Station_9_Metropolis

//Station #9: Metropolis // __CONTEXT __ “German Expressionism” was a creative movement born out of the Second Industrial Revolution, the advent of motion picture machinery (cameras and projectors), and visual storytellers’ reactions to, among other Epistemic Shifts, the advent of Marxist and Freudian theories. Expressionistic texts use surreal imagery to criticize modernism and express, pictorially, elements of the human psyche. An example: Images from the film //Metropolis//, which visualize the struggles of proletarian working class “underlings” //literally// swallowed by machines “below the surface” of a massive, “upper city” ruled by the bourgeoisie class.

//Metropolis //is a silent film, produced in Germany and released in 1927. The story, comprised almost entirely of visual metaphors, is set in a futuristic urban dystopia, and follows the attempts of Freder, the wealthy son of the city’s ruler, to overcome the vast gulf separating the classes of their city.

Numerous attempts have been made to restore the film. In the 1980s, musician and producer Giorgio Moroder (who won a Grammy Award for his work with the electronica band Daft Punk) released a version with a soundtrack by rock artists, containing lyrics adding to the movie’s social commentary and, by the filmmakers’ own admission, arguments in favor of Marxism.


 * Play the series of short video clips below ****. **As you watch and listen, be sure to keep //informal// notes in your pamphlet. What **__statements__**, **__motifs__** (recurring images, dialogue, symbols, or idea), and **__themes__** //immediately// strike you as **__memorable__** or **__exigent__** (emotionally impactful)?


 * Click [[file:Metro Wiki 1 (ATV).m4v|here]] for the first video clip. Click [[file:Metro Wiki 2 (ATV).m4v|here]] for the second video clip. Click [[file:Metro Wiki 3 (ATV).m4v|here]] for the third video clip. **

Finally, **__engage in a small-group discussion__**. Each member of the group **__must contribute to the process by fulfilling an assigned role__**. Then, in a thoughtful, “MEL-style” short essay response, answer this question:

What **__specific information__** should a Marxist critic consider in an analysis of this text? Using that information as **__evidence__**, what **__meaning__** can //we// make of this text, **__using Marxist tenets as our “lenses”__**?