EXAMINE HOW THE TREATMENT OF TECHNOLOGY IN METROPOLIS AND NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR HEIGHTENS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE VALUES, SIGNIFICANCE AND CONTEXT OF THE TEXTS.
In both the political satire, ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ (hereafter 1984) by George Orwell and the science fiction film ‘Metropolis’ (1927) by Fritz Lang, the composers explore the values and attitudes brought about by each of their historical contexts which is impacted by the influence of technology. The composers both use technology as a warning regarding the nature of totalitarian regimes and the subsequent lack of equality and individuality. Orwell’s portrayal of totalitarianism was influenced by his perspective on the Stalinist regime, whereas Lang’s Metropolis reflects the people’s …show more content…
They dictate to him the measure of his movements. The speed and duration of his labor no longer obey his will.” In this Bucher highlights the significance of Lang’s opening scene where the workers are walking with uniform rhythm that is closer to the ‘heartbeat’ of the machines than that of the people. Using the robot-like body language of the workers, Lang displays how they have become dehumanized like machines while serving those who live above ground. By depriving the workers of everything but their basic survival, Fredersen ensures the ignorance of the workers and thus retains his power over them. In sacrificing the workers to the main machine, Moloch, Lang shows through the use of a wide-angle shot that the workers are now less than the machine reflecting Bucher’s perspective in that “the tools now lord it over him” further emphasising the lack of natural rhythm between them and therefore the impact of technology. Similarly in Orwell’s book 1984, the resources of Oceania are used almost exclusively for purposes that are superfluous. These include the weapons of war which were manufactured for the sake of using resources unnecessarily. This is evident where Winston writes
In both the political satire, ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ (hereafter 1984) by George Orwell and the science fiction film ‘Metropolis’ (1927) by Fritz Lang, the composers explore the values and attitudes brought about by each of their historical contexts which is impacted by the influence of technology. The composers both use technology as a warning regarding the nature of totalitarian regimes and the subsequent lack of equality and individuality. Orwell’s portrayal of totalitarianism was influenced by his perspective on the Stalinist regime, whereas Lang’s Metropolis reflects the people’s …show more content…
They dictate to him the measure of his movements. The speed and duration of his labor no longer obey his will.” In this Bucher highlights the significance of Lang’s opening scene where the workers are walking with uniform rhythm that is closer to the ‘heartbeat’ of the machines than that of the people. Using the robot-like body language of the workers, Lang displays how they have become dehumanized like machines while serving those who live above ground. By depriving the workers of everything but their basic survival, Fredersen ensures the ignorance of the workers and thus retains his power over them. In sacrificing the workers to the main machine, Moloch, Lang shows through the use of a wide-angle shot that the workers are now less than the machine reflecting Bucher’s perspective in that “the tools now lord it over him” further emphasising the lack of natural rhythm between them and therefore the impact of technology. Similarly in Orwell’s book 1984, the resources of Oceania are used almost exclusively for purposes that are superfluous. These include the weapons of war which were manufactured for the sake of using resources unnecessarily. This is evident where Winston writes