Metropolis/1984 Essay/Plan

Introduction
By the turn of the 20th century, there was a belief that technology and
reason had the ability to liberate man and progress humanity towards a
social utopia of equality. However, as history would have it, the next 50
years would be war ridden. These polarities are expressed through a
comparative analysis of Fritz Langs 1927 post-WW1 film, Metropolis,
which embodied the potential hope of the new modernist age of the
machine towards mans liberation. In contrast, almost 20 years later,
George Orwells 1948 novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, would articulate the
sense of hostility and mistrust felt by the Western world at the beginning
of the Cold War era. Both texts reflect the deepening division between the
East and the West by seeking to expose the corruptive power of oligarchy
that results in the suppression of the individual and continued class
struggle.
Paragraph 1
Topic Sentence: At the turn of the century it was hoped that technology
would help liberate man from his laborious life, however, as WWI ushered
in a new type of warfare using technology, this utopian hope was lost.
Both Lang and Orwell, instead, present the oppression and
dehumanisation of man, through the use of technology.
Quote/Scene
mis-en-scene of
Metropoliss opening
sequence

Technique
dim lighting

a series of wide-angle
shots

As Germany moved into a

modern-industrial age

Lang foreshadowed

Analysis
to highlight the
movement of the workers
during the shift change.
The workers appear as
synchronised robots
blurring the line between
man and machine.
to capture the magnitude
of the industrial site thus
dwarfing the workers.

a world dominated by the

oligarchic rule of
technology and
commerce.

This tyrannical rule is

again reinforced in the
Moloch scene

The biblical allusion

framed in the 20th century
that is the Moloch,

is portrayed as a colossal
machine that exists by the
continuous sacrifice of the
workers.

Paragraph 2
Topic Sentence: Similarly, the Inner Party, through the pseudo-religious
Big Brother, tyrannically rules over Orwells dystopian world of Oceania.
Quote/Scene
Big Brother is watching
you,

Technique
The permeating slogan

Analysis
suggests that under the
watchful eyes of Big
Brother, the citizens are
safe given their constant
surveillance.