Comparing When Dawn Comes To The City And Metropolis

Innovative forms and techniques are used in various ways to represent the twentieth-century city. Both When Dawn Comes to the City and Metropolis differ in the approaches and genres used, however both have one factor in common – the city. The twentieth-century city is represented throughout the poem ‘When Dawn Comes to the City’ and the silent film Metropolis – it is through two different mediums that we are able to see the impact of technology and modernity, and the conflict between traditional and modern values. The twentieth century city is seen as a place of opportunity, excitement but also alienation and resentment and it is these themes that will be explored through Metropolis and When Dawn Comes to the City. Form and technique are both

One of the innovative techniques Lang employs is through the plot of the film – during the film one of the machines breaks and leads to the city’s reservoirs overcapacity, which in turn floods the workers’ underground city and outwardly drowns their children. This scene in particular could be seen to hold a huge weight in the representation of twentieth-century city life – the scene can be interpreted in numerous ways one of which being the danger of city life – (the industrial revolution bought around many changes in machinery however Metropolis displays the city as a sea of machinery running and playing a significant part in city life) – the scene ultimately tells the viewer that indulging and relying on technology and modernity will discourage and lose the younger generation – this is embodied by the death of the children drowning. The scene is seen to show how too much of a good thing can result in consequences – despite opportunity ultimately it ended in loss. The scene of the flooding is undoubtedly one of the most impressive and innovative techniques that Lang uses throughout Metropolis – the hyperbole of the whole situation helps to highlight the main issue at hand with the twentieth century city