James and David take a look at perhaps the grandaddy of science fiction films - no, not Aelita! - but Metropolis. Directed by Fritz Lang and written by Thea von Harbou, it has influenced film makers for decades since, with references to it still appearing in culture - so much so that people who haven't even watched it will still know some of the most iconic images from it. We examine many of the themes of the film: Christian morality, industrialism, Marxist political theory, class conflict, urbanism and architecture, and attitudes to nudity, as well as going into German expressionism and expressionism in the arts in general. We also consider the strange paradox of a half-Jewish director and a National Socialist race-mixing degenerate screenwriter creating a rather moral film in tune with many of our own ideals.
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