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Similarities Between Metropolis And 1984

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Diverging contextual influences shape the way in which dystopian texts portray worlds in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of utopia is maintained through propaganda and indoctrination at the expense of altruistic human values. Fritz Lang’s expressionist 1927 film Metropolis and George Orwell’s 1949 dystopic novel 1984 critique the imposition of conformity due to unbridled authority in society, as well as convey the importance of human connections for a harmonious, progressive society. Through the comparative study of these texts, responders attain an enhanced understanding of the context’s influence on the representation of these multifaceted societal concerns. Excessive authorial power in society deny individuals personal …show more content…

The eradication of “ordinary human feeling(s)” is portrayed in cumulative listing “Never again will [Winston] be capable of love… courage, or integrity”, reflective of the impact of Stalinist punishment regimes for rebels. Orwell establishes the innate desire for intellectual freedom and autonomous thought in Winston's first act of rebellion against the Party in the repeated entry of "DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER" in his diary. Winston's rebellious affair with Julia results in Winston's feelings of anger and hatred to shift to more compassionate affections, emotions which Lang also emphasises in Metropolis, "At the sight of the words, I love you, the desire to stay alive had welled in him". Parson's dream, "I started talking in my sleep... 'Down with Big Brother!'" revealing that the intrinsic desire for freedom can never be suppressed, yet, irony in Parson’s “doleful pride” at his daughter denouncement of his thoughtcrime exemplifies the division within familial structures, posing as a microcosm for the loss of human connections and ensuing societal divisions. Hence, due to the political upheaval, which arose preceding the Cold War, Orwell's perspective on his contemporary society gives rise to the bleak ending of 1984, depicted in the metaphor "[the] bullet was entering his brain". In 1984, Orwell defends the individual liberties of expression as being necessary for our humanity, just as Lang emphasised the need for empathy and compassion for the functioning of

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As examples of dystopian fiction, metropolis and 1984 share some common concerns and conventions. In a comparative essay, analyse and evaluate each text as an artistic response to the political, social and cultural climates of their respective contexts: Texts are inherently responses which represents composers concerns of their political, social and cultural climates. Both Fritz Lang’s German Expressionist Film Metropolis (1927) and George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948) portray the subjugation of the individual and the divide between social classes. Lang’s focus is on the consequences to society due to loss of values such as compassion in Weimar Germany following WWI.

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After reading a select few words of science fiction from the twentieth century, one of the most recurring themes was the power of words and literature. Or rather, the fear of the power that literature and words may have on society. In the dystopian novels, Nineteen Eighty-Four, Fahrenheit 451, and The Handmaid’s Tale, the envisioned societies were all controlled by governments that disvalued books. It could be assumed by readers of these novels, that the reasoning behind the prohibition of novels in these works is due to the ideas that could influence those in their so-called utopias. The symbolic representations of the newspaper in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the pillow in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and the temperature at which paper

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554 Words | 3 Pages

History provides us with many examples of the great lengths that the government or the society is willing to traverse to suppress or censor what they consider dissentious or “incorrect” ideas and values. When Knowledge becomes a weapon against the totalitarian authority, and History becomes the evidence, a rewriting of historical facts is required to curb the people witnessing the ‘change’. The authority therefore constantly refines and alters History, through the medium of language, with the ultimate goal that no one will be able to conceptualise anything that might question the authority’s absolute power. Winston Churchill aptly said in his speech ‘The Defence of Freedom and Peace (The Lights are Going Out)’, “… how are they to quell the natural promptings of human nature, which after all these centuries of trial and progress has inherited a whole armoury of potent and indestructible knowledge?” Hence, complete complacency and ignorance from the people is what the authority requires, both of them shown at their extremes in two dystopian novels, George Orwell’s 1984 and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

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Totalitarian regimes, desolate environments, genetic modification, dehumanization of individuals, suffocating societal planning, infringement on personal rights, and the demonization of any and all who oppose authority—these nightmarish things have one thing in common: all are aspects of dystopian works. The dystopian societies presented in fiction writing and the resulting popularity during different time periods, such as the height of the Cold War, postcolonial Africa, and the last decade in America, are products of political satire and parody reflecting on current societal and political issues and extrapolating them to their extreme conclusions. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word “dystopia” as “an imaginary place or condition in which everything is as bad as possible” (“Oxford English Dictionary”). Certainly, nearly everybody has read at least a handful of dystopian works in their lifetime.

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