Metropolis

Metropolis created and produced by director Fritz Lang is a science-fiction film that portrays two different techniques and art movements used in german cinema: modernism and expression. The transition between the previous assigned movie, The Man with the Movie Camera and Metropolis was especially interesting to me as the The Man with the Movie Camera specifically focused on a utopian outlook while Metropolis focused on a more of a dystopian outlook. It seems almost ironic that these two viewpoints that are completely opposite would appear right after each other. It definitely helped me to realize and come to terms better with the idea that society is constantly evolving and different areas of the world have different perspectives. The utilization of expressionism was definitely shown through the movie’s high contrast imaging, dark shadows and use of doubling. These techniques throughout the movie allowed for me to experience an almost eerie and horror movie like feeling. I could also sense the strong use of modernism as Maria was specifically doubled into a robot by the city master, Freder. The most fascinating aspect about Metropolis specifically was the reality that the movie was made before Germany’s fall after WWII and the separation that they experienced after it between East and West Berlin. Lang made the movie for the sole purpose of working to create awareness about what was really happening between the country, but his efforts failed as the country ended up going into distraught either way after WWII. Overall, I think Lang’s style provided a twist to the progress of film and secondarily showed how history affects aspects of film.