Metropolis
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Metropolis and analyzing the religious symbols, as well as the historical context, that is utilized to make a social commentary on how technology can further separate classes, age groups, and society as a whole. The fact that the robot's name was Hel is conveying a message of how artificial intelligence can be manipulated to spread evil. Maria was the character foil to Hel, she was an angelic character who glowed, wore light clothing, and was surrounded by crosses and candles. When Hel took on Maria's form, it deepened the contrast between these two characters because we are now seeing Maria in two different forms. We see the angelic Maria that preaches peace to the workers and protects children, and we see the Hel version of Maria who is incredibly lustful and encourages violence. I believe this contrast is very important in highlighting one of the main messages being communicated throughout the film; how advanced technology corrupts and dehumanizes people. In the beginning of the film, we instantly see how the workers are seen as disposable to the machines. The upper class doesn't see the workers as people, they just see them as extensions of the machines. They don't care about making people work on these machines for 10 hours a day or the fact that these people are dying while working. We continue to see how advanced technology corrupts people when the Hel version of Maria is compared to the Whore of Babylon. They describe her as "the seven deadly sins combined," stressing how dangerous and sinful she is. This comparison suggests that advanced technology will be the human race's demise. She encourages violence in the workers, she blinds rich men with lust, and finds joy in seeing the conflicts between the classes. The movie continues to depict that the use of man-made technology, such as robots and machines, result in turmoil and social unrest. I feel that the director is trying to convey the message that humans have the power to destroy themselves by creating and using these machines, without even realizing what they are doing. The main takeaway I took from the movie is that as humans advance technology and progress in the future, they become more corrupt and more capable of continuing to divide the human race, hence the importance of finding "the mediator."
I love this perspective! You hit so many major points in this blog post. I think it is so interesting knowing how timeless this movie is. Even though it was released in 1927, the idea of humans relying too heavily on technology and machinery is still just as prevalent, if not more so, in today's society. This movie does a great job highlighting the importance of connectedness between all people no matter one's physical characteristics.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that technology will be the human race's demise. New technology is being invented and relied on more heavily everyday. Even in schools, rarely is paper and pencil found to complete assignments. Everything has become digitized which could result in future problems especially with economic classes. In the future, if everything becomes digitized who is to say the lower class will have access to the technology they need to function. It is really scary how much we rely on technology and hopefully the human race will be able to find a happy medium.
ReplyDelete