So this was … interesting. The Metropolis, to my understanding, was one of the earliest science fiction movies to be made. I understand … most of the movie and found it a bit hard to follow but I think I understand the main ideas.
The movie opens with a scene depicting workers heading down an elevator to what I assume is to go work. At 3 minutes and 18 seconds the scene depicts what the worker’s shift change looks like. Everyone has their head hanging and looking downward, regardless of whether they are entering or leaving. They are all lined up in a tight lineup and are all taking measured steps so that none step out of line. Then the movie moves from these workers going underground to show scenes of what look like a well made and beautiful environment as opposed to the dark underground only a few scenes ago. The movie then shows us its protagonist, a man by the name of Fredner the son of Joh Fredersen. First appearing at 6 minutes and 7 seconds he has lived a life of luxury, attending stadium sport events and being entertained by young women. This all changes when he sees the world below for the first time. At  12 minutes and 4 seconds he sees workers at a machine that over heats.  The movie portrays this event a bit differently. The workers are caught in smoke and a great staircase appears. The workers are then being pushed up these stairs where some sort of faced idol starts eating the workers. What then follows is the workers killed in the explosion being carried off and replaced at a very alarming rate. I’m assuming this is how Fredner sees the expulsion and how these workers are being treated. This makes Fredner uneasy and goes to speak to his father Joh Fredersen. His father didn’t respond how he was expecting to. After getting into an argument with his father, Fredner decides to trade places with one of the workers for a time in an attempt to, what I’m assuming, better understand the trials and struggles of the working class. Although he may just be an immature boy who thought he can alleviate the burden of a single worker, but I can’t say that confidently.
The middle of the movie lost me quite a bit, but I think that a woman named Maria, or not Maria that was one thing that confused me, incites a riot by the workers and that goes well. And by that I mean the riot goes well, not the effects of the riot. its hard to say when this riot began, as it was being planned and then later this Maria person finally made the workers take action. What I can give a time for is 1 hour 32 minutes and 42 seconds where Maria literally flips the switch which causes a great machine to fail, or overheat, or something along those lines. The following scenes are of the workers celebrating this momentous occasion followed by the city’s inner workings malfunctioning.
I point these out as they’re scenes that portray human emotion and the story’s machine, system or society in conflict. Fredner feels what his father has done to this great city is unfair and cruel and makes moves to understand the workers and by the end of the movie attempt to mediate between the workers and the people of the upper world. All throughout the movie were scenes of the workers unhappy and frustrated about their position, if not that then dead due to workplace accidents. Such a society like the city Metropolis, I actually don’t know the name of the city but I’m taking an educated guess, crushes the individuality and human aspects of a person to the point where everyone is wearing a uniform and takes steps that travel the same distance as the people around him. This movie shows us that such a system is against what makes us humans and that such a system will end violently.
