Modern times

setting: 1930's in America. It was in the period of industrialization.
conflict: Charlie against mechanization. He was forced to work too hard and it can been even seen as a part of the machine. In another words, he against factory, the period and the trend of society.
Irony: There was an irony in the scene of that Charlie sat in front of a machine and the machine automatically helped him with eating. The machine was developed  to improve efficiency of human being. However, it was the machine that took more time to finish eating after all compared with the length of time he may take to finish eating himself. People had to waste their time to maintain it. Second, another irony was seen on the scene that he wanted to go to a jail.  In the jail, he could get meal, accommodation, or good security. So he committed crime to go to jail/ It seemed really stupid but it made sense actually.
Theme: I think the theme was that we do not have to forget to think about what is the purpose. This period, people were crazy for mechanization. But then what was the purpose? Why were they so crazy sacrificing their life? What could they gain by it? Maybe they lost really lot of precious things. And it made people more busy and made the world more difficult to live in.
Symbol: machine was a symbol of busyness.