In 1940, the infamous Charlie Chaplin starred in a film called The Great Dictator. The movie took place in Nazi Germany, with Charlie playing Hynkel, a fictitious dictator. At the end of the movie, Charlie’s character Hynkel recited a speech that is every bit as relevant and powerful today, as it was during the time of the second World War. Charlie talks about corruption, barbaric leaders, and the enduring nature of the human spirit.
This video is a mashup of Charlie’s famous speech, mixed with a slew of video clips matching the dialogue. I don’t know why, but I find these types of videos extremely moving. Anything that shows a snapshot of human existence set to slow, sad music music is enough to do it. This clip matches those criteria and then some. Soldiers marching, children starving, and flowers blooming. It’s all very touching.
The Great Dictator Speech – Charlie Chaplin
Though perhaps a bit hokey, I really enjoyed watching this. I found Charlie’s speech both well written, and extremely relevant given the current state of global affairs. Anyone with access to the internet knows that we’re living in turbulent and rapidly changes times. Perhaps something old can inspire us to create something new in the way of change for our generation, or generations to come.
