George Orwell 1984 Language Essay
Similarly, Orwell’s 1984 explores physical and psychological indoctrination through the manipulation of language to achieve absolute power to warn the consequences of a communist society. Orwell reflects on his experience during the Spanish Civil War where the Soviet-backed communists’ suppressed the Republicans. This experience influenced Orwell to be an outspoken critic of communism. Winston’s “rotting…and sordid” flat is juxtaposed to the towering “vast and white” Ministry pyramids to reveal the subjugation of the lower class under the Party’s control, similar to the dystopian architecture in Metropolis. The Party’s paradoxical slogan, “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength” reveals their ability to falsify reality and
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Lang’s Metropolis reveals that by working collectively, individuals and society can achieve equality and achieve a socialist republic. The 1924 Dawes Plan, an attempt to solve Germany’s World War 1 reparations is reflected in the workers’ revolution. Real Maria’s first appearance, surrounded by children, alludes to the religious painting ‘Matthew 19:14 suffer…unto me’. She metaphorically refers to the workers’ children as Freder’s “brothers” to argue everyone is God’s children, enticing him to learn the plight of the workers. She promotes a peaceful reconciliation. Further, the biblical allusion to the Tower of Babel serves as a warning against the hubris of man and a violent rebellion to achieve justice. However, False Maria, an allusion to the Whore of Babylon by her sultry look, is symbolic of the dangers of hedonism which threatened the Weimer Republic’s economy. She urges the workers to violently revolt and destroys The Heart Machine which ultimately destroys the Lower City. Although this is symbolic of the workers’ freedom from their oppression, Freder upholds Lang’s conservative Christian values of love and respect and defeats her. The film ends with Freder bringing his father’s and Grot’s (the workers’ leader) hands together in a handshake, which reinforces the extended metaphor, “the mediator between the head and the hands must
Lang’s Metropolis reveals that by working collectively, individuals and society can achieve equality and achieve a socialist republic. The 1924 Dawes Plan, an attempt to solve Germany’s World War 1 reparations is reflected in the workers’ revolution. Real Maria’s first appearance, surrounded by children, alludes to the religious painting ‘Matthew 19:14 suffer…unto me’. She metaphorically refers to the workers’ children as Freder’s “brothers” to argue everyone is God’s children, enticing him to learn the plight of the workers. She promotes a peaceful reconciliation. Further, the biblical allusion to the Tower of Babel serves as a warning against the hubris of man and a violent rebellion to achieve justice. However, False Maria, an allusion to the Whore of Babylon by her sultry look, is symbolic of the dangers of hedonism which threatened the Weimer Republic’s economy. She urges the workers to violently revolt and destroys The Heart Machine which ultimately destroys the Lower City. Although this is symbolic of the workers’ freedom from their oppression, Freder upholds Lang’s conservative Christian values of love and respect and defeats her. The film ends with Freder bringing his father’s and Grot’s (the workers’ leader) hands together in a handshake, which reinforces the extended metaphor, “the mediator between the head and the hands must