Tomorrow the birds will sing. . . . Be brave! Face life! – The Tramp

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                A poor but wise man lived in the city, and he could have delivered the city by his wisdom, but no one listened to that poor man. So I concluded that wisdom is better than might, but a poor man’s wisdom is despised; no one ever listens to his advice. – Ecclesiastes 9:15-16

                I just finished watching a movie where the dialogue was so trite and annoying that I was tempted to turn the volume off. I figured it could only be an improvement. Many of us know a person (or many persons) that don’t seem to know when to stop talking. Their voice becomes like Quint dragging his fingernails down the chalkboard in Jaws. Juxtaposed is the friend who does not need to say a single thing to communicate across the room. With a simple look or gesture paragraphs of information can be conveyed. I know which one most of us prefer.

                Although “silent” movies are a barrier to many people, even many cinephiles, the artform reveals a truism about all movies. Most of what is communicated is not audible. A well-known study suggested that 93% of communication is nonverbal. While those numbers are most definitely skewed,[1] they remind us that there is much more going on than simply being talked at.

                One of the greatest artists of this “silent” era was Charlie Chaplin. Once proclaimed as the greatest popular artist of the 20th century, I wonder how many people would recognize his name today? How many would recognize his films? This was a man that understood the medium of film. And he stubbornly rejected the dialogue that would come in the sound age.

                City Lights was made three years into the era of “talkies,” but Chaplin decided not to make his signature character, The Tramp, speak. A smart move in my opinion. Not only had the character not talked in all previous films, but had created a persona that could only effectively be communicated through action. Sometimes words clutter. They get in the way. And they just might spoil the imagination brought by the viewer.[2]

                So what is conveyed by the Tramp? The first is that we should not judge a book by its cover. Wisdom can come from unlikely places. The second is that true kindness is tested when it is toward the least in society. Jesus would ask, “if you do good to those who do good to you what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same” (Luke 6:33). Kindness is only genuine when it costs us something.

                We meet our intrepid outcast at the unveiling of a new statue in the park. The statue is called “Peace and Prosperity” and is introduced by political figures who get the “parents from Peanuts” treatment. Instead of the words of their speech we are met with the bumbling sound of trombones meant to evoke the meaningless of their words. Not much has changed about politics. But at the inauguration, the Tramp is sleeping in the arms of the seated figure, much to the bemusement of the crowd and the vexation of the mayor. If he can’t find a place to sleep under “Peace and Prosperity” then where can he find it?

                The Tramp has very little to his name, and no appearance that should catch our attention. The only “friends” that the Tramp makes along the way are those that can’t really see him. The first is a wealthy man who is attempting to kill himself as the Tramp is getting ready to sleep on a bench for the night. The Tramp saves the drunken millionaire who shows his gratitude by inviting him into his extravagant lifestyle. But when he sobers up, he forgets the goodness that the Tramp has shown him and kicks him to the curb. He no longer sees the man who saved him, but a bum who is mooching off his wealth.

                The second is a woman selling flowers on a street corner. She literally cannot see the Tramp for who he is because she is blind. During one of his prodigal nights with the millionaire the Tramp is able to give the woman an exorbitant amount of money for her flowers. In his kindness, the blind woman assumes that the Tramp is wealthy. He doesn’t correct her.

                Everyone judges the Tramp to be unworthy of any time in civilized society. His constant missteps, his off-putting appearance, and troubled gait all are difficult aspects for everyone to overlook. We are quick to judge the value of a person based on all sorts of external factors. But while “people look on the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We find that the Tramp is quick to look out for the good of others, but he is often met with suspicion and outright scorn. His antics may not help, but they are endearing to us who get to see the entire picture.

                For this very reason, we should be convicted about how we view others. The Tramp is always an inconvenience. He never does anything smooth or without consequence. In many ways he is difficult to love. And yet God chooses to love us despite more unloving characteristics than portrayed by the Tramp. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). Because of this we have no excuse to treat others well, despite their inconveniences (John 13:34-35).

                But kindness is rarely the easy road. Apathy or ignorance is often the path we choose. The Tramp, however, shows that anyone can be kind if they are willing to work at it. When he learns that the blind woman and her grandmother are $22 short on rent, he resolves to get a job in order to pay for their bills. Cleaning the streets isn’t glamorous work, but it just might be enough to lift the blind woman from her troubles. When his job falls through, he is willing to get in the boxing ring to make some quick cash. The problem is that his “easy opponent” who promised to split the earnings with him is forced to run from the police and is replaced by a much more imposing figure who is unwilling to share the prize. What ensues is one of Chaplin’s most well-known scenes where he dances around the ring behind the referee, looking for any clever way to sneak out a win. Even with all his cunning, he finds himself on the losing end, and still without the money to save his new friend.

                Then re-enters his old friend, returned from Europe and suitably inebriated to remember the man who saved his life. He pledges $1,000 not only to solve the blind woman’s rent but to pay for an operation to fix her sight. What occurs next is an unfortunate trick of fate. Upon receiving this gift, the Tramp foils a burglary and once again saves the millionaire’s life. But in the ordeal the burglars escape, and the wealthy man is struck in the head. When the police arrive, they find the Tramp with $1,000 and the millionaire with no recollection of the events. Instead of waiting around to be arrested, the Tramp escapes to give the money to the blind woman.

                The woman receives the generous donation, but the Tramp inevitably gets caught and thrown into jail. He reappears on the same street corner eight months later, looking even worse than he was at the beginning of the movie. Kids continually shoot spitballs at him, but a woman from the flower shop shows him kindness by giving him a single flower. The Tramp is mesmerized, staring at the woman whom he helped almost a year prior. The woman doesn’t recognize him. How could she? She thought a wealthy benefactor was looking out for her. But when their hands touch, she realizes that the homeless man standing before her was indeed her savior. She showed kindness to the least of society, but was really showing kindness to someone much more significant in her life (Matthew 25:34-40).

                Kindness is not something deserved. If it were then none of us would receive any. Many of us wrongly assume that we deserve compassion or sympathy. The whole reason that God’s love for me is overwhelming is because I didn’t deserve it.  “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The motivating factor of God’s kindness toward you and me was not because of what we bring to the table, but on the basis of his mercy. For “even though we were dead in offenses, [God] made us alive together with Christ – by grace you are saved . . . to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:5,7).

                The Tramp is all of us, whether we like to admit it or not. We were the outcast; we were the exile. Even if we were surrounded by like-minded people, wealth, and prestige, all of us were defined by our separation from God. Hopefully someone’s kindness can point you to the truth that there is a God that wants to show you kindness as well.

Should I Watch This Movie? – Get over your aversion to anything older than you are and watch this movie.

Should This Movie Be in the Top 250? – It is one of Chaplin’s best which means it’s one of the best of all time.

 

[1] Albert Mehrabian’s research in 1967 found that communication was 55% body language, 38% tone, and 7% words. The studies only measured how people interpret mixed messages when words, facial expressions, and audible tenor did not match.

 

[2] If you want an example of this, see Singin’ in the Rain where the silent movie star ends up having an unlistenable voice. Some things you can’t just unhear.