Abstract:
This thesis examines the 1936 film Modern Times and the 1973 film Soylent
Green. I examine both films from both a Burkean perspective, dissecting the terministic
screens present in each film, and a Marxist perspective, analyzing the films’ depiction of
alienation, class struggle and human commodification. My ultimate argument is that
each respective film contains two terministic screens that problematize the cultural
narratives of industrialization and technological advancement. Modern Times uses
screens of dehumanization and the American Dream to depict the plight of working
people trapped in menial, low-paying jobs aspiring in vain to something better, whereas
Soylent Green uses screens of degradation and pollution to highlight how human bodies
are devalued, being treated first as disposable and then as consumable products. I
conclude my analysis by connecting fictional dystopias, both in these specific films and
as a larger genre, to the turmoil extant in the real world.
