Analysis Of George Orwell 's ' Metropolis And 1984 ' Essay

1030 Words Oct 3rd, 2015 null Page
How would you compare the ideas, values and attitudes reflected in Metropolis and 1984?

Humanist concerns usually stretch across time and this is apparent in my comparative study of the attitudes Fritz Lang and George Orwell have towards certain ideas and values. These composers present ideas of individual oppression and values towards personal freedom and love through their specific textual form — the film Metropolis and novel 1984.

Influential of Lang’s concerns during Weimar Republic in Germany regarding the rise of capitalism, Metropolis is reflective of the idea of individual oppression towards the lower class. German Expressionism in the film becomes apparent through high angled long shot depicting the workers dressed in black, marching to work with their movements being contrived and abstract — mechanised. Their uniformity in movement and attire not only shows their lack of individualism, but their synchronised body language of heads bowed down shows submission of the industrialists to the capitalists. The scene showing the workers lowered into the worker’s city employs pathetic fallacy to mirror their fragmented identities through the geometrical patterns of the buildings. This demonstrates the post-war attitude of Lang’s context — his fear of wealthy companies gaining economic power and controlling public life. The religious allusion towards Moloch as he devours the workers during Freder’s hallucination symbolises the capital machines as a monster. It dehumanises…

Related Documents