Film and Media History Communications Assignment Paper

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Film and Media History
Over the years, the search for the original version of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis has been liked to a sort of Holy Grail. The original version, which is about two and a half hours, had not been watched in its full length. After premiering in Berlin in 1927, it was suddenly withdrawn from circulation. Close to an hour of the film was amputated and presumed destroyed. The curiosity behind the film lies in the fact that Metropolis is the most iconic silent picture film of its day. Being the grandfather of Sci-Fi movies, Metropolis offers an opportunity to reflect on the role of film and media in society. Metropolis succeeds in displaying the attitude of society towards both technology and women.
Lang and Thea von Harbou wrote metropolis and made it in Germany. The film was inspired by a mix of elements and settings, like New York skyline and Tokyo’s red-light district. The movie shows a futuristic urban dystopia in the year 2026. In the future, the city of Metropolis is dominated by wealthy industrialists and business owners CITATION Lan27 \l 1033 (Lang). At the same time, the workers, who dwell on the ground of the city work hard to operate the machines that power the city. Underground where the workers toil, viewers can see the dark side of technology. The workers have been reduced to machines where mechanical rhythms of machines determine their movements. As the film progresses, an explosion occurs in the Machine Room, which leads to the deaths of workers CITATION Lan27 \l 1033 (Lang). The alienation and fragmentation of the workers have originated from the domination of machines.
On the contrary, the surface of the city shows a different image than the one in the underground of the city. The surface of Metropolis city indicates the dystopian view of technology. The city is thriving, with skyscrapers, highways, airplanes and pleasure gardens. In this side of the city, technology is a critical tool that the inhabitants utilize to benefit themselves. Here, individuals take advantage of technology to attain their sensual pursuits and playful activities. As a result, Freder is the son of the wealthy city master, Joh Fredersen and Maria, a saintly figure to the workers, are trying to bridge the gap between the different classes in the city by overcoming the gulf separating the classes.
The film presents the two aspects of technology in an attempt to show how society in the f...