Comparing Fritz Lang And Metropolis

A comparative study of texts and the composer’s contexts demonstrates similar intertextual perspectives of universal issues regardless of the time written. Both Fritz Lang and George Orwell lived in times of wars that were a result of extreme political regimes. Lang specifically created his silent film Metropolis in 1927 in response to German expressionism values including art, architecture and emotion, in post-World War One Germany. Orwell wrote his dystopic 1948 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) after he was horrified by the control the government had over society in World War Two and Stalin’s communist Russia. Both composers have a similar purpose in forewarning society about the consequences of extreme governments; however their representation

The film is a representation of Lang’s prediction of the future based on his observation of extreme power regimes, especially Germany’s power in World War One. The religious allusion of “Moloch” relates the inhumane sacrifice of children to Moloch, to the sacrifice of workers to industrialisation. The Moloch machine eventually throws the workers to the floor representing the power technology has over man. Joh Frederson represents the elite class whereas Maria is a representative of the underclass workers. Freder acts as “the Mediator” representing the need for balance in this dystopic society. Lang, in contrast to Orwell, had only witnessed one world war, accounting for the hope and possibility of reconciliation within society at the end of Metropolis. “The mediator between the head and hands must be the heart,” is displayed as an epigram and repeated throughout the film, conveyed through the characterisation of Joh Frederson “the Head”, Maria “the Hands” and Freder, as “the Heart.” In the final scene, these three characters are displayed in the foreground holding hands indicating the small hope for a better future within a controlling government. Thus, Lang warns against extreme political regimes but conveys the hope for reconciliation between

“Airstrip One,” the main setting, is illustrated with poor living conditions, rationed food, “smelt of boiled cabbage” and poor wages. Orwell demonstrates his severe concern for the future, similarly to Lang’s portrayal of the conditions of the “worker’s city.” “Big Brother Is Watching You,” symbolises a leader who, similar to Stalin, is monitoring every move. The total control over the population is furthered through Orwell’s construction of the “thought police”, directly influenced by Stalinist Russia’s ‘NKVD’ and Hitler’s German ‘Gestapo’. “The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war,” demonstrates the enforcement of ironic government policies on the public and subsequent dystopic society. The ‘party slogans’ are repeated, “War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength,” enforcing a contradictory belief on the population that restricts freedom of thought. Therefore, unlike Lang, Orwell goes further and creates a dystopia, condemning