Metropolis presents a clear call for social unity with its key message, “the intermediary between the hand and the brain is the heart” . Filming for Metropolis began in 1925, six years after the German Revolution of 1918 where social tensions erupted in violence. German leadership during the war had made numerous concessions to labor unions such as in the Auxiliary Service Act of 1916 to placate the growing labor conflicts in Germany until the war was won, but the war was never won and social tensions between the bourgeoisie leadership and working class in Germany broke out in violence, the result of which was the establishment of the Weimar Republic. Despite significant economic, social, and political reforms, there remained significant …show more content…
issues within the Weimar Republic that needed to be addressed. Conflict broke out regularly between and within left-wing and right-wing groups, the working class and the aristocrats, and anybody and everybody. Peace it seemed was never permanent. Metropolis, like many events of the time, is a response to these class conflicts ***how is it a response to these class conflicts***, the same class conflicts Marx and Engels described wherein ***describe the class struggle*** Kaes also contends that there possibly exists a link between the recently ended world war, and the style/content of Metropolis. Though the war had been over for five years before Harbou first showed Lang her script, its images were still fresh in Europeans’ minds. The images of the droves of workers in dark suits marching in unison is reminiscent of that of soldiers going off to war. The individual worker or soldier is no more, like Marx described, the development of industry and technology anonymized the proletariat class. Generals could order a thousand soldiers to their death from the comfort of their office in Berlin, never having to see their faces, and when these soldiers were torn apart by machine gun fire, another thousand soldiers could be brought in by railcar and the war would continue like clockwork. One view of this scene is that Harbou meant for the story to be a metaphor for the total war machine; the workers are consumed by the machine but produce now meaningful product, the same result as the first world war. However, given the social and political context of the time in the Weimar Republic a more likely view is that the story is not so much about the tragedies of war, but the human attitudes that allow such tragedies to occur. Bourgeoisie imperialism in the early twentieth century drew the world into war, as Marx foretold, “The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the whole surface of the globe”. It is this problem along with many other themes that Lang depicts in part Metropolis, both the anonymization of the working class and the debasement of their status as humans. Metropolis does diverge from the communist narrative in some places, most notably, and one of the most common critiques of the film is the workers’ relation to the machines.
According to Marx and Engels theory of history, “The unceasing improvement of machinery, ever more rapidly developing, makes their [the proletariat’s] livelihood more and more precarious” (CM 229). In Metropolis the machines make the workers lives more precarious, but not because they take the place of the worker, forcing them to seek ever more precarious employment. In human history, the function of a machine has been to automate a task or to make a job easier, but the machines of Metropolis require perpetual attention from the workers and seem to make their jobs harder rather than easier. To many critics, the machines of Metropolis were pointless and only served as a plot device. Lang’s perceived misrepresentation of machinery drew criticism from social progressives for misrepresenting the real issue, what Marx and Engels see as the issue with bourgeoisie society, and that is the exploitation of other human beings (Elasser 43). Conversely, conservatives saw the film as advocating the class-struggle; it seems that every political party had a different view of the film. Despite its seemingly anti-bourgeois-capitalist rhetoric, German communists decried the film’s adage that the mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart. Some found the message to be hypocritical, that Lang would suggest such an idea when the film he created was funded by the sort capitalist exploitation he warned against. In the months following the film’s release, journalist Felix Ziege
wrote, this film, born out of bourgeois-capitalist ideology and produced with the insistently obtrusive intent to propagate the idea of class-reconciliation, the better to further capitalist methods of exploitation, only succeeds in unmasking the bourgeois worker-friendly phraseology in all its mendacity (Source 65 qtd. in Elasser p. 42)
Marx’s idea of the estrangement of man from the product of his labor described the suffering of countless hours or work by the laborer, contributing to the production of a product that he could not afford with the wages he made. He helped to produce a product that only those wealthier than he could afford. As the society around him became more object-oriented, he became increasingly more alienated. In the lager, one factor that distanced the laborer from his product was that he no longer worked for a wage, but for survival. In a description of his fellow worker, Levi wrote, “He seems to think that his present situation is like outside, where it is honest and logical to work, as well as being of advantage, because according to what everyone says, the more one works the more one earns and eats.” Levi pitied his fellow worker for his naivety, as the Lager was not a place of labor for prosperity, but strictly a place of labor by force. One worked in order to live, focusing more on the uncertainty of their next meal, day, or even breath than the product of their l...
The film 1981 Harrison Bergeron had many characteristics of a dystopian society. For example, propaganda plays a significant role in a dystopian society and in the during the film, it was mentioned that Harrison Bergeron, the son of George and Hazel was arrested six years ago for “propagandist vandalism”. Propaganda in a dystopian society is used to control the citizens, as well as promoting specific societal standards. Also, with propaganda, the leader (Handicapper General) of the society has the power to persuade the citizens to give up their talents, individuality, life, etc. Thus, propaganda plays a large role on social tensions. In addition, this film demonstrates a dystopian society because the leader of the society convinces the citizens to give up their individuality in exchange for a “better”
While this is a dramatized statement regarding the plight of the worker under the new machine driven industrial system, rhetoric such as this did represent the fears of the working class. Over time as industrialization appeared more commonly there emerged more heated debates between the working class and business owners.
The radical changes of the nineteenth century were unlike any the world had seen before. A sense of these changes were felt by all in many aspects; not just politically, but in social and cultural means as well. When Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was published in 1831, it was clear that many general elements of the romantic era were well reflected. Similarly, Karl Marx and Frederick Engels' The Communist Manifesto appeared in 1848, a time of great national political revolutions throughout Europe. While textually these historic nineteenth century texts have little in common, it is clear however that they both are strong reactions to previous movements of European society. Underlying Shelley's Frankenstein are strong uses of romanticism, whereas The Communist Manifesto is undoubtedly opposing the consequences of the industrial revolution in Europe; both reactions of the past, yet effective in starkly different ways.
The 2006 film V for Vendetta, a cinematic remake of the classic graphic novel series by the same name, is the epitome of a Marxist fairy tale. The film is complete with a bourgeoisie government who spreads their ideology, via mass media, to a citizenry composed entirely of proletariats, and a hero who sets out to break said citizenry from the prison of false consciousness. If one examines the setting and environment of the film, and follows the main characters as they fight against, or break free from, false consciousness, evidence of Marxist themes are present throughout the film.
The Prussian Province in which Engels was raised was the most industrialized place in Germany at the time. This gave Engels the ability to see the growing aspect of capitalism in society. He soon noticed the conflict between the labor and management. Even in his early years he showed concern for “social injustices”.[iii] Everyday when he went to school, he passed factories where workers “ ‘breathed in more smoke and out more dust than oxygen’, where children were imprisoned from the age of six, to be ‘victims of capitalist exploitation’.” [iv] He saw the poor work from morning until night and the homeless who slept in stables or on dung heaps. He watched as society escaped reality by slipping into a state of drunkenness each evening. He noticed the fierce competition among the industries creating an even more demanding atmosphere that showed no improvement in the current situation. His keen observations drove him to take action, especially since he was the son of a factory owner.[v]
Ruppert, Peter. “Technology and the Constructions of Gender in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.” (2000) [Accessed 18 December 2012]
This is illustrated by the matrix, the fake, simulated world that the humans are kept in. This world was created by the machines to keep the humans from seeing the truth. In the article, Hess points out how Marx shows us where to look for the relation between base and superstructure. He claims that Marx believed that the realm of production "conditions the general process of social, political and intellectual life.” Hess goes on to explain that ideology is “unreliable” and mystifies social relations. I represent this in my video by explaining how, in the movie, Morpheus tries to get Neo to understand this concept by opening the curtain of the matrix and revealing the truth behind the illusion. When Neo begins to understand the matrix, he realizes that he is merely a worker being exploited for the machine’s benefit, and that the world he knew was only an ideology created and ensured by
During the time of the industrial era, there were many people upset over the manner in which the nations were being run. They were upset with the idea of capitol gain and how it was affecting people’s actions. They saw this era causing people to exploit each other with the intent of monetary gain. Those that were already part of the higher ranking class, the richer, would see reason to force the lower class, the working man, to spend his life in the new factories. He would be bullied into risking life and limb at the monstrous machines while hardly earning a penny. The working man suffered because the richer man owned the factory and consumed all the profits himself. Some men, however, saw a solution as well as the problem. They thought that if the power could be taken out of the hands of the strong and power hungry, then the working class would realize the rights they had all along. The constant struggle for power would be eliminated and so society would become better. Two of these men were Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marx had received all the recognition while Engels has been shunted off the pages of history. He did, however, still have an impact on the development of communism.
Since the early symphonies of Sammartini and Stamitz the orchestral symphony has underwent constant development. In the early nineteenth century Beethoven started a new form of the symphony when he composed a symphony based on programmatic music. The programmatic symphony is a composition that is written with non-musical influences. "Program music is instrumental music which tells a story illustrates literary ideas, or evokes pictorial scenes. Though the term originated with Listz, illustrative music has existed for as long as music itself."(Kennedy p. 579)
One of the saddest aspects of Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis, concerns the fact that young Gregor Samsa genuinely cares about this family, working hard to support them, even though they do little for themselves. On the surface, Kafka's 1916 novella, seems to be just a tale of Gregor morphing into a cockroach, but a closer reading with Marx and Engels' economic theories, unveils an impressive metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of Marxist society. Gregor, the protagonist, denotes the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict, that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis, contributes to his inability to work. This expresses the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations.
In The Machine Stops, E.M. Forster projects life years from now where people live underground with extreme technological advances. Also, people live separated in little rooms where they find a variety of buttons they can press in order to perform any task they desire. They do not communicate with people face to face as often as we do now. Without a doubt, their society is very different from ours. All of the inhabitants are used to living along with the Machine and it is hard for them to imagine life without everything the Machine is able to facilitate. People are so caught up with technology that they find it absurd to spend time in nature. Because of the dependence people have towards the Machine, they have somewhat lost their humanity and become a machine themselves. The characters Vashti and Kuno perfectly represent how inhumane or humane a person could potentially be in such an environment.
LeBon suggested that crowds acted like Rousseau’s primitive man because they were spontaneous, easily influenced, and liable to turn violent (LeBon, in L&L 60). The crowd was incapable of higher forms of thought like morality, leading to fears of moral degeneration (LeBon, in L&L 60). Chant described how new spaces that provided entertainment for the masses—like theaters—were riddled with prostitution, gambling, alcohol, and other sinful activities (Chant, in L&L 71). Although Engels also spoke about moral degeneration, he thought that it was caused by industrialization itself rather than new spaces. In Great Towns, poverty caused by industrialization made people to turn to thievery, prostitution, and “moral ruin” (Engels). However, industrialization did not only cause the poor to degenerate; it caused everyone to feel “brutal indifference,” become “monads” of “unfeeling isolation,” and to ultimately “sacrifice the best of human nature” (Engels). The Communist Manifesto reflects Engels’ fears of moral degeneration of the masses; it claims that capitalism is not only exploitative, but also “profane[s]” “all that is holy” (Marx and
He writes, “The final word of Communism is to rule, not to save” (Para.2 Why I am not…) showing it to be more about chaos than order and equality. This applies directly to R.U.R., as when the robot revolution occurs, their orders were “to kill all mankind. Spare no men. Spare no women.”(II. P.61) The goal of the robots during act II is not to achieve this idea of utopia but to eliminate the humans, who are perceived to be the equivalent of the bourgeoisie. When putting it into perspective, this revolution by the robots demonstrates the overall brutality and issues, which were never raised or considered by Marx and Engels. Overall, we can see how the “gigantic slogan [of Communism] is power (moc), not help (pomoc).”(Para.2 Why I am not…) Is incorporated into the robot’s conquest of the humans, as that was their sole objective and power was the motivating factor for
From a scholarly point of view, the film accurately depicts the lifestyle of a factory worker in the timeframe. Workers would stand on an assembly line and repeat the same action day in and day out. The film also depicts the transition of the human dependency of machines very well. The workers would work at the pace of the machines. The film also had metaphors of humans being controlled by machines when the main actor was sucked into the pulley system of a machine. The film also has a scene where there is a machine that automatically feeds humans.