Metropolis!!!

            The first thing I must mention in beginning to talk about Metropolis is that I found the film aesthetically very impressive.  I was very much expecting to be quite bored with the film, for I had a preconception that all silent films are quite dry.  Interestingly enough, this clashes with everything I know from acting; having worked on numerous animations in which acting is delivered nonverbally, I understand that successful pantomime is much more visually interesting than voice acting and dialogue alone.  For this, I should have anticipated a richer viewing experience from Metropolis.

            This personal insight out of the way, Metropolis is to me a very impressive movie.  I believe that the film is the highest budgeted silent film of all time, and this was very evident.  I was taken aback by not only the impressive set, costume and makeup design, but by the amount of special effects and compositing featured in the film.  To say that this piece is visually stunning is quite frankly a gross understatement.

            As far as the actual thematic content of the film goes, I think it is debatable as to what the general outlook of the film is.  It clearly illustrates the increasingly relevant clash of the classes; the harsh divide between and the thinkers and the workers, the mind and the hand. It shows the evils of upper class, how they are willing to degrade and monetize masses of human being for their own aims, and pervert them with robots (read pop stars…) to generate enough controversy to stomp any insurrection, while keeping the lower class simultaneously entertained and complacent.

            In the same vain, however, the film portrays the working class almost deserving of such harsh treatment.  We see repeated imagery of the workers as subhuman; cattle being herded along, stupid, beaten down, and complacent.  Later when the android is introduced, the workers accept the masquerade without a second’s disbelieve or scrutiny, taking the bait without fail.

            It has been said that the moral of this film is not that the divide between classes should be bridged, rather that the dived should remain, but instead with a mediator to bridge the gap and install communication and ideally understanding between the two parties.  I cannot say this is what I got from the film, but I do understand that the movie has potential to illicit completely different reactions from it’s viewing.