Sunday, April 13, 2008
Prompt 11
My movie is Metropolis- a silent film that explores the issue of social classes. Surprisingly technology plays a major role in this film because it is supposed to present a futuristic view of society. Technology is present in the underworld where the workers live and above the earth where the thinkers live. The workers in the underworld are the ones who constantly deal with technology because they not only built the city the thinkers live in but also run it through the technology in the underworld. The bodies in Metropolis argue a violent relationship with technology. In the first part of the movie when Freder goes to the underworld, a worker dies while performing his job on the machines (technology). It was not just one man who died, the entire row of workers died, and they were simply replaced by a new row of workers. Bodies passed in front of Freder who was shocked by the number of workers who died in the "machine room" accident. When he runs to tell his father, his father responds saying "such accidents are unavoidable." This is the first incident of technology being associated with the body and it is in terms of violence. When Freder runs to tell his father of violence, his father responds by saying that they (the workers) belong in the depths. It is as if the father thinks of the workers as machines. Joseph, the father's right hand man, after being fired took a gun out of his jacket pocket. Again, associating technology with violence. After being introduced to Rotwang the inventor, he tells of his newest creation that is a robot that is going to replace the workers. Rotwang and the father plot to create robot that looks like Maria (the leader of the workers) so they can manipulate the workers and break the confidence of the workers that a better day is soon to come. Each time the viewer sees technology it is always associated with violence toward the body (mainly the worker body).
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2 comments:
I've never seen you movie, but it seems that how they treat the people in there shows they're lack of concern. I know that what you wrote is only scratching the surface for the project, but maybe you can go a little more in depth about how the workers are treated and how everyone feels about it. Maybe also you can elaborate on how each form of technology is associated with violence. Maybe not so much as with the gun, because that's pretty obvious, but maybe go more into depth about how the robots would alter people's lives, more than just the workers. Hope all this stuff helps.
I agree with Mark. Right now the comment that most intrigues me is: "It is as if the father thinks of the workers as machines." I think a closer look at that scene (the accident) would provide a lot of evidence for this claim but make sure to also look at other scenes of men working - are all workers considered machines?
I also agree with you that violence seems to underwrite this system - why do you think that is? Is it a consequence of the men being treated like machines? I also like that you are thinking about a way to incorporate the (false) Maria into this argument. Why does she offer hope? Because she sees beyond the work/the machine? Is it significant that the one who offers hope of something else (something more than the machine?) is undermined by becomming mechanical? I would like to see a bit more about her - about the threat that she represents (as a machine?).
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