Event 1 - Metropolis Watch Party

 

The movie titled Metropolis, by Fritz Lang, was a very interesting silent film. The city of Metropolis was divided into two distinct sections, one being the rich citizens on top and the hard working slaves below. The leader of the city’s son, Freder, caused quite the commotion to normal life after he fell in love with Maria (one of the below ground workers). Freder visited the factories beneath where he saw the devastating lifestyle that these people were living. He then witnessed an explosion that left many workers hurt and left to be carried out on stretchers, but he had thought it was an allusion. At the same time, a man named Rotwang made a robot that looked exactly like Maria so that he could control the workers that followed her below. He leads them to destroy the heart machine, causing the underground city to flood. The real Maria then breaks free from Rotwang and saves the children that were stuck in the flooding. Freder was left surprised after the robot of Maria was burned, and he later won her over in a battle against Rotwang.

    This movie helped create a clear distinction of the future described by Lang. This future of technology and hierarchy is not one that is appealing. Robots can be used for many positive purposes, but the examples outlined in the movie are not for good. Though this was a silent film, it was not hard to stay focused. The dramatic scenes and expressions made up for the lack of sound, which was something we had discussed in the chat. This event was easy to understand and finish, even though we had slight technical difficulties with the original movie site. I definitely recommend watching this film to anyone who wasn’t able to make it to the event.