"Metropolis"

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at Fritz Lang's, "Metropolis," which illustrates the communist argument against industrialization because of its effect of distancing man from the products of his labor. The paper describes how "Metropolis" presents a world where the worker no longer sees daylight, cannot exercise free will and is nothing but a slave to the machinery, the sole purpose of which is to provide a fantastically opulent life for those who manage the machinery. The paper shows how Lang conveyed a sense of distrust and fear about the consolidation of political, social, religious and economic power in the hands of a few.

From the Paper:

"Fritz Lang's, Metropolis, is perhaps the most iconic of all anti-technology, post-industrial films. At its core, there exists an absolute penetrating distrust and fear of a technocratic society where people are nothing but cogs in a machine, and their distance from the products of their labor is so great that they are actually living their entire lives underground. Lang's use of communist rhetoric, Plato's cave allegory, and modernist art combined to make Metropolis a truly unique creation for its time. While anti-industrial sentiment had been readily voiced across the social landscape, it was only along the fringe that such rhetoric had any grip. But, within the context of film, and within the structure of the first true science-fiction movie, people could not help but see the plight of the faceless worker, could not help but loathe the self-indulgence and egregious profit-taking of the owners, nor could they help but feel a deep and common sympathy with the desire of the workers to have, if nothing else, their lives in their own hands."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Marx, Karl. "Estranged Labor." 12 11 2006. Marxists.org. 13 02 2008 <http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/labour.htm#05>.
• Thomas, Preston. Thomas Hobbes: Critical Assessment. New York: Routledge, 1993.

More papers on "Metropolis":

• Book Review # 139060 : "The Fragmented Metropolis"
• Comparison Essay # 57065 : "From a Metropolis to Los Angeles"
• Comparison Essay # 118204 : "Arrowsmith", "Metropolis" and "Modern Times"

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