reactions to Metropolis

I found this film to be very ahead of its time in terms of its looks at society, as well as it's predictions of what the future would look like. Made in 1927, the images we see in this silent film are surprisingly close to many of the big "metropolis" areas that we see appearing later in the 20th century. There were several interesting religious references scattered throughout the film. One of the most blatent references is to the story of the Tower of Babel. The story is explained in the movie itself, but we see many connections between the function of societal power in both the biblical story and the setting of 'Metropolis'. The Tower of Babel is conceptualized by the people in power, but they ones in power are not the ones that actually build their tower to heaven. They are known as the "Head" in the metaphor carries through the thematic material of the movie. Instead they enlist thousands of workers to do the job for them. The workers are thought of as the "hands". As Maria preachs to the workers of metropolis, the "head" and "hands" cannot communicate. The leaders and workers try to communicate, yet they literally cannot speak each others language. This can be seen as a metaphor for the discord that was occuring between the upper, elite class and the working class. We see this exact same dissonance between the classes in "Metropolis". Joh Frederson and the other upperclass live a life of luxury at the expense of the mistreated working class who work the "depths" of the city. The story of the Tower of Babel is an allegory for the way societies can fall apart. When the social classes of a city are so sharply divided and when there is not a respect for the hard work of the working class, the society cannot communicate. They will fall just as they did in the Tower of Babel. This is a great example of a biblical tale that can be shifted through a societal lens to apply it more appropriately to the nature of our times.