Metropolis

•  1927 premiere
• More than a quarter of the film was lost after premiere 
• In 2008, more than a full version was found in Buenos Aires
• Text was taken from German records
• Missing pieces are filled in with black screens 
• Set design
• Shadowed skyscrapers
• How do they compare to New York City?
• 2 clocks (10 hour and 24 hour)
• All miserable, slow synchronous walking
• Communism started in the 1800's 
• Pre-village kids: happy, running  
• Non pre-village workers: hardship, misery, tired 
• Eternal gardens exist because of the underground workers
• Fashion: proper, widened hip dresses, flapper, suit and tie 
• Present day: Royal Palace of Oz-Emerald City
• Gestures are exaggerated 
• Movie is based on gestures and fashion
• Maria and Freder
• Forbidden love
• Maria preaches against divide--> Robot duplicate
• Present day: C3PO Star Wars
• Freder is in industrialist class 
• Maria --> nurturing 
• Reminds children "these are your brothers" in eternal garden
• It is clear she is preaching against divide
• Freder follows Maria into working underworld
• Overworked man causes explosion at "heart machine"
• Hallucinates and sees machine as biblical god 
• Biblical tower of Babel
• Man created to get to heavens 
• God gave all works different language 
• Allegory (Maria) --> Language barrier for social positions 
• Mediator <3- Freder
• "Mind" -rich planners
• "Hands"- poor workers 
• Rotwang kidnaps tot create Robot Maria
• Tighten control of workers as by Joh
• Rot and Joh tell Freder, Maria is with father 
• Robot Maria in Joh's metropolis home 
• Irony: Maria takes robot form when she can be seen taking form of working class as pieces of "machinery"
• Workers buried Maria at stake
• Maria told the rich to watch the workers destroy themselves
• Replaceability of workers
• Rotwang falls to his death 
• Workers want to work with Metropolis and Freder to show them to work together
• 1929 was the beginning of the Great Depression 
• Metropolis= stereotypical version of Wall St.
• Dystopia under authoritarian control
• Symbol of inverted star seen on Rotwang's front door, lab and other door
• Sprit of evil
• Front door has upward star 
• Protection
• Technology then and now (Harm or good?)
• Maria is seen as heavenly= reference to mother Mary (biblical)
• When she is given machine man face she is no longer a saint
• Causing jealousy between Joh and Freder
• Movie in black and white
• What would be the effect if filmed in color?
• Socio-economic status still exist, always will
• As well as replaceability 
• Motif of clock- lives of laborers defined by repetitive work instead of ambition and love 
• Modern saying of work to live not live to work
• Movie takes technology postion
• We should depend on it 
• If replaceable workers do not exist- city, economy, society will crumble
• Thin man= spy

Class Notes:

• Russian revolution occurring during this time period 
• Equality for classes
• Representation for communist ideals 
• Sexualization of Maria 
• Architecture --> symbolism (working class)
• Religious allusions
• 7 statues= 7 deadly sins
• Working class has no identity
• Assigned #'s
• Children in movie --> Nazi soldiers or apart of concentration camp
• Uniform, #'s, Homosexual triangle, P=political prisoner 
• Prince the Pauper 
• Working and upper class reversed 
• Babel=hopeful --> mediator 
• Clocks= life rhythm 
• Synchronous movement 
• Parallel with today's films
• Social media --> influencer
• Film maker took inspiration from New York City and Chicago
• Underground=symbolic
• Futuristic movie
• Joseph begins walking synchronous when he enters eternal gardens
• Music used to enhance narrative
• Deep and Dark as Joh is introduced and seen
• Maria cannot become meditator, cannot move up
• Bread and circuses --> superficial appeasement
• Ancient rome
• Literal: they would throw bread at the people at the circus to keep them happy
• Evil scientists
• Rotwang in movie
• Frankenstein
• Golem
• La venus d'ille 
• Notion of family
• We only see Maria as nurturer
• Only relationship is Joh and Freder (father-son)