Posted: June 26th, 2015

Module A

Question: What does each of these scenes reveal about the composers’ contextual concerns and how have they conveyed this through use of techniques?

Introduction:

The contextual representation in the texts ‘Metropolis’ by Fritz Lang and ‘1984’ by George Orwell both share intertextual perspectives which catalyses dehuminisation through totalitarian regimes and the use of fear to oppress populations. These timeless human truths have allowed for the comparative correlation to be made between the historical, cultural and political concerns within the two dystopian texts.

Metropolis: Fear of personal oppression

Fear is timeless and is characterised as a human necessity in the film ‘Metropolis’ by Fritz Lang. Which is a direct link to the Weimar Germany totalitarian regimes. Societal fear of institutions of power practicing absolute tyranny subsequently fuels the increase of conformity and the loss of individuality.

Scene two of the film exemplifies this idea, as citizens conform to totalitarian oppression in fear of the ramifications of rebellion. A close up shot of the temperature gauge rising accompanied by the crescendoing music creates an intense atmosphere which foreshadow the sequence of events and their reverberations. The workers are characterised as mechanical, dehumanised and oppressed extensions of the machine. A mid shot displays their bodies jerking in symmetry, symbolising a cog or widget. This references in Lang’s fear that in wake of the industrial revolution, humanity will be devoured and consumed by technology. The silhouette at the closure of the scene depicts the replaceable and inferior nature of humanity in subjugation to technology, a societal fear conveyed by their symbolic facelessness. Freder’s surreal vision of the ‘Face of the Machine’ contextually affirms the evil nature of technological advancement subliminally catalyses the diminishment of our own humanity. The slaves who are forced up to the beast are symbolic of those trying to fight technological oppression. This juxtaposed to the second row of victims who perplexed with fear, willingly embraced their metaphorical death, which is accentuated by the crescendoing music. In addition, once the minor inconvenience of the loss of human life has passed, the machine continues to operate, elucidating that fear even though at moments, is physically not visible, constantly exist mentally within the workers which forces them to serve the machine.

1984: Fear of personal oppression

Comparably in 1984, fear is instilled as the party aims to objectify their citizens by removing the possibility of rebellion, achieved through the emotive personification of “We’re cutting the language down to the bone,” creating a contextual allegory. This results in citizens unable to express their ideology and is indicative of the lengths the party will go to in order to diminish individuality. Therefore living in fear of personal expression. Orwell’s context is revealed through the Stalinist regimes which epitomised the subjugation of citizens, evoking “an age in which freedom of thought will be at first a deadly sin and later on a meaningless abstraction.” This enacts a strong dystopian notion in which authoritative institutions diminish freedom of speech to effectively practice absolute despotism. The Party’s subjugation of the Proles demands them to conform to governmental rules, causing them metaphorically fuel the party’s power. Through referring to the Proles as animalistic, underdeveloped and primitive beings, “The party taught that the proles were natural inferiors who must be kept in subjection, like animals,” their inferiority is delivered in high modality and supported by the symbolic use of animal imagery.

Both in Metropolis and 1984; dystopian conventions are used to relay the artists contextual concerns such as fear of totalitarian regimes.

Metropolis: Dehuminisation

Dehumanisation in ‘Metropolis’ is a subliminal underlying theme surfaced through more prolific notions of compassion, conformity and subsequently the loss of individuality. Conformity has always been perceived as a dystopian theme catalysing dehumanisation. The conformity to uniform expectations is envisaged in the motion picture ‘Metropolis’ in the third scene. A wide shot of Josephat entering Joh’s office through a vastly disproportionated door is indicative of the overwhelming power of authoritative institutions and the inferiority of the lower class. This is reverberated in the wide angle shot of Josephat in which his disproportionated size in relation to Joh symbolises his inferiority. As the authoritative institutions become consumed with power, they become vastly disconnected with human values of compassion and subsequently lose their humanity.

This is evident in the wide angle of both Freder and Josephat bowing to Joh, conforming to the authoritative oppression. Freder’s frightened moving away from his father is indicative of the notion that those in power become dehumanised and lose touch with key human values of love, compassion and empathy. This reverberates in forcing even those closest to them into conformity with the lower class, characterised through Freder’s horrified facial expression paired with the solemn music. This is evident through the mid shot of Freder over his father’s shoulder, the omission of leaving out his father’s face is symbolic of his faceless, dehumanised nature. During Joh’s dialogue with Freder, his failure to look at his son presents a symbolic allegory. Through the mid shot, the enormity of the powerful institution and its faceless ambiguity is symbolised. This draws contextual relations to the notions of the industrial revolution in which technology was at the peak of its power, consuming the intimate human values of compassion and individuality. Lang once stated “I am fascinated by machinery,” yet in Metropolis, machinery is the catalyst for the loss of several human values which dehumanised humanity.

1984: Dehuminisation

Comparably, in 1984, the notion of dehumanisation is omnipresent and explored as a certainty amongst all aspects of Oceanian life. Focusing on concepts of greed and oppression. Through this, the upper class have lost their humanity and attempt diminish the human qualities amongst the proles. This is evident through the emotive ellipses of “If there is hope, wrote winston, it lies in the proles.” This fundamentally clarifies the notion that dehumanisation is the catalyst for desired revolt among the lower class. Winston emphasises that the proles hold the key to societal rebellion due to being the only ‘humans’ in Oceania. This is envisaged through the symbolic use of similes, “They needed only to rise up and shake themselves like a horse shaking off flies.” Through Winston’s ideology, the notion that authoritative institutions oppress those marginalised in society is conveyed. The recurrent motif of animal imagery directly dehumanises the proles “Proles and animals are free” this exaggerates their inferiority and presents a strong societal juxtaposition. The notion that ‘The Party’ compares the proles to animals when in fact they’re dehumanised, presents another confronting societal juxtaposition that alludes to the infallibility of those in authoritative positions. Notions of dehumanisation directly correlate to the fifth scene of ‘Metropolis,’ particularly the long shot of the workers creating the tower of babylon. This again alludes to the notion of those in power manipulate the marginalised population for personal gain. In addition, the contextual concerns of Lang are surfaced through the ‘tower of babylon’ biblical reference, as the technologically oppressed population in Weimar Germany turned to faith to comfort their position. Further contextual notions are presented by the high contingency in which the workers struggle, indicating direct references to the of the overproduction and oppressive technological campaigns reverberating from the industrial revolution.

Conclusion:

Through the use of both subliminal and explicit techniques, composers Fritz Lang and George Orwell have conveyed their contextual concerns to proliferate the timeless truths of human nature and politics. Comparatively, the texts both centralise around the truths of fear and dehumanisation to communicate the contextual issues of the composers. George Orwell once said “Happiness can exist only in acceptance.”

Orwell was an idealist who was fearfull of societal zegiest and totalitarian regime.

Dark bleak and dustrurbing genre value laiden.

Owell Quote: “Political language is designed to make lies sound thruthful and murder respectable, and give to the appearance of solidarity to pure wind.”