Post 9

This post is a combination of thoughts from the film "Metropolis" and the class discussion that followed.

In watching the film I it felt obvious to me that the purpose was to bring an idea to the masses. The idea, or purpose, conveyed can be summarized as the need for a "mediator". This mediator most closely resembles Jesus. There were references to Babel, the underworld, and heaven throughout the film. It is hard for me to believe that the director sought nothing more than to create a film that would intrigue and please its audience.

In class JB brought up an interesting point. He said something along the lines of the film being made only profit and entertainment. Furthermore, he said that the director would have written an essay rather than made a film if he was trying to convey some sort of political, cultural, or religious change to the masses. He also said that art, in general, is only created for an asthetic purpose.

My opposing view is that not all people can write well. I mean, there are artists, musicians, film makers, and a variety of other people that use different mediums to show their feelings and more exclusively their feelings about the state of the world. JB cited Dylan as one of the few that was looking for societal change in his music. I think the only reason that was the only musician he could come up with that did that is because his lyrics are easy to relate to and are very upfront, not to mention he is one of the most popular musicians of our time. Let me refer to another artist that we all know. John Lennon obviously had songs that were meant to invoke thought in the listeners' minds. The song "imagine", for example, discusses the state of the world and is sort of a pro-communism song. One of Lennon's previous bandmates, George Harrison, wrote the song "Woman is the Nigger of the World". I mean, the title alone is evidence enough that he was talking about a problem with the way women were treated. I think it's possible that JB was only trying to play "devil's advocate", if you will. However, I wanted to unfold my ideas on the matter.