Nice insights Forrest. I was corrected about my faulty biographical knowledge of Lang yesterday, and I think now it's generally agreed that the 'Marxism' imputation (which I didn't in fact make myself) was a red Herring .... I'd like to think that the notion that Metropolis has a an unequivocal "love conquers all" ending is a bit shakier too ...
...cultural discourse and criticizm on 313 ... wonders will never cease. Peace, Ken >-----Original Message----- >From: Forrest L Norvell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sent: Thursday, May 02, 2002 7:38 PM >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Org >Subject: Re: [313] Metropolis @ Royal Festival Hall > > >On Thu, May 02, 2002 at 12:43:22PM +0100, Odeluga, Ken wrote: >> The feeble grasp of Marxism (in the 1920s for God's sake!) >> >is bad enough, never mind the saccharine "love conquers all" >resolution. Oh >> >dear. >> >> Naaah - you're ommitting a vital fact Jonny! This is 1930s >America, happy >> endings and easily-comprehensible plots were virtually compulsory. Think >> studio system and remember political interfence/patronage >(....hmmm... that >> sounds very contemporary, 'Black Hawk Down' anyone?) > >Well, actually... > >When _Metropolis_ was made, Lang was still a part of the _German_ >studio system, and if you've seen any of his other Weimar-era movies >(_M_, _Dr Mabuse_, _Frau im Mond_), you know that there's more >happening in his movies than is immediately apparent. In _Metropolis_, >for instance, isn't it striking the way that the supposedly cool, >rational leaders of the City of Science that is the Metropolis rely so >heavily upon the occultist Rottwang? And aren't the workers >_purposefully_ portrayed as easily-duped sheep? It seems to me that >the ending is a lot more ambiguous than it portrays itself. The >Expressionists loved to use broad strokes to hide all sorts of >disturbing stuff under the surface. It's hard to see some of the >themes in edited versions -- I saw a "full" cut of _Metropolis_ once, >a long time ago, and was struck by how much more the movie is about >than its surface story. It's a different rhythm, sure, but there's a >lot to reward your time if you can adapt to it. Something that can be >said about Mills' music as well. > >I think it's great that he chose a movie that so perfectly captures >the ambiguities implicit in Detroit's history, as well as techno >itself, for his first score project. I really really want to see it >myself. > >F > >-- > . . . the self-reflecting image of a narcotized mind . . . >ozymandias G desiderata [EMAIL PROTECTED] desperate, deathless >(415)823-6356 http://www.pushby.com/forrest/ ::AOAIOXXYSZ:: > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
