The Big Picture

While watching Metropolis, I was surprised by the intensity even without a script. Fritz Lang did an excellent job at portraying the characters reactions and experiences without using words. The music made the film much more dramatic and interesting to watch. Even though a quarter of the movie was lost, I felt that it was an enjoyable cinematic adventure.

In class on Monday, we discussed the parallels between this film and religion. There are many religious symbols and ties throughout the film that are hard to miss. I will discuss the most obvious and the most interesting such as "Heaven and Hell", "Father and Son", Mary as Maria, the power of sin.

The first parallel is noted within the first ten minutes of the film when the viewer experiences the dark, scary work area that the lower class are forced to work in. The viewer notices the incredible sadness of the workers, the uniformity, and the suppression they are feeling. The workers are more like prisoners working in a Hell that they cannot escape. The underground is dark and dreary where work is the only option. No one present is smiling moving quickly, looks happy to be there or even alive. The underworld represents Hell; where as the upper world, where the upper class live, symbolizes heaven. When the film transitions to the upper world, the difference is vast. The rich live in a bright world where sports and entertainment are everywhere. The individuals in this realm are constantly smiling and thriving in life. This is the first encounter with Freder, the son of Joh.

The second parallel is the connection between Joh, the master of the Metropolis, and his only son, Freder. Joh is a strict ruler of all, who punishes those who don't please him but is understanding towards those who do. Joh can be seen as God, who rules over all and controls everything. Freder is Jesus, his only son, who discovers the injustices of the world.

Another parallel is Maria as Mary. Both the names and their behaviors are similar causing the viewer to notice this striking similarity. Maria shows Freder his "brothers" helping him realize how unfair the world actually is. Maria leads Freder to the underworld where he witnesses the "Hell" that the underclass is forced to endure.

The last parallel that I will talk about is connected to the last. When the film changes to the upper world, the second scene is in a beautiful garden where everyone is happy and free. Maria enters the garden with the children allowing them to see the beauty of it all. Freder follows Maria into the underworld realizing the injustice and bringing on the fall of happiness. This is the representation of the Garden of Eden and the Fall of Man. This is depicted very literally because both have gardens, happiness and a women "causes" the fall. This can be seen as a strictly religious part of the film due to it's intense similarities to Genesis.

All of these parallels lead to the correlation of religion and the movie Metropolis. Heaven and Hell are opposites where one is good and the other bad. Joh is the ruler of all while his only son, Freder, who represents Jesus tries to save the less fortunate. Maria can be seen as Mary who causes the "fall" in the garden. From all of these symbols, I would say that it is a fair assumption to believe that Fritz Lang had certain religious beliefs in mind that he was trying to express through this movie.