is reaching millions throughout the world. Millions of men, women, children; victims of a system to torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say do not despair, the misery upon us is but a passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took will return to the people. Liberty will never perish.

That last line was not a quote, and I didn't catch the entirety of his speech, but man that guy was good! (raising up a small glass of Merlot) That guy was good!

[orion9941]

1. A wonderful movie!!

That movie still rings true and loud even today. To bad most people have never seen it.

[icymist]

2. Hooray for you orion9941!!!

Welcome to the DU!!!!
:bounce: :toast: :kick:

[spindoctor]

3. Great movie!

And it proves Chaplin was a man of great vision. He started the script in 1938 when Hitler was still largely viewed as an oddball with good intentions.

[icymist]

5. Chaplin was quite the visionary! n/t

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Look up, Hannah!

I just re-watched The Great Dictator this weekend. Fucking BRILLIANT!



Here's a link I found to the mp3 of the Jewish Barber's speech:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/mp3clips/newmoviespeeches/moviespeechthegreatdictator.mp3

[Melodybe]

6. Here is the whole monologue

My favorite Chaplin EVER!


"I'm sorry, but I don't want to be an emperor. That's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible - Jew, Gentile - black man - white.

We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other's happiness - not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there's room for everyone and the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate - has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical; our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in man - cries for universal brotherhood - for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world - millions of despairing men, women, and little children - victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me, I say: 'Do not despair.' The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed - the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress. The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish.

Soldiers! Don't give yourselves to brutes - men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives - tell you what to do - what to think and what to feel! Who drill you - diet you - treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men - machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate, only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!

Soldiers! Don't fight for slavery! Fight for liberty! In the seventeenth chapter of St Luke, it is written the kingdom of God is within man not one man nor a group of men, but in all men! In you! You, the people, have the power - the power to create machines. The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful - to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security.

By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfil that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise! Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason - a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers, in the name of democracy, let us unite!

Hannah, can you hear me? Wherever you are, look up Hannah. The clouds are lifting! The sun is breaking through! We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world - a kindlier world, where men will rise above their hate, their greed and their brutality. Look up, Hannah! The soul of man has been given wings and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope, into the future, the glorious future that belongs to you, to me, and to all of us. Look up, Hannah... look up!"

[Cooley Hurd]

7. Thank you Melodybe - wasn't it your thread last week...

...that quoted the speech?

[Melodybe]

9. Yeah, if you look at my sig line, you'll also find a piece of it

This is one of the greatest monologues of all time, I wish more people would pay attention to black and white movies, sometimes they are so important.

[icymist]

8. Excellent! I raise my glass (of melot) to the Little Tramp!

Godspeed! Come back and sing to us once more!