Metropolis: The Abstract

1) Huyssen’s article does a very good job of dissecting the symbolism and themes present in the movie Metropolis, however there are some things that I disagree with. She says that “Fritz Lang does not feel the need to explain the female features of Rotwang's robot,” however Rotwang says that he built her to replace Hel, a woman. I found it very interesting the way the female was portrayed as chaos and uncontrollable.


2)Vamp – A woman who uses seduction and charm to gain an upper hand.
Moloch – a sacrifice associated with fire
Neue Sachlichkeit – New Objectivity
Expressionism – A subjective art form



3)Why doesn’t Lang include Frederson ordering the machine-men from Rotwang in the movie?
Was the religious symbolism necessary? Did it add anything to the movie that wasn’t already obvious?
Do the workers really need to be replaced with robots? Aren’t their motions and actions automatic enough?
Huyssen states that during Freder’s breakdown he frees himself from the chains of seduction. However, he later cannot tell the difference between the robot and the real Maria, and attempts to save the fake Maria from a fire. Did he truly break free from sexual desire?