The 1927 film, Metropolis, is a manifestation of ideas encompassed by Max Weber, Karl Marx, and Frederick Engels. Within the first moments of the movie, the audience is exposed to images of workers who have been stripped of their humanity and autonomy. Each worker moves as the other does, responding to one another and to their surroundings as though they were pieces of the machine that kept the extravagent city of Metropolis running. In describing bourgoise society, Marx and Engles state, "the work of the proletarians has lost all individual character, and, consequently, all charm for the workman. He becomes an appendage of the machine" (Marx & Engels, 16). The imagery in the beginning of the film depicts exactly that, humans conditioned to behave like a machine. Metropolis is a perfect example of bourgoise (capitalistic) society in that the separation between the classes is durastic, defined, and relavent to the monetary success of the society as a whole.The next group of people introduced in the plot line are living much more…show more content… It is obvious that he supports the difinitive divide in his city because this is practical when it comes to his financial success. Freder seems to be a scientific man who uses technology and deductive reasoning, but he is lacking in regard for human rights because this enchanting notion does not help him obtain his wealth. The divide between workers and the people who live above ground is what fuels his wealth. When discussing disenchantment Weber mentions, "One need no longer have recourse to magical means in order to master or implore the spirits, as did the savage, for whom such mysterious powers existed" (Weber, 7). Thus, it is apparent that Frederson is disenchanted and motivated purely by capitalism and practicality when it comes to accumulating
