Metropolis

A detailed Summary of Metropolis

Philosophy of Walter Benjamin and Karl Marx in Relation to Metropolis

"Circumstances make men just as much as men make circumstances."

Despite what some may think, humans have significant control over their lives; however they often lack the ability to realize this or to take action within such circumstances. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the communication medium of film has proved so popular, because it has the power to educate and display both simplistic and difficult ideas about everyday life. Such is the case in the movie Metropolis, originally directed by Fritz Lang. Part social and part political commentary, the film becomes more powerful upon viewing because of its truthfulness about the human condition. The movie's message is furthered through its relation to such philosophers as Walter Benjamin and Karl Marx. An interpretation of the film proves more powerful when contemplated through Marx' ideas; however, Benjamin offers a few crucial ideas about the purpose of the film as art and its purpose. In this paper I will show how Benjamin's philosophy of the masses and art in his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, relate to Metropolis as well as hi

Marx, Karl. 1845. "The German Ideology." In The Marx-Engel Reader." New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 146-200.

ghlight the key ideas of Karl Marx as seen in his works, Estranged Labour and The German Ideology, and how they relate to the film as well.

A materialist conception of history is portrayed in Marx' essay, The German Ideology, which when related to Metropolis, adds much meaning to the characters and their actions in the film. Our use of logic may be one of many actions which allows us to drastically change our lives; however this thought may not always be positive. "The relationships of men, all their doings, their chains and their limitations are products of their consciousness" (149). The workers experienced such limitations because their consciousness was limited to their work. When they were taught differently by Maria and the robot of Maria, it was then that the workers were released from their bondage and were able to revolt and make a difference in their terrible way of life. It proves ironic that a female incited the workers to change their existence because of the fact that all of the workers in the mass were male. Never once was a female portrayed as one of the many who worked in the factory. This can be explained through the natural phenomenon of division of labor. In such an idea, the labor of production is divided naturally among those in a society "by virtue of natural disposition (e.g., physical strength)" (159). Although the distribution may prove unequal, the duties of labor cannot help but to follow age and gender lines. In the film, women were not seen as workers because the worker's duties required much stamina and physical strength and endurance; therefore, women would not physically be able to complete the tasks. This division of labor also leads to the three forms of ownership outlined in Marx' essay-all of which Freder briefly experienced in his climb to become Mediator. The first form of ownership is tribal which is the undeveloped stage of production (151). The opening scenes of Metropolis served as metaphor for this. The Eternal Garden of Pleasure and the Stadium races were all Freder knew at first. Because both were reserved for the elite, Freder knew of no classes and division of labor was scarce, only on gender lines. Freder experienced the second form of ownership when he visited his father's office. Here he saw communal and State ownership which is classified by the development of private property and the full development of "the class relation between citizens and slaves" (151). He realized the existence of the Underground City and that it was different than the existence of Metropolis. He knew of the workers that kept the city running, yet he was still part of the upper class because he continued to enjoy his leisure time and activities. However, he soon became aware of the third form of ownership when he went into the depths below and experienced the workers' lives. He saw how they were segregated and were a different class of people, distinguished by their hard work and loss of identity. This feudal ownership is classified by the "association against a subjected producing class" where "property consisted chiefly in the labor of each individual person" (153). The workers represented serfs who soon joined together to create groups for the enhancement of themselves, which Maria led; these can be seen as guilds. As the workers banded together they acquired an identity (as revolutionaries) and security through their numbers in their guild-like groups. Relating some of Marx' theories to Metropolis helps deepen the meaning of the film as a social and political commentary about the possibility of the human condition when affected by production.

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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2534
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English