A Modern Metropolis

            In Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis the relationships that shape society are examined. Metropolis is set in a future society where the population is divided into two groups, the workers and the thinkers. Both groups, though, are oblivious of the existence of the other and go about their daily lives as such; the thinkers live a life of luxury, while the workers live a life of indentured servitude. Joh Frederson, the architect of metropolis, is aware of the existence of the workers, and works tirelessly to ensure that others, especially his son Freder, do not know.

            Both societies exist dependent upon the other; therefore Joh attempts to maintain a social equilibrium between the thinkers and workers in order to maintain the status quo. An interesting parallel I drew while watching Metropolis was that to the story of the Buddha that I recently learned about in World Religions. In the same manner that the Buddha was sheltered by his father in order to shield him from the other side of the utopic bubble he resided, so to does Joh attempt to shield Freder from the existence of the workers. Once aware, both become inspired and moved, and in this way Freder is the heart that connects the brain to the hands. The idea of ascension for the Buddha or Freder descending to the depths both describe the coming of a conduit for the unintelligent masses attempting to enlighten them to their current situation.

            In the end, though, the masses never become enlightened and eventually return to toil in the depths. Their initial desire to move up and leave their roles as workers is eventually subdued. Although not his initial purpose, Freder, unintentionally, restores the social equilibrium his father had set up by becoming the mediator between the brain (thinkers) and hands (workers) and restoring peace to the interdependent parts. Similar to the architects of today’s society, Joh attempted to skew the intentions of the faith leader of the workers, Maria. In the end, Joh’s attempt to abuse the faith of the masses leads to the workers affirmation of their role in society, as evidenced by the final handshake between Joh and the worker.

            With this in mind, the message of Metropolis has become clearer with the passage of time due to the added relevance it has today. Metropolis doesn’t end with the working class rising and gaining equality, rather they return to the depths and their initial role with a false sense of accomplishment. Similarly, in modern society fluidity between classes has become less and less achievable, while the masses continue to put faith in those sent to deceive them as many would say is the case in American politics today. And this is all done with instruction from the architects of society to maintain the present society; just as Joh attempted to maintain the social order within Metropolis.