a film like no other: Fritz Lang's Metropolis

It's astonishing to think that there were very few Science Fiction films made prior to World War II, but it's even more astonishing after seeing the visionary genius of Fritz Lang's 1927 METROPOLIS and how daring, bold, and pioneering the film truly was and still is. It has been imitated ever since and nearly ever Science Fiction film owes some degree of respect towards this film. The film is about a future in which there are only two societies: the thinkers and the workers. The only problem is that they are co-dependent upon each other as the thinkers are not really sure 'how' things work while the works are able to make things work, but have no vision to see them through, they just DO the work. So the two must work together, but the crux of the film really takes shape when one of the thinkers decided to venture into the workers area to see what their life is like and is appalled at their bot-like behaviors.

Of course the film runs much deeper than this as this is just the surface story that is happening, but there is much more woven into the fabric of this cinematic masterpiece and it's revolutionary style, form, and production. Amazingly enough the film holds up incredibly well even after 80+ years and is a MUST SEE for any serious Science Fiction fan. I am reminded recently of this film as there seems to be (especially with the recent 2 terms of Mr. Bush) a certain move towards 2 social statuses (lower and upper AKA "haves" and "have-nots"), but even more specific we have the workers and those who are in control of the workers, not necessarily the 'thinkers', but rather the ones with power, typically political power brought on primarily by who you know and how much money you have. What is more frustrating is that the 'workers' outnumber the 'thinkers', but are unorganized and are kept in their position by way of custom. When people are overworked and living in fear, it's hard to become organized and day-to-day mundane-ness seems at least comforting as opposed to putting effort into getting organized and making a difference for the better, having a voice. Maybe we can hope for a 'thinker' to step into our world and see what it's like....just maybe.