When Charlie Chaplin was cancelled
Charlie Chaplin vs America. By Scott Eyman. Simon & Schuster; 432 pages; $29.99 and £18.99 In today's culture wars, Hollywood has a starring role.
Films tend to trigger debates about America’s history and values. That has long been the case, as a new book, “Charlie Chaplin vs America", shows. Chaplin, a British citizen, was harassed by the American government, culminating in the revocation of a re-entry permit in 1952.
It is a sobering account of cancel culture in action. Indeed, it makes some of the current spats seem toothless by comparison. “I don’t want to create revolution," Chaplin said.
“I just want to create a few more pictures." But the FBI, suspecting Chaplin of communist sympathies, started surveilling the film-maker in 1922. In a paranoid climate, many looked for evidence of Marxism. Those convinced Chaplin was “red" pointed to his screen persona, the Tramp, an embodiment of the beleaguered everyman.
They perceived it, too, in “Modern Times" (1936), a dramatisation of workers’ plight due to unemployment and automation, and in “The Great Dictator" (1940), which called out America’s isolationism. Officials did not take kindly to Chaplin speaking out about politics, especially when he called for a second front in the war to alleviate pressure on Russia. Some took umbrage that Chaplin made his fortune in America and deigned to comment on its policies but refused to become a citizen.
None of this was illegal. But the FBI bedevilled him, using political groups and the press to whip up anti-Chaplin sentiment. The bureau fed journalists salacious titbits (which were not in short supply: the man was no stranger to a sex scandal).
Read more on livemint.com
