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  • Essay / George Orwell and Fritz Lang's vision of the destruction of human society, as depicted in 1984 and Metropolis

    Using the fundamental elements of their worlds, George Orwell's mid-20th century novel, 1984, and Fritz Lang's early 20th century film The Metropolises distort what is known to convey uncomfortable truths. In light of Cold War utilitarianism and the economic collapse of the Weimar Republic, Orwell and Lang position the reader in a climate of dystopia, in which vulnerability to social collapse is addressed via the totalitarian framework by Orwell and Lang's Heart Machine, symbol of war. temporal paranoia and the economization of humans as resources. Conversely, Winston's symbolic death as a cell of the Ingsoc system despite the rebellion highlights the immortality of social structures, as exemplified by Goldstein's role in controlling the insurrection. Likewise, the fate of the workers, an allegory of the Tower of Babel, illustrates a disillusionment with God, in which, despite protests, the workers can only find salvation with Joh Frederson, an allusion to God, and are therefore trapped in the religious paradigm. This arouses public anger, as illusions of personal power are subverted, leaving individuality questionable and the future bleak. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay In light of the utilitarian outlook of the Cold War and the economic collapse of the Weimar Republic, Orwell and Lang both urge the outcry of their public by using a climate of dystopia. deconstruct fundamental illusions. In 1984, post-World War II fears of vulnerability to larger world powers were addressed through the totalitarian framework, in which wartime processes and perspectives were maintained, particularly in rationing. , as shown by “boiled cabbage”, and strengthened trust in government. The system, as political leader Big Brother's filial presentation highlights, is set up to create a sense of familiarity. Orwell deconstructs this by characterizing the Ingsoc system as subversive to the individual, as the motif of the television screens illustrates its invasiveness, and the total control is evident in "No way to turn it off completely"; a hyperbole of wartime suspicion and paranoia. This is a real challenge for Orwell's readers, because awareness of this oppression only maximizes vulnerability to the Cold War. Thus, “ignorance is strength,” making disillusionment with preconceived structures unnecessary; a futuristic setting, in which the German Expressionist depiction of the cityscape as enormous and bold embodies the sense of helplessness felt by Lang's audience, overwhelmed by the economy and their function within it; this is evident through the symbol of the Heart Machine, a representation. of the corporatization of human beings after the desolation of the First World War, as observed in the industrial image of workers. Similar to Orwell, Lang presents a dissonant voice; while technological and corporate entrapment is signified, specifically embodied by workers as tools of the elite utopia, Lang reimagines economic dystopia as a spiritual dystopia. “The fact that people are consumed by the machine does not prove that machines are greedy, but rather depicts the faulty hardware of people themselves.” Thus, Lang's audience is presented with a disturbing picture, in which even if the "head" and "hands" meet, spiritual healing is.