`` Metropolis `` The Film, Metropolis, By Karl Marx

Throughout history, humans have been unfortunately known for exploiting fellow humans. Major instances of exploitation include slavery and, as German philosopher Karl Marx argued, capitalism. Marx, having observed the class conflict between the bourgeoisie (the capitalists) and the proletariat (the workers), said that in the capitalist system, the bourgeoisie take advantage of the proletariat for financial gains. With the introduction of modern industry, instead of helping the workers work less, machinery only worsened the conflict as capitalists utilized them for the wrong purposes that in turn suppressed the workers even more. Marx’s ideas have influenced countless celebrities, from the Russian communist politician Vladimir Lenin to the†¦show more content†¦Animism, which is a core part of the Japanese’s Shinto faith, has inspired and is continuing to inspire Japanese culture. It gives rise to the notion that everything – be it animate or inanimate – has a spirit. In other words, the Shinto faith has the tendency to humanize everything, from dogs to man-made objects. With regards to Metropolis, the robots used by the capitalists as a cheap form of labour embody elements from the Shinto faith, in that they appear to be sentient not in the physical sense, but in the emotional sense. The blurring of the line between the robots’ humanness and nonhumanness is further exemplified when Tima, a robot assembled after the plutocrat Duke Red’s deceased daughter, asks, â€Å"Am I human, or am I one of those poor robots?† Her original belief that she is human and not a robot, as well as her apparent ability to feel emotions, prove that in Metropolis there are no distinctions between human and robot. Hence, while the robots are still considered machines who â€Å"steal† workers’ jobs, they also possess the proletariat identity alongside the impoverished workers themselves. They are exploited way worse than the workers as they are often sent down to unbearable conditions in the sewers where â€Å"no human could last a day.† In connection to Marx, Marx said that in the typical capitalist’s factory â€Å"every organ of sense is injured†¦ by artificial elevation of the temperature, by the dust-ladenShow MoreRelatedModern Metropolis, By Fritz Lang1938 Words   |  8 PagesTanveer Khan Kaliopi Pappas, J. D. Civilization 003 4 May 2016 Modern Metropolis Modernity is a new era in which humans began to think about themselves, and started changing from old traditions like religious influences to their own culture of radical new ideas. This era is full of rational humanistic ideas and increased the opportunities for people to go after their interests in life. Modernity is kind of like the days Americans live today with freedom to be who you think is right. 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