Hard Times vs Metropolis

Although introduced almost seventy-three years apart, Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times, and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis share many common parallels and themes. Through the use of biblical allusions, both Lang and Dickens are able to compare characters in their stories to holy figures such as Freder and Stephen Blackpool being alluded to as Christ-like. Both stories also show the harsh effects of industrialization, and present similar situations of with the school children and factory workers living very monotonous and almost machine-like lives. One last parallel between the novel and movie is a new role for women in society. Both stories involve societies, which have been corrupted by social indifferences and call for some type of mediator. In Hard Times, this person comes in the form of a man named Stephen Blackpool, A character in Metropolis who shares many similarities to Stephen Blackpool and also plays the role of a social mediator is a man named Freder. Both characters share many values and through their actions, represent or portray an image of Jesus. Throughout the novel, Stephen Blackpool shares many of his righteous morals with others and finds peace through God. An example of his willingness to help others, like Jesus, would be when Stephen sacrifices his life in Coketown so that his lover, Rachael, may live in peace and happiness. Freder, who plays the role of the Christ- like figure in Metropolis, shares many similarities to Stephen with his actions to do good for others. Freder who lives above ground in Metropolis, one day meets Maria who shows him to harsh reality of life below the city for people who work endless hours a day in order to keep everything running. Like Jesus, Freder descends to the underground and after a hard day of work, realizes that he must help the poor. Both characters, through their actions resemble a Christ-like figure who is willing to help others before themselves. A parallel can also be seen in Metropolis and Hard Times between Gradgrind’s school children and the underground workers. In Metropolis, there is a scene that shows the workers who control the machine ending their shift, and a new group coming in to take their places. In the scene the way the workers walk is very monotonous and they are depicted as almost a herd of animals traveling together as one unit. All of the tasks performed by the workers are very simple and mechanical which makes them only an extension f the machine and nothing more.