Module A: Elective 2
Sample Response: Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four
Response by: Cameron Malcher
The question
(adapted from
2014 HSC)
Rebellion and revolution are ideas which connect Metropolis and
Nineteen Eighty-Four. How do these two texts from different
contexts reflect changing perspectives on this idea?
What it
requires


Prescribed texts:
Introduction
begins with
broader
positioning of
thesis, then
introduces text
followed by
thesis statement
which suggests
contextual links
Both texts are connected by an exploration of rebellion and
revolution that have direct relevance to the composers and their
audiences.
Compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the way
each text portrays rebellion and revolution, taking into account
context, audience, language and textual form.
Metropolis (1929), directed by Fritz Lang (film)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) by George Orwell (novel)
When distribution of power in a society is too unevenly distributed, or
when one group abuses their power too greatly to the detriment of
others, then the oppressed often find a way to rebel or even initiate
revolution. In Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four we see depictions
of dystopian societies that provoke rebellion or revolution, though as
each text was produced during or shortly after significantly different
periods of conflict and upheaval, we ultimately see two different
attitudes presented, with very different expectations for the outcome of
such actions.
Topic sentence Throughout history, the most common social structure to provoke
links to question revolution is one with hierarchical social classes. Lang’s depiction of
Direct reference
to context
Analysis of
images &
sequences from
the text with
comparison of
examples from
text to reinforce
topic sentence
Concluding
statement links
back to thesis
and introduces
next paragraph
Connects texts
with
comparative
divided social classes in a film encouraging sympathy for the lower class
has parallels with its time, being produced shortly after the German
revolution in which the imperial government was replaced by a form of
representative democracy (the Weimar Republic). Lang uses
expressionistic imagery, and the strong contrast of light and shade
characteristic of German Expressionist Cinema to distinguish the two
classes inhabiting the futuristic city. The workers are depicted in
uniform black, trudging in synchronised columns into a dark tunnel to
their work with the machines. Exiting, they walk at a slower pace
suggesting work draws the life out of them, while montages of gears
and heavy machinery construct them as part of the machine. This
opening sequence is juxtaposed with the light shades and open spaces
of the upper city, particularly the Eternal Garden. While workers trudge
into dark tunnels, Freder, the protagonist and other sons of Metropolis’
elite run freely in leisure activities beneath towering walls and statues.
This clear social divide establishes the familiar pattern for the
revolution that is to come.
Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four explores the more complex scenario of
an oppressive regime that maintains power through propaganda, subtle
behavioural controls, and fear. Written 20 years after the production of
phrase ‘more
complex’
Contextual
difference
between texts
Brief summary
of text links to
topic sentence.
Analysis of
narrative style
continues line
of argument
Contextual links
reinforce thesis
Comparison of
set texts and
concluding
statement link
back to thesis
Metropolis, and after the world had already seen the extremes of
fascism and totalitarian regimes such as Hitler’s Nazi Party and Stalin’s
regime in Russia, Orwell creates a dystopian society of satirical
extremes in which every aspect of an individual’s life, including their
thoughts, are the subject of control strategies implemented in the name
of the oppressive figurehead known as Big Brother. The close-framed
narrative allows the reader to get inside the head of protagonist
Winston Smith, a member of the Outer Party of the English Socialist
Party in decaying post-revolutionary London, now part of the megastate of Oceania. His main occupation of rewriting historical records to
reflect current party policy represents one extreme manifestation of
totalitarian control. Through this activity, Winston introduces us to
Doublethink, the ability to hold two contradictory ideas in your head
while guiding yourself to believe the one that best fits the principles of
Ingsoc, the party doctrine. To even doubt or question Ingsoc is dubbed
‘thoughtcrime’, and pursued ruthlessly by the thought police.
In a policy reminiscent of the great purges of Stalinist Russia or the
Night of the Long Knives in Hitler’s Nazi Party, anyone accused of
thoughtcrime is ‘disappeared’ in the night and presumed executed or
vaporised. Unlike the clearly divided social classes of Metropolis, the
climate of fear in totalitarian London, coupled with the ever-present eye
of Big Brother through the telescreens and the slogan ‘Big Brother is
Watching You’, encourages people to oppress themselves, as people
live in fear of being accused, falsely or otherwise, and executed.
Topic sentence
establishes
commonality
between texts
before focusing
on specific text
While both texts explore the idea of rebellion and revolution against
such oppressive regimes, neither provides a single-sided view of the
issue. In Metropolis, the revolution is initiated as a foolhardy act of
manipulation by the ruling class. Joh Fredersen and his mad scientist
companion, Rotwang, kidnap Maria, the Madonna-like figure who first
entices Freder to learn the plight of the workers. After seeing Maria
preaching to the workers using the oft-repeated phrase that ‘the
Brief synopsis,
mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart’ Frederson
introducing
biblical allusions and Rotwang replace her with a robotic doppelganger to stir up dissent
and rebellion in the workers so that Fredersen can be justified in using
greater force against them. The workers who rise to robot-Maria’s call
Detailed
analysis of
to destroy the machines are depicted as foolhardy, as they unknowingly
imagery and
leave their children behind in peril when their rampage causes flooding.
symbolism
This action symbolises the dangers of revolution, suggesting that in
showing
taking control of the present, then the future that the children represent
different
may be sacrificed. Further folly is committed when the workers ignore
perspectives
the warnings of one of their own, Grot, and destroy the heart machine
linked to thesis
of Metropolis, symbolically rendering the city lifeless and in essence
destroying the thing they may have hoped to claim. The epic scale of
Concluding
this revolution, however, is in strong contrast to the nature of rebellion
statement links
in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
to next
paragraph
Compares texts
with ‘instead’
Instead of an epic revolution, Winston’s rebellion against the party is
ironic in that his rebellion is to pursue acts associated with a ‘normal’
Developing
argument with
textual
references and
analysis of motif
Analysis of
symbolism links
to topic
sentence
Concluding
statement
includes
contextual links
life. Once the audience understands the concepts of thoughtcrime and
doublethink, then it becomes apparent how his continued questioning
of the official party story is a dangerous and rebellious act. A key motif
that represents Winston’s rebellion is the repetition of the line ‘two plus
two equals four’, which the audience recognises as a factual statement,
but which comes to symbolise the power of the party’s control
mechanisms that they might persuade someone to believe that two plus
to equals five. In this way, all of Winston’s rebellions take the form of
ordinary activities for the reader – a love affair, consuming real coffee
and chocolate – yet the fact they are rebellious defines another aspect
of life that the party has coerced and perverted as part of their drive for
power. Winston’s rebellion celebrates life and his actions serve as
Orwell’s warning against any system of authority in which everyday
actions might be seen as questionable.
Directly
compares texts
with brief
analysis of plot
and
concluding link
to thesis
It is in the resolution of the acts of rebellion and revolution that the key
differences between the texts emerge. Where Metropolis ends with a
sense of hope (the liberated Maria unites Grot and Federsen through
the empathic figure of Freder), Nineteen Eighty-Four’s final line in
which Winston proclaims his love for Big Brother is seen as a final,
crushing defeat that suggests no hope exists in such a system of power.
Conclusion
summarises
how the
question has
been answered,
with suggestions
for further lines
of inquiry
arising from this
essay
In conclusion, it is possible to view these two texts as counterpoints to
each other. While still recognising the dangers of revolution, Metropolis
reflects the sense of hope that is ultimately represented by such an
action while Nineteen Eighty-Four shows what such hopes can easily
become. It is not insignificant then that Orwell wrote his novel after
fighting directly against the fascists that would arise out of the German
experience, and that he throws into question the value of the
revolutionary spirit and whether or not it has ever produced an ideal,
long-term outcome.