Comparative Analysis of The Works of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton

Similarities and Differences in Style

I found that Chaplin and Keaton had similar works. While both are very similar, they still had their own presence and style. What I found most interesting about their work is that both men had a sympathy for lower-class people, and that was reflected in their works. Similarly, their disdain for greedy people and the state apparatus is evident. This stems from Chaplin and Keaton growing up in lower-income families, with the former experiencing extremely poor conditions in England whilst growing up (Robinson, 1985; Keaton & Samuels, 1960). Interestingly enough, though, Keaton's works didn't feature a protagonist as poor and miserable as Chaplin's did. As far as acting styles, there is a significant difference in the way Chaplin uses his body compared to Keaton. Charlie Chaplin focused mostly on the effects that were produced by different parts of his body to create a character's emotion (Maland, 1989).

Physicality in Performance

'The Bank' is an excellent example of Chaplin using his body to convey the emotions his character is experiencing, as well as presenting comedy. In nearly every movie of Chaplin's, he has an object in his hand when he's interacting with other characters, which allows for more vivacious movements to elicit whatever emotion Chaplin is trying to express within a scene. Conversely, Buster Keaton doesn't really rely much on bodily movements. At the beginning of 'One Week,' Keaton almost looks a little too stiff; this can be seen when he takes the cop's stick away to stop the car. Even when Keaton is swinging the stick around, he's far less animated and moves slower compared to Chaplin's movements in, say, 'The Bank' (Kline, 2010). I also noticed that they share a similarity in creating likable characters by way of carrying themselves with a slightly naive, almost careless way. This childlike innocence makes their characters more relatable and endearing to the audience. I felt like Charlie Chaplin relied a lot on detailed effects that were produced by his body, so the framing within his films had to be tighter than Keaton's. They were also shot, if memory serves correctly, with a wider lens. Keaton didn't use the tight frames, and used a long lens, because he chose not to rely so heavily on his body movements; he wanted to show the physical relationship between his characters and other, often larger, objects (Bowers, 1991).

Staging and Blocking

The staging and blocking of scenes within each of these two were largely influenced by their respective acting choices. Buster relies more heavily on staging and blocking simply because he relied more on the relationships between characters and the objects they are near within a scene. He simply would need more orchestrated scenes in order to pull off comedic tricks. Charlie Chaplin's blocking and staging is on a much smaller scale since he's so physically involved in producing comedic effects. The meticulous planning of Chaplin's scenes allowed for an intimate portrayal of character emotions, while Keaton's broader staging highlighted the comedic potential of his environment (Pramaggiore & Wallis, 2005).

Narrative Focus

I think that the respective stories of each of the two men are ones to be noticed as well. This, again, is heavily influenced by their acting choices. For Chaplin, this means making his stories more centrally focused on a few characters, which allows him to focus more on the detailed body movements. Keaton, on the other hand, focuses on larger-scale stories that need more space to show physical relations between characters and objects, as well as focusing on many, many characters (i.e., 'Cops'). Their storytelling choices reflect their personal philosophies and their experiences growing up in challenging circumstances, showcasing their unique interpretations of the world around them (Kamin, 1995).

References

• Bowers, N. (1991). The Comedy of Buster Keaton. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Kamin, D. (1995). Charlie Chaplin's One-Man Show. Boston: Scarecrow Press.
• Keaton, B., & Samuels, C. (1960). My Wonderful World of Slapstick. New York: Doubleday.
• Kline, J. (2010). The Complete Films of Buster Keaton. New York: Citadel Press.
• Maland, C. (1989). Chaplin and American Culture. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
• Pramaggiore, M., & Wallis, T. (2005). Film: A Critical Introduction. London: Laurence King Publishing.
• Robinson, D. (1985). Chaplin: His Life and Art. London: Penguin Books.