Event 1: Metropolis Screening

For my first event, I attended the in-class screening of Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang. This movie takes place in the futuristic city of Metropolis. It follows the working class’s rising resentment of the upper class and the city-leader’s scheme to stifle the rebels. This movie was the first silent film I’ve seen and ended up being much better than I expected it to be. I’m a fan of symbolism in media, and the movie used a lot of connotative imagery.

Maria transferring her heart, a common symbol of courage and action, to the robot. As we all know, “The Mediator Between the Head and the Hands Must Be the Heart”.

Because of its focus on robotics, this movie is most pertinent to our discussions of the intersection of art and technology in Unit 3. It was a pioneer in the science-fiction film-genre and extensively uses robots in its plot development. One aspect of the film I found especially interesting was Fritz’s varying depictions of different kinds of robots. Specifically, it seems to me that he portrays industrial robotics as “good” but intelligent, anthropomorphic robotics as “bad”. For instance, the Heart Machine is a critical foundation of Metropolis, and its destruction inundates the worker’s city. On the other hand, the fake-Maria-robot is a tool for manipulation and chaos.

The Heart Machine, an unintelligent robot, is necessary to Metropolis’s functioning.

The fake-Maria, an intelligent robot, frenzies the men into violence.

I wonder whether Fritz intended this interpretation. If so, why would he draw such a line between intelligent and unintelligent robotics? Did he think the rise in automation would rift the classes and destroy our social foundations? I think this movie is a great example of how art can influence technology; I can imagine how people watching this movie in 1927, having no prior experience with the potential of robotics, would be swayed against its progress. Popular support for or against progress in any domain of technology, despite how well it’s founded, can heavily affect the politics and legislation in that domain, and subsequently affect the possibilities in the domain itself.

Lang, Fritz, director. Metropolis. 1927.