Similarities Between 1984 And Metropolis

In exploring the textual concerns of both Lang’s post-war German expressionist film Metropolis (1927) and Orwell’s cold-war dystopian novel 1984 (1949), it is apparent that their differing contexts provide starkly contrasting commentaries on the power of the human spirit to rise above oppression. The impetus for both texts reflects the immediate contextual concerns of each composer’s time, where Lang’s depiction of a futuristic mechanised world reflected Germany’s post-war climate and the incessant exploitation. However, Orwell’s post-atomic novel epitomised the Cold War and rise of Stalinism and the inherent indoctrination. Separated by an entire world war, both composers illustrate a dystopian future with entirely different outcomes as a …show more content…
Lang’s avant-garde realist film, which was made during the Weimar Republic’s “goldene zwanzinger” (golden twenties), manifests Frederson as a demagogical leader who personifies capitalist values of oppression. He characterises himself as a demigod, indifferent to the suffering of the proletariats who reside in Metropolis’ subterranean world, so far as to categorise them as a collective lump – “where they belong… in the depths.” His high modality indicates a degree of hubris and authoritarianism which parallels his despotic nature and belief of a natural hierarchy where the proletariats are literally and metaphorically underneath. It is this false idolatry perpetuated by Frederson that reflects the worship of the Tower of Babel, with emaciated slaves in uniforms to represent the disenfranchised soldiers of WWI joining the radical left and right, revealing the extent of demagogical leadership and its consequences in exploitation. However, in the denouement, Lang introduces a sense of hope when the demigod Frederson is reduced to a form of supplication and down on his knees, representing the ultimate transformation of Frederson from an autocratic despot to an empathetic father. Lang emphasises Frederson’s moral transformation through the mise-en-scene, where Frederson is …show more content…
Winston’s foremost interaction with a child foreshadows his imminent thought-crime and dissidence from the party, where “Winston raised his hands above his head, but with an uneasy feeling, so vicious was the boy’s demeanour, that it was not altogether a game,” precipitating the innocence of children used on a nefarious scale. Orwell’s dystopic prediction paralleled the Soviet Union, where childcare was collectivised under Stalin and children indoctrinated with party ideology, even denouncing their parents as political dissidents. Orwell makes a scathing comment through his obvious satirical didacticism about the loss of innocence, the all-pervasive nature of propaganda and indoctrination, and the unnatural barbarity and inhumanity deliberately instilled within children. This contrasts with Lang’s more redemptive exploration of the future generation as the final sequence is evocative of hope, the modality of the expression “Your children saved” perpetuating an alleged future, whereas in 1984 the next generation has been systematically enslaved. Furthermore, upon denouncing Winston, their threatening tone and exclaimed dialogue – “You’re a Eurasian spy! I’ll shoot you, I’ll vaporize you!” – shows the innocence of youth to be lost, as the children are

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