Metropolis Essay, Research Paper

Doctrine of Walter Benjamin and Karl Marx in Relation to Metropolis

Fortunes make work forces merely every bit much as work forces make fortunes.

& # 8211 ; Karl Marx, The German Political orientation

Despite what some may believe, worlds have important control over their lives ; nevertheless they frequently lack the ability to recognize this or to take action within such fortunes. Possibly this is one of the grounds the communicating medium of movie has proved so popular, because it has the power to educate and expose both simplistic and hard thoughts about mundane life. Such is the instance in the film Metropolis, originally directed by Fritz Lang. Part societal and portion political commentary, the movie becomes more powerful upon sing because of its truthfulness about the human status. The film s message is furthered through its relation to such philosophers as Walter Benjamin and Karl Marx. An reading of the movie proves more powerful when contemplated through Marx thoughts ; nevertheless, Benjamin offers a few important thoughts about the intent of the movie as art and its intent. In this paper I will demo how Benjamin s doctrine of the multitudes and art in his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, relate to Metropolis every bit good as high spot the cardinal thoughts of Karl Marx as seen in his plants, Estranged Labour and The German Ideology, and how they relate to the movie every bit good.

Throughout his essay, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Benjamin highlights many cardinal thoughts, some of which can straight be applied to the intent of the movie Metropolis. In the movie, the workers who kept the metropolis running were portrayed as no less than a big mass of non-individualistic, animalistic sub-humans. They were ne’er depicted as holding the capableness to posses any sort of worthy relationship with another, nor were they seen as able to cipher their ain ideas. Their thoughts were easy manipulated by others, i.e. Fredersen, Rotwang, and the automaton of Maria. It was this inability for them to believe on their ain that diminished their consciousness of themselves and their fortunes. The movie stated that the workers were forced to the bounds of human endurance by working the machines. They became so consumed with the demands of this coerced labour that, as a mass, they lost touch with world. The accommodation of world to the multitudes and of the multitudes to world is a procedure of limitless range, as much for believing as for perceptual experience ( 735 ) . In the movie, the thought organic structures that helped the multitudes see world once more proved to be Freder and Maria. They both perceived the job of the unreflective multitudes and realized a manner to rectify this. Furthermore, outside the movie, the film serves besides to rectify the idea of the modern-day masses-to make them believe and be cognizant of the power of their ain ideas. This film besides proved effectual in sketching these ideas of the multitudes because of its deepness and the manner it seemed to leap into the really root of the job at manus. In his essay, Benjamin points out the effectivity of movie over other art signifiers. The painter maintains in his work a natural distance from world, the camera operator penetrates profoundly into its web ( 744 ) . The ability of the camera to travel beyond that of the human oculus is what strengthened the intent of this movie. When the camera zoomed-in on an object, it forced the audience to see that object in much item and use more importance to its screening. For case, when the camera focused on the face of a fighting worker, the audience became much more cognizant of the worker s adversities. Thus the viewing audiences of such a movie are able to see ordinary objects in such alone item so as to experience strong and different emotions about them. In this manner, movie extends our comprehension of the necessities which rule our lives ( 746 ) by delegating significance to day-to-day activities and objects which worlds may non usually see. Because of this, movies with a serious nature, such as Metropolis, may non arouse positive feelings from an audience ; nevertheless this should non interfere with the perceptual experience of movie as an art signifier. As the times change, so do thoughts of art. Art has left the kingdom of the beautiful gloss which, so far, had been taken to be the merely sphere where art could boom ( 741 ) . Whether art displays the negative possibilities of possible defects in the human status or whether it imitates the positive results of certain behaviours or thoughts, it should still be viewed as an priceless piece of mastermind.

The thoughts of labour, alienation, and disaffection, written about by Karl Marx in his essay, Estranged Labour, can be seen in the characters and their behaviour in Metropolis. In his essay, Marx outlines two distinguishable categories of people-that of the belongings proprietors and that of the property-less workers. It is the clang between the maps, desires, and productions of each category which produces such conditions as alienation and disaffection. Inevitably, as more things are produced, the value of such produced points additions, which so devalues the human worker. As production additions, workers become mere Numberss and surely are seen as less than human by those who control the labour ( 71 ) . With the increasing value of the universe of things returns in direct proportion the devaluation of the universe of work forces. Labour produces the worker as a trade good ( 71 ) . The thought of the worker as nil more than a figure was invariably seen in Metropolis, but specifically when Freder took over the machine responsibilities of a worker. Freder traded topographic points and apparels with the worker who was fighting with traveling the custodies of a clock. The last point of vesture they traded was the worker s hat that had a figure embossed on it-that was how the worker was both identified and known in his work. Most likely, no one knew him as a individual, but as the figure he represented. When Freder took the chapeau from him, he paused for a brief minute before make up one’s minding to to the full go a worker and presume the new individuality as a figure. Because the workers are non allowed an individuality as their production additions, so their labour becomes external to them. They no longer have enthusiasm for their work ; it no longer is an look of themselves but a agency of achieving a societal demand such as rewards or private belongings ( 73 ) . In his work, ( the worker ) does non confirm himself but denies himself, does non experience content but unhappy, does non develop freely his physical and mental energy but mortifies his organic structure and ruins his head ( 74 ) . This exhaustion and loss of single dignity is seen in the workers volatile ideas. Their mental capablenesss had been ruined by their labour and they had no pick but to go a mass of unreflective workers who would leap at the idea of following a capable leader. Anyone who could offer them some gloss of a coherent idea, no affair what that thought might be, appealed to them. This was the ground the automaton made in Maria s similitude was able to hold so much control over the workers. The original Maria s beauty and talk of betterment made them ab initio think of altering their current fortunes.

However because they were incapable of holding their ain ideas, when the automaton Maria began talking to them, they fell for the gambit. Thus this evil automaton was able to do them revolt with negative consequences. They ended up destructing their ain metropolis and about harming their kids. When one of their ain, the worker who attempted to speak ground into the mass before the automaton Maria shut down the machines, tried to convert them non to follow their program of action, no 1 in the mass of workers would listen. The alienation from their ain sort, the alienation of adult male from adult male ( 77 ) , became evident. Each adult male views the other in conformity with the criterion and the place in which he finds himself as a worker ( 77 ) . But if the workers lack their ain criterions and thoughts, there is no manner they are able to associate to each other. This explains the ground the work forces related and listened to the robot-because the work forces dealt with machines in their day-to-day lives. However, when it came to their ain sort, they did non cognize themselves and hence could non understand or interact with each other. In this portraiture of a black universe, Marx offers some hope. The emancipation of the workers contains cosmopolitan human emancipation ( 80 ) . When workers are set free from their bondage of production, the whole human race will be released from their ironss of category order. After the workers in the film revolted, the town flooded. The H2O which washed over the town signified a metempsychosis and reclamation which came together at the really terminal when Fredersen ( the originator of the metropolis ) , Freder ( the new go-between for the workers ) , and the exclusive worker who attempted to halt the worker s rebellion, joined custodies on the stairss of the cathedral. Not merely did this mean peace for the hereafter of the town, but besides freedom for every category in the society. These thoughts of alienated labour shed much visible radiation on the fortunes and behaviour of the mass of workers.

A materialist construct of history is portrayed in Marx essay, The German Ideology, which when related to Metropolis, adds much significance to the characters and their actions in the movie. Our usage of logic may be one of many actions which allows us to drastically alter our lives ; nevertheless this idea may non ever be positive. The relationships of work forces, all their behaviors, their ironss and their restrictions are merchandises of their consciousness ( 149 ) . The workers experienced such restrictions because their consciousness was limited to their work. When they were taught otherwise by Maria and the automaton of Maria, it was so that the workers were released from their bondage and were able to revolt and do a difference in their awful manner of life. It proves dry that a female incited the workers to alter their being because of the fact that all of the workers in the mass were male. Never one time was a female portrayed as one of the many who worked in the mill. This can be explained through the natural phenomenon of division of labour. In such an thought, the labour of production is divided of course among those in a society by virtuousness of natural temperament ( e.g. , physical strength ) ( 159 ) . Although the distribution may turn out unequal, the responsibilities of labour can non assist but to follow age and gender lines. In the movie, adult females were non seen as workers because the worker s responsibilities required much staying power and physical strength and endurance ; hence, adult females would non physically be able to finish the undertakings. This division of labour besides leads to the three signifiers of ownership outlined in Marx essay-all of which Freder briefly experienced in his ascent to go Mediator. The first signifier of ownership is tribal which is the undeveloped phase of production ( 151 ) . The gap scenes of Metropolis served as metaphor for this. The Eternal Garden of Pleasure and the Stadium races were all Freder knew at foremost. Because both were reserved for the elite, Freder knew of no categories and division of labour was scarce, merely on gender lines. Freder experienced the 2nd signifier of ownership when he visited his male parent s office. Here he saw communal and State ownership which is classified by the development of private belongings and the full development of the category relation between citizens and slaves ( 151 ) . He realized the being of the Underground City and that it was different than the being of Metropolis. He knew of the workers that kept the metropolis running, yet he was still portion of the upper category because he continued to bask his leisure clip and activities. However, he shortly became cognizant of the 3rd signifier of ownership when he went into the deepnesss below and experienced the workers lives. He saw how they were segregated and were a different category of people, distinguished by their difficult work and loss of individuality. This feudal ownership is classified by the association against a subjected bring forthing category where belongings consisted chiefly in the labour of each single individual ( 153 ) . The workers represented helots who shortly joined together to make groups for the sweetening of themselves, which Maria led ; these can be seen as clubs. As the workers banded together they acquired an individuality ( as revolutionists ) and security through their Numberss in their guild-like groups. Associating some of Marx theories to Metropolis helps intensify the significance of the movie as a societal and political commentary about the possibility of the human status when affected by production.

Through analysing and using the plant of Benjamin and Marx to the movie Metropolis, the ambiguity of the characters and their actions in the film slips off to organize a clearer image for the movie s intent. If at first the movie may look to merely hold daze value as a horror narrative, upon closer review the deeper value of the movie as a pictural representation of modern philosophers becomes evident. The infallible nature of the human status is shown in this movie through the portraiture of worlds who are pushed to the border of endurance by the demand to bring forth. Marx stated in The German Ideology, life is non determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life ( 155 ) . However, it is non simply consciousness that should do, but the realisation of what one has consciousness of, which proves to be the existent battle.

Bibliography

Benjamin, Walter. 1968. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. In Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford University Press. 731-751.

Bordwell, David. 1979. The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice. In Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford University Press. 716-724.

Gledhill, Christine. 1978. Recent Developments in Feminist Criticism. In Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings. New York: Oxford University Press. 251-272.

Marx, Karl. 1844. Estranged Labour. In The Marx-Engels Reader. New York: W.W. Norton & A ; Company, Inc. 66-81.

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

Metropolis. Dir. Giorgio Moroder. Perf. Alfred Abel, Gustav Froehlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge. Allied Artists, 1984.