Selected Texts: Final Speech From “The Great Dictator”
Written, produced, directed, and starred in by famed actor Charlie Chaplin, the 1940 film The Great Dictator carries within it a powerful message. Beyond the comedic relief provided by its satirical nature, there is an obvious commentary on World War II-era politics that is unfortunately just as relevant now as it was then.
Chaplin portrays both of the film’s lead characters: an unnamed Jewish barber and Adenoid Hynkel, the fascist dictator of the fictional country of Tomania. Hynkel, the “Phooey” of Tomania, is an obvious parody of Adolf Hitler, the Führer of Nazi Germany, and is only one of many such direct examples of the anti-Nazi propaganda packed into the film, including Benzino Napaloni, Dictator of Bacteria, a parody of Benito Mussolini, Dictator of Italy, and the Stormtroopers, a parody of the infamous Gestapo. Additionally, the swastika is replaced by the “double cross” and rather than Austria, Hynkel and Napaloni attempt to invade the country of Osterlich. But some similarities are even less subtle, as Hynkel enacts anti-Semitic policies and sends anyone who he believes to be lesser to concentration camps, dreaming of a world filled with only the blue-eyed, blond people of the Aryan race despite being brunette himself.
As they’re portrayed by the same man, Hynkel and the barber are naturally identical, which ultimately leads the barber to be mistaken for Hynkel and allows him to assume the Dictator’s position. The barber’s actions from that point onward are the reason I’ve chosen to call your attention to The Great Dictator today, as, in the final six minutes of the film’s just over two-hour run time, he conveys what I consider to be the strongest and most direct component of its overarching message in the form of the “Final Speech.”
Click for Full Transcript & Video
Although I’ll admit I didn’t watch the full movie until about a week before this post’s publication, I came across the speech years ago, likely during the middle of 2020. It was a random find, but, strange as it is, I still think about it sometimes, even five years later. Naturally, the moments when I remember it tend to be the moments when it’s most relevant to current events, which means that I’ve been reminded of it a lot more than I would have liked to be since January.
At some point in the summer of 2022, I must have been thinking about it a lot, as a copy of the transcript in my handwriting is the first entry in one of my most important notebooks. I may not remember writing it, but I can safely assume that it was in response to the overturning (1) of a certain landmark Supreme Court case (2) that June.
In that journal entry, I highlighted several quotes within the speech, a select few of which are quoted in order of their appearance as follows:
“In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way.”
“We think too much and feel too little.”
“The hate of men will pass, and dictators die, and the power they took from the people will return to the people. And so long as men die, liberty will never perish…”
“Only the unloved hate - the unloved and the unnatural!”
“ You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.”
“Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people!”
“Let us fight to free the world - to do away with national barriers - to do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men’s happiness.”
Admittedly, my favorite quotes make up a solid chunk of the speech, but that’s part of the point. All of those words give me hope.
As we watch our safeguards on policies designed to ensure all people are included, that our treatment of all diverse groups of people is equitable, and that all people have the right to build their own lives within the borders of the United States, regardless of where they were born or what nation(s) they previously called home, I find myself needing to emphasize how necessary it is to pay attention to what’s going on around you and to speak up when you witness something that’s wrong. These are sentiments that I have expressed before—most notably in my remarks on last November’s US presidential election—and that I will continue to express again and again until I either find that it’s no longer necessary or I’m no longer able to speak.
I know many people who believe that politics is not their place or concern, but I promise you, if you live in a world in which you are governed by someone else, it is. Political ignorance, another topic I’ve written about in the past, is not a trait to embrace or to brag about. It never has been, and it never will be.
A world in which we value and love one another for who we are is not the world we currently live in, nor is it a world that the path we’re barreling down is ever going to yield. Things are likely to get worse before they get better, but if the past serves as any kind of example, they will get better, even if it takes time. In the meantime, I encourage you to watch The Great Dictator, listen to and read the speech, consider what I’ve said, and remember that:
“You the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure.” - Charlie Chaplin
Included Links (in order of appearance):
The Final Speech from The Great Dictator: https://www.charliechaplin.com/en/articles/29-the-final-speech-from-the-great-dictator-
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Oyez): https://www.oyez.org/cases/2021/19-1392
Roe v. Wade (Oyez): https://www.oyez.org/cases/1971/70-18
“On the Results of the 2024 US Presidential Election” (Chloe HazelJane): https://www.chloehazeljane.com/other-visual-media/on-the-results-of-the-2024-us-presidential-election
“Opinion: Political Ignorance is Your Toxic Trait” (Chloe HazelJane): chloehazeljane.com/blog/political-ignorance-is-your-toxic-trait
Footnotes:
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization: In a 6-3 SCOTUS decision on June 24, 2022, the decisions of Roe v. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) were overturned on the grounds that the United States Constitution does not mention and, therefore, does not guarantee or otherwise protect the right of a pregnant person to receive an abortion.
Roe v. Wade: In a 7-2 1973 SCOTUS decision in favor of Jane Roe, the Supreme Court ruled that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protected the right of a pregnant person to have an abortion prior to viability (with varying levels of state regulation allowed depending on the stage of pregnancy). A fetus is considered “viable” when it could reasonably survive outside of the womb, typically at around 24 weeks gestation.
Speech With Audio Only:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GY1Xg6X20
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/3sGNjqsVvPslYzC9ngl64g?si=2c482b5e7994459f
YouTube Music: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=bxCrF3kDw04
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/final-speech-from-the-great-dictator/977936249?i=977936723
Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/tracks/B00UVVJHW0?do=play&agent=googleAssistant&ref=dmm_seo_google_gkp_tracks&explicit=false
