Chaplin vs. Ferrell

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For this paper I have chosen to compare and contrast two personality comedians from different eras. I chose to examine Charlie Chaplin, and specifically his performance in City Lights as my representation of a character we have discussed in class. To cover a modern personality comedian I am going to discuss Will Ferrell, and his work Anchorman. I’m going to discuss their approach to acting, their styles of comedy, and how well they’re received by the audience. When I chose to study Charlie Chaplin I had already learned a good amount of information about his life and career from movies I had seen prior, and articles I had read. However, after watching the movie Chaplin, I already have a greater respect than before for the artist that is Charlie Chaplin. In my life I have been exposed to more Will Ferrell than Charlie Chaplin. So, while I always knew that Charlie Chaplin was one of the greats (arguably the greatest), I did not truly understand all of the hype. When I thought of Charlie Chaplin I imagined the Tramp, but nothing more. When I thought of Will Ferrell I could list a good amount of movies that he has acted in, and the key parts to each movie. So going into this research I was much more knowledgeable about Will Ferrell, and could answer most of the questions I asked myself when I began to research. So, granted, I did more research on Chaplin for this paper, but that ultimately is what made this paper worth writing. I started off my research by comparing the artist’s approach to acting. Chaplin is said to have been very into improvisation. He would walk around the room on set, and see what felt natural to him. This isn’t as evident in the movie City Lights, but I do believe a hint of it can be seen in the opening scene where he wakes up on the new statue. He struggles to get down, and even acts as if nothing is wrong with his predicament. He gets caught

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