Metropolis continued

As I was writing my last post, I began to think of less obvious religious references and metaphors that are embedded into the plot of 'Metropolis'. There is the scene where Maria is preaching to the disgruntled workers in the catacombs under the city. She is surrounded by crosses. There is an obvious religious undertone to this scene. It's almost as if she represents heaven, or god, or some higher power. She keeps telling the workers to be patient and to have hope. She tells them to have faith that there will be a change for them and that their suffering will cease. This sounds very much like the teachings of having faith in God. Even when religious people are going through the hardest of times, they find comfort in believing in that higher power. They put their trust in God and that he will protect and empower them through their suffering. This is very much Maria's role in the lives of the workers. She is trying to remove these innocent workers from the horrific work in the depths, which can also be seen as a metaphor for hell and sin. They are buried beneath the city and they are very hellish conditions to work. I also find it very interesting that Freder's mother and Frederson's wife was named Hel. I'm not sure exactly what the connection is here, but I did think it was really interesting. It could possibly be that Frederson's power trip begins when Hel dies giving birth to Freder. It could signify the start of the downfall of the civilization.