The idea of progress being inspired by the past is revisited in Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis.
Though the film's titular city is a gleaming landscape of technological advancement it is through the hands of the arcane inventor Rotwang that the film's most stunning creation comes into being. Like Frankenstein revisiting “outdated” natural philosphers for his inspiration, Joh Frederson, the figurehead of Metropolis and the man to whom technology means the most, turns to the aged inventor in hopes of pushing technology even further. The visit to Rotwang is like a visit to the past: his house is the only edifice we see that is in no way modern (in fact it has such a clapboard appearance when held against the rest of Metropolis that ir calls to mind the Delacey's cottage in Frankenstein), his walls are lined with proof of intellectual, as opposed to mechanical, interests, and he is the only character we meet that is dressed neither sharply nor in the drab clothing of the workers. It is clear that Rotwang, with his refusal to conform, is seen as an anomaly, a man as out of time and impractical as Frankenstein's beloved philosphers. But just as they held the key to the creation of Frankenstein's monster so is Rotwang responsible for the newest technological marvel in a city run wild with them.
When audiences think of Lang's Metropolis they almost unanimously think of the same image: that of a golden, mechanical being brought to life. It is one of the most recognizable images in German expressionist cinema, on par with the spidery shadow of Max Schrek's Nosferatu creeping up the stairs in Murnau's vampire film, or that of Cesare the somnambulist sleeping upright in Weine's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, yet what separates this i...
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... mind can think of any progressive idea, and the hands can toil to make those ideas reality, but the heart must step back and ask “is this necessary?” Shelley and Lang seem to agree that progress can, indeed, be a good thing. Even after all he's been through Frankenstein still urges others to “be men, or be more than men! Be steady to your purposes and firm as a rock.” (Shelley, p. 292), and Lang was surely aware that without the marvels of technological progress his visual spectacular would have never graced the screen. However Shelley and Lang, in their works, warn of the dangers of not thinking progress through, of not asking “should we do this?” in lieu of “can we do this?”, and they warn readers and viewers alike that sometimes it's better, like Captain Robert Walton, to witness the perilous end of your journey from afar and to return home to safety instead.
The presence of an overwhelming and influential body of government, dictating the individuals of contextual society, may potentially lead to the thoughts and actions that oppose the ruling party. Through the exploration of Fritz Lang’s expressionist film, Metropolis (1927), and George Orwell’s politically satirical novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948), the implications of an autocratic government upon the individuals of society are revealed. Lang’s expressionist film delves into the many issues faced by the Weimar Republic of Germany following the “War to end all wars” (Wells, 1914), in which the disparity between the upper and lower classes became distinctively apparent as a result of the ruling party’s capitalistic desires. Conversely, Orwell’s,
Gunning, Tom., “Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler (1922) in Weimar Cinema, ed. Noah Isenberg, New York: Columbia University Press, 2009
Literature and film have always held a strange relationship with the idea of technological progress. On one hand, with the advent of the printing press and the refinements of motion picture technology that are continuing to this day, both literature and film owe a great deal of their success to the technological advancements that bring them to widespread audiences. Yet certain films and works of literature have also never shied away from portraying the dangers that a lust for such progress can bring with it. The modern output of science-fiction novels and films found its genesis in speculative ponderings on the effect such progress could hold for the every day population, and just as often as not those speculations were damning. Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Fritz Lang's silent film Metropolis are two such works that hold great importance in the overall canon of science-fiction in that they are both seen as the first of their kind. It is often said that Mary Shelley, with her authorship of Frankenstein, gave birth to the science-fiction novel, breathing it into life as Frankenstein does his monster, and Lang's Metropolis is certainly a candidate for the first genuine science-fiction film (though a case can be made for Georges Méliès' 1902 film Le Voyage Dans la Lune, his film was barely fifteen minutes long whereas Lang's film, with its near three-hour original length and its blending of both ideas and stunning visuals, is much closer to what we now consider a modern science-fiction film). Yet though both works are separated by the medium with which they're presented, not to mention a period of over two-hundred years between their respective releases, they present a shared warning about the dangers that man's need fo...
The 1927 film Metropolis co-written and directed by Fritz Lang, director of M and Dr. Mabuse, It was the most expensive silent film ever created costing 5,100,000 Reichmarks which would equal to $21,420,000 in 1927. Its innovative cinematography and the use of technology to create another world unlike anything that had been contributed to the world of film at the time. . In the first part of my essay I will summarize Fritz’s Metropolis and his use of technology to elaborate on man’s fantasy of creating a machine-man, but I will be discussing Friz’s use of a woman shaped machine rather than a man. There is a quite apparent correlation between the use of story creating Adam and eve and Rotwang’s robotic being, it is creation without a mother. It is not only established the basis for science fiction movie’s in the future it established an idea of an image of the future and how technology will help us progress and advance but also can be a hazard and burden on the human race. Machines are either helpful or they are a hazard. As displayed in the film the above ground Metropolis is a beautiful lush city of advancing technology and the drones that are slaves to the very technology that they thrive upon. The lack of female presence other than Maria in the movie is a point I will be establishing upon will relate to the interesting correlation between sexuality, femininity, and technology that is established through the creation of the machine man. Fritz has displayed in his film. Maria, at a time, acts like the mother to all of the men down underground promising them salvation and freedom from the torment of the catacombs and tiny houses that they suffer and work to the bone in day in and day out. Maria is almost like a savior, but th...
Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Part One = == == === A main theme in Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is that of birth, childhood and parenthood, this is explored through Shelly’s choice of frame narrative and structure for the novel.
“We feel as if something inside us, in our blood, has been switched on. That's not just a phrase--it is a fact. It is the front, that has made electrical contact ... We are dead men with no feelings, who are able by some trick, some dangerous magic, to keep on running and keep on killing.”
Fritz Lang's Metropolis is a very powerful movie with various underlying meanings that allow the viewer to determine for himself. The movie itself is extremely difficult and hard to follow, although the essay "The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Lang's Metropolis" written by Andreas Huyssen provided many helpful insights to aid in understanding the movie. Many of Huyssen's idea's are a bit extreme, but none the less the essay is very beneficial. His extreme views include ideas of castration and how it relates with the female robot, and sexulaity and how it relates technology. Although these ideas are extreme he does also provide many interesting ideas.
life he talks about 2 years of his life with no rest o concern about
Mary Shelley’s, Frankenstein, was written during a period of dramatic revolution. The failed French Revolution and Industrial Revolution seriously mark the novel with hints of moral and scientific revolution. Through Frankenstein, Shelley sends out a clear message that morally irresponsible scientific development can unleash a monster that can destroy its creator.
The late 18th century was a time of enlightenment for Europe. All categories of learning improved in this enlightenment period. The most impressive advances were in the sciences. Newton had developed his laws of physics, and scientific method had been tuned to a point. These improvements gave people a new outlook on life and the world. Mary Shelley tries to tackle the intimidating nature of the enlightenment period in the book, Frankenstein.
Andreas Huyssen. “The Vamp and the Machine: Technology and Sexuality in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis.” New German Critique: and Interdisciplinary Journal of German Studies. (1982)
In Frankenstein, Victor’s monster suffers much loneliness and pain at the hands of every human he meets, as he tries to be human like them. First, he is abandoned by his creator, the one person that should have accepted, helped, and guided him through the confusing world he found himself in. Next, he is shunned wherever he goes, often attacked and injured. Still, throughout these trials, the creature remains hopeful that he can eventually be accepted, and entertains virtuous and moral thoughts. However, when the creature takes another crushing blow, as a family he had thought to be very noble and honorable abandons him as well, his hopes are dashed. The monster then takes revenge on Victor, killing many of his loved ones, and on the humans who have hurt him. While exacting his revenge, the monster often feels guilty for his actions and tries to be better, but is then angered and provoked into committing more wrongdoings, feeling self-pity all the while. Finally, after Victor’s death, the monster returns to mourn the death of his creator, a death he directly caused, and speaks about his misery and shame. During his soliloquy, the monster shows that he has become a human being because he suffers from an inner conflict, in his case, between guilt and a need for sympathy and pity, as all humans do.
Compare and Contrast the episodes of the creation of the monster and the creation of the second monster in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein Mary Shelley finished her first edition of 'Frankenstein' in 1816, when she was nineteen years old. Since then her "monster" has become so popular in the twenty-first century that he appears in films, advertisements, comics and even computer games. So how is it that as such a young age she was able to write such a gripping novel, which has become more famous than any other work of 'Romantic' literature, and indeed, her own? It could have been a result of an intellectually stimulating childhood due to having free access to her fathers extensive library and literary connections; or it could have been a result of her being emotionally undernourished as a child. Whichever way, she has succeeded in writing a novel that 'speaks to the mysterious fears of our nature and awaken thrilling horror' (p.8 - author's introduction), as she wanted; and she has included many personal ideas about politics and familial relations as well as moral, philosophical and scientific ideas on the creation and 'elixir of life' (p.42).
Fritz Lang's Metropolis details the age old conflict between the blue collared workers and the white collared businessmen.
Frankenstien Many punishments for crimes are often given to innocent people. In the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, there are several instances in which the punishment is given to an innocent person. Justine, a maid at the Frankenstein residence, was killed for a crime she did not commit. Felix, a character the Monster encounters, was exiled from his country, for helping an innocent man escape from jail. Lastly, Victor himself was jailed for a murder, which he did not commit.