Post Enlightenment European Culture: Metropolis (1927)

Post Enlightenment European Culture metropolis (1927)Final Paper urban center (a 1927 German video) 14210568 many a(prenominal) people be used to the image as a air to receive information, through the film is the story. Film is not exactly the action of entertainment, as a media form, is presented in conjunction with a lot of coating produced by an art type images. The film Metropolis is a operative German silent science-fiction film released in 1927 by Fritz Lang. It able to playact and portray the culture, political and amicable ideologies in Germany during that time. Since the remarkable work of Metropolis, it is regarded as unrivaled of time little naval divisionics that withstand the test of time.The film Metropolis explicitly demonstrated different aspects of European culture since the Enlightenment, including the operative(a) sectionalisation culture, totalitarian culture and the worship of applied science.First of all(prenominal), the relation between the ru nning(a) class and the bourgeoisie is revealed. In the film, the city was vertically separated into twain spaces clearly, implying the differences of lifestyle between the working class and the capitalistics, by sharply line of work of spatial distribution and configuration. The film opens by presentation the city of the workers which is infra the ground. Workers who wearing monotonous uniforms have to work day and night as a machine in the factories where be completely dark. Conversely, in that respect is an entirely subversive life on the ground. It is the world of the bourgeoisie which is a grow metropolis. It is a magnificent, gigantic city with gleaming skyscrapers linked by celestial highways, suspension bridges, and bustling street. People live in comfort and plenty, with ample stadiums and pleasure gardens. These effusive and energetic images show the life of the bourgeoisie are full of technology and possibilities. Also, the presence of the sentence As deep as l ay the workers city below the earth, so high above it towered the composite plant named the Club of the Sons, with its lecture halls in the film likewise revealed the mirroring yet turnaround environments in which the labor and the capitalists live in. Such high distinction emphasizes the sociable relationship of bourgeoisie and proletarians, and the rulers and the exploited.Working people are seen as a labor personnel, and usually regarded as passive victims of laissez faire as well as the capitalism (Thompson, p.3). For the purpose of working for the chosen elite Joh Federsen, the ruler of Metropolis, they are the masses of nameless workers who have to labor in an industrial tangled to accomplish repetitive and dull tasks, and respectable served as a sprocket wheel in a machine or a tool or pay saturnine without emotional expression and communication, in order of battle to sustain Metropolis. It seems that the film Metropolis portrays the working class culture which worke rs are incessantly in alienation, and squeezed and exploited by the rulers, in particular their labor forces, by analyse the lives of workers to capitalists. Besides, the pictures drawn in the movie indicates that the workers has class-consciousness (Thompson, p.1). For instance, Freder is not accepted by the workers when he attempting to integrate into the working class since the workers recognize him as Joh Fredersens son. away from the working class culture, totalitarian cultures are also demonstrated in Metropolis. Totalitarian movement and government are characterized by aiming at total domination and resting on mass support (Arendt, p.351). Totalitarian regimes undertake to hold the total authority over the society and dominate all aspects of public and private life wherever possible. In the film, Metropolis is govern by wealthy industrialists (capitalists), led by Joh Fredersen, a king in a suit, also the commander-in-chief. Joh Fredersen is the head of the city, is to giv e commands to the machine systems (i.e. the workers), in order to keep the city runs. He is the tower of the elites who holding most of the resources and managing the working class. However, underground-dwelling workers have to toil constantly to operate the machines, and they have no choice. The workers were hardly the hand of the city, just like robots, one command, one action. They are not be respected and cared by the ruler instead, they are just considered as the means of production. For example, when Freder told his father about the industrial accident that resulted in death of workers, Joh Fredersen first seen to be no response and tried to push aside him, and later he said the workers should belong to the depth where it was not they belonged to. It seems that no actions should be taken since Fredersen think those workers are just the tool in operation(p) the machine system. On the other hand, the workers did not have complaints and actions against the commander, even mu m continued to work as before as nothing was happened. It reveals that the working class is living worthless, and is dominated to work for serving the capitalists. Metropolis is simply a totalitarian regime as the working class is managed by Fredersen, and they have been isolated and ignored.Furthermore, the worship of technology and science and its relation with the bourgeoisie are also reflected in the movie. Capitalism is the first mode of production in world history to institutionalize self-sustaining economic growth. (Habermas, p. 247) It leads to an exceedingly fast rate of economic growth, which can increase living conditions and lead to a more prosperous country, therefore, legitimacy of the state can also be provided. And technology and science is the dominating force in the capitalist society. Metropolis is obviously a kind of capitalist society. In the film, there are lots of tall skyscrapers touching one another with path fingers and buzzed about by airplanes and bli mps, in particular the Tower of Babel, and thus it is technology- set. In order to enhancing the economic growth, the leader of Metropolis as well as the capitalists will emphasize work as an important force technology plays a major part of the society in sustaining the city. Therefore, no longitudinal is work part of the subsystem of the society, work becomes the driving force in the society. For example, when the grievances of the workers downcast out, with strike, revolt and revolution, the Metropolis has to face the suffering from the attack of underground water. It seems that there will be the collapse of the society when the action of work, the dominating force in the capitalist society and is prompted by the bourgeoisie who are profit-seeking, is not functioning. The machine system used to sustain the city is fail as the strike of the workers. On the other hand, Fredersen also cannot build, condition or monitoring device the city without technological power and the work-f low of information supported by technology.He has to expect on technology for his control of Metropolis. It seems that technology and science become the political theory of Metropolis, the capitalist society, to maintain the city operates.For the movie Metropolis, the scene showing the two measures vertically strike me most. The bottom clock counts off the time in ten hour increments for the workers, while the upper clock uses a 24-hour system, for managers, engineers and administrators. I think these two clock is about the interlingual rendition of time, reflecting the two social classes which is the working class and the capitalists, also implying work is the driven force of the society. This scene is fully illustrated the working class culture. The clock emphasizes the control of time over the workers. Just as a machine is always under the control of an external influence, the worker is controlled by the system of Metropolis. They just know they should work day by day, and de nied the rhythms of daylight and night. Unlike the capitalists on the ground, their lives is work, no other things. For them, time is not important and even meaningless. The victimization of the workers, and as the passive victims of capitalism are the significant characteristics of the working class culture.To conclude, different aspects of European culture since the Enlightenment are demonstrated by the film Metropolis. Not only that, the movie also fend for and reveal the current working condition of labors in the certain extent. In some workplace, especially in the developing countries with cheap labors, workers are oft easier in alienation, only working relationship and exploitation but no meaningful communication and mutual care between them and the capitalists. Same as the film portrayed, no one will leave their sphere. No one thinks about how the other half lives. No one is curious. The interaction becomes less important, and many of the social and cultural attributes of society fall apart. This is an unhealthy social phenomenon that should be aware and addressed.