Cinema and History: understanding the chronotopic dynamics of contemporary migrations from Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (1917)

Abstract

In this article it is intended to reflect on the relationship between cinema and history, considering the film as an object of analysis and an instrument of research, as well as a builder of historical environments and landscapes. Therefore, it will be discussed the cinema’s role as the producer/reproducer of moments and spaces, being cited and discussed the positions of authors such as Smith (1976), Ferro (1998), Kaes (1990), Moretti (2004), Protat (2009), Reigada (2013), amongst others. Based on this line of ideas, as well as taking into account the dynamics of contemporary migrations, it will be presented a case study which will contribute towards the understanding of transoceanic migration systems in the 20th century. In order to do that, it will be conducted a content analysis of the movie “The Immigrant” (1917), by Charles Chaplin, being focused the relation between time, space and movie image.