Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism Essay

Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism - Essay Example The essay "Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism" investigates German expressionism and films of this style. To begin with, it may be particularly important to engage Metropolis in the discussion. Thus, the beginning of the previous century was a time in history when the human society grew more and more different and stratified. Revolution in the Russian Empire showed that there is a big group of people, the working class, who is in perpetual conflict with the wealthy class that oppresses them. All this was heavily influenced by the view of Karl Marx. The movie Metropolis takes the division between the two classes to a new extreme: on the one hand it, shows people living in paradise who know little about what lays under their city– the true hell on earth. The directors were able to show that the two worlds are dramatically different in every aspect: space, light, action and many others. This might be interpreted as a fear of the ultimate stratification of classes. Anothe r popular concern in Germany in the beginning of the twentieth century focused on the possibility that machines might take up the place of man. Metropolis highlights this theme very distinctly: it is shown that a man can invent a machine and cover it with human form and no one will be able to tell the difference. In spite of the fact that the process of copying the appearance is not properly explained in the money and looks to fantastic, the outcome is more than realistic: people listen to the robotic Maria and choose her as a leader.