Poverty And Ignorance In Metropolis

Poverty and Ignorance - Two Issues Which Still Plague our Society

In the science-fiction film Metropolis directed by Fritz Lang in 1927, poverty and ignorance to worldly issues are emphasized as immense obstacles impacting the 1920’s society. Although there have been several modern advancements, today’s society is still struggling with both impoverished individuals and blindness to alarming threats haunting our society. As a poor girl who was born into an underprivileged life, Maria’s life greatly contrasts from the rich boy Freder’s life. Maria shows Freder that most of the working class people live in the dark and cold of the underground city, every day solely accompanied by hard factory work. In the underground city, Maria notices the challenging labor the men are subjected to and encourages the workers to

Moreover, the cruel and greedy Jon Fredersen, Freder's father, peers over the underprivileged workers below him out of his tall skyscraper, built by the very same people who he oppresses. Instead of raising up those who are under him and helping those in need, Fredersen greedily hoards all his money and power to himself, ignoring those working laborious hours in the depths, keeping the immense city running. Throughout the world, there are a copious number of people who turn a blind eye to the problems hurting our world. There are people like Fredersen who recognize the injustices but reject them and selfishly hoard their riches for themselves. Whether these people are ignorant on purpose like Fredersen or born into wealth and are sheltered from the inequality of the world like Freder, they grow up in money but do not use it to address critical social issues. From war to hunger and famine to homelessness, there are too many people who instead of using their resources to make the world a better place by providing a positive influence, are selfish and stash their riches away for themselves or