Oppression In Metropolis

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, Metropolis by Fritz Lang and the provided images use a variety of techniques to convey oppression and rebellion. However, the ability of a text to represent oppression and rebellion is impacted by the historical context of the text and the personal context of the audience. Oppression is when authority or power is misused in a cruel or unjust manner and rebellion is resistance against authority or control. Different contexts provide different meanings to each text although they represent the same basic ideas of oppression and rebellion.

Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in 1949 and utilizes the fear surrounding World War Two and Hitler to warn against totalitarian society, under which fascism is a key
pillar. Orwell alludes to Oceania being a Nazi-like state through the use of exaggerated hate felt towards the people of the nation that Oceania is currently at war with. “ A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one’s will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic.” Orwell depicts a monstrous reality faced by the citizens of Oceania the lack of ability to control one’s own will. The surrendering of the mind to this excessive hate scares the readers, as what if that could happen to them. Maybe that is what happened in Nazi Germany, it makes the readers question how easy it would be to use propaganda to manipulate the will of a country’s citizens. Thus, Orwell uses allusion and imagery to make readers question about the ability of a political party to exploit the emotions and mind of their citizens.

Throughout the novel, Winston finds himself thinking that The Party is manipulating its citizens and that possible, although The Party says otherwise, the living conditions were better before The Party came into power. He cannot understand the ideology of The Party, IngSoc, and why The party must alter the newspaper. He views his job as a form of lying. What Winston learns is that by manipulating the past The Party controls the future, nobody can prove that what The Party is saying is false, thus, the Party oppresses the citizens of Oceania through manipulation of the media. maybe get these two paragraphs together
Imagine a world where you could not think a single original thought, that is the intention of the Party through the introduction and refinement of Newspeak.
The purpose of Newspeak is to simply language so much that it is not possible to think a rebellious thought, because there are no words for it. “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought” this quotes shows the Party’s final intention is to limit language so that no citizens could possibly rebel or think about rebelling against the Party. Language is not often thought of as something that can affect a person’s thoughts. However, an explanation of Newspeak soon reveals otherwise, which alarms readers as they believe that thoughts can not be controlled. This is especially true at the end of the novel where in a juxtaposition to his beginning thoughts Winston and the readers learn that the Party manipulate their citizens into loving Big Brother. Therefore, the control of language creates a way for the Party to oppress the citizens of Oceania because it limits the thoughts that they can think and that shocks
readers.

Foreshadowing is used throughout the novel to show Winston’s impending capture and torture in the hands of the thought police in the ministry of love.

The Party attempt to control every aspect of their citizens lives. Even the thoughts that the citizens of Oceania are thinking. Emotions are limited to only the few that are permitted by the Party, “In our world there will be no emotions except fear, rage, triumph and self-abasement”. Psychological manipulation is experienced by the citizens of Oceania under the oppressive regime of the Party. Limited and controlled emotions are unfathomable to readers as humans naturally experience an innumerable amount of emotions. A world lacking in emotions would be mundane and appalling as it is to read about Winston living in that world what impacts readers more is the ease at which the citizens of Oceania had their emotions stripped away from them. Thus, deprivation of emotions is another way that the Party oppresses the citizens of Oceania.

Oppression is portrayed in Image 1 through the manipulation of colours and characters. The black background highlights the controlling nature of the hand towards the puppet. It also highlights the use of colour in the main feature of the hand and the puppet. Contrast between the colours of the hand and the puppet and the joining red string emphasize the isolation and oppression in the picture. The hand is perceived with an ominous aura due to its grey colour but also how it protrudes from the darkness. The hand looks like it is coming from the darkness, which is a colour which often represents evil and is linked to malicious actions. Alternatively, the puppet is seen as innocent. This is influenced by the lighter colour of the puppet, which is linked to good. Oppression is also shown by the use of the wooden puppet in comparison to a human. A wooden puppet is seen as unable to make decisions for itself, thus, the hand is obviously controlling it. Whereas, a human would have been seen as being as defenseless in that situation. The macabre situation is further accented by the red strings which link the puppet and the hand. Importantly, the colour of the string is red. Red would be associated with blood, and thus life, and danger. The puppet would have been viewed as having no option but to remain tied to the hand otherwise his life may be in danger. Colours and characters are used to persuade the audience of the oppression occurring in the picture.

Colour selection, in Image two, provides important information to the viewer. The red and orange background informs viewers that the picture is about anger and violence. Anger and violence are symbolised through the clenched fist. However, picture gains another interpretation with the inclusion of the breaking chains. Rebellion and uprising are represented by the breaking chains. Altogether, the background, clenched fist and breaking chains present an image about a violent rebellion against an oppressor. Furthermore, the repetition of the breaking chains shows that it is a group rebelling. This creates a sense of acceptance towards the violent crowd, because if multiple people are rebelling then it must be acceptable. However, a viewer's reaction towards the image can be changed depending on the opinion of the viewer. If the viewer is against violence they could feel that a violent rebellion not good and may be repulsed by the picture and its contents or a viewer may feel that the violent rebellion is the only way to achieve change and that the group in the picture are doing the correct thing. Although, Image two, suggests a violent rebellion the emotions felt by viewers can change depending on the opinions of the viewer.

Metropolis is presented as a futuristic society because of social constraint during the Weimar Republic when it was premiered in 1927. After World War 1 Germany was left with revolts in the streets and anxiety and dissatisfaction against the government, if Lang were to make a realist film it would have been devastating both to the popularity of the movie and to his career. Thus, Metropolis is set in a future society with little reference to 1920’s German society. Therefore, Lang uses symbolism to convey his message.

Although, Metropolis was set in a future society because of German societal influences it was also set in the future because Lang wanted to warn the German people about what could happen in the future. Metropolis symbolises the American cities of New York and Chicago, but also the problems that were present within those societies. The stark contrast between the rich and the workers represents the inequality within these American cities. Within the first scene the audience are introduced to the workers, they wear dark clothing, the scene is poorly lit, they walk with their head down, in contrast the rich are wearing white clothing and the scene is brightly lit. Thus, the setting of Metropolis and the use of contrast provide Lang with the opportunity to warn against the problems that could face Germany in the future.

Religious symbolism is used throughout Metropolis both as an allusion and also to propel the plot. The Tower of Babel story (Genesis 11: 1-9) is integral to the plot of Metropolis. The religious symbolism implies the aftermath from the Tower of Babel story. The workers and the rich no longer understand, the workers cannot understand why it is that they are running the upper city if they get no reward for their hard work. Incited by machine-Maria, who is the epitome of sin, they rebel against Joh Fredersen, who symbolises God. However, they are soon turned against Maria, who symbolises both the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist, because machine-Maria caused the rebellion which then killed their children. It is then revealed that the children are alive and the workers and the rich are joined together by Freder, who is a christ-like figure. Religious symbolism provides Lang with a means for conveying his message without it upsetting the public at the time of release. However, the religious symbolism is what has made the movie so successful through history, as, people still recognise and understand prominent religious symbols, although other religious symbolism, such as the Whore of Babylon, does not have as great an impact because it is a lesser known biblical reference. Therefore, religious symbolism has allowed for the lasting impact of Metropolis on audiences because it is understood by many people but also is not slanderous to its historical context.

Music is important in Metropolis since their is no speaking.
Music informs the audience about what is happening and who the scene is concerned about. Musical motifs are used and manipulated to provide information about the character but also to convey the emotions of the character. The first motif that the audience hears is the motif for the city of Metropolis, however it is soon followed by the workers motif. Fast paced, high-pitch sequences are used to represent the eternally moving machinery that the workers operate. A plodding brass drive accompanies and accents the sounds of the machines. Dissonant chords are used to create unease and tension, but also unkemptness. However, the plodding brass drive is heard again when the audience are introduced to Joh Fredersen, thus, creating a connection between the workers and Joh. Consequently, the audience realise that Joh and the workers are similar but also different and that something is missing between them. Freder’s motif, however, is played by light instrument, such as wind and string instruments. His motif creates a sense of majesty, which although it may be shaped to show different emotions, still remains. Thus, motifs in the music influence alter to fit the situation and the characters that are involved to create a deeper engagement between the movie and the
audience.