Metropolis La Belle Epoque

Metropolis: Stratification of Classes

The movie Metropolis takes place in the year 2026 in the city of Metropolis. In the movie, there are two different classes, the thinkers and the workers. The thinkers live high above the earth in luxury and splendor with the workers who live underground toiling to sustain the lives of the privileged. Throughout the film, the thinkers, or planners, rely on the workers to do their 'dirty work' and cannot maintain their current lives without them. In the movie, the workers 'leader' is a beautiful woman named Maria. She advises the workers not to start a revolution and wait for "the mediator" that will unite the two parts of the society. The leader of the society Fredersen, kidnaps Maria and sends an identical looking robot of Maria down to where the workers live. The robot tricks the workers into destroying their own children and city with a great flood. Maria and Freder, Fredersen's son, save the children and Freder ends up becoming "The Mediator."

Although the movie is purely fictional, it accurately depicts life during the La Belle Йpoque time period. In La Belle Йpoque, the elite, or "thinkers, constructed a rigid structured society based on the command of the poor, or "workers." The "thinkers" wanted to hold onto the status that they thought they were entitled too. During a time of unparalleled economic, territorial, industrial, and population growth, the "thinkers" wanted to make sure that their privileged position remained together. Living above the rest of society, the "thinkers" of the time were spoiled in every kind of privilege, luxury, and lavishness as proof that they were above the rest. They lived separately from the rest of society and in a different world, but needed to maintain control of the "workers" in order to continue in this life of lavishness. But, similar to the movie, this extraordinary life can not possible sustain itself for an extended period of time.

In a society, when there is such socioeconomic stratification, there is bound to be uprisings. In the movie, the robot "Maria" encourages and leads the workers into a rebellion. This rebellion leads to the collapse of the rigid structure that was previously in place. Like the film, La Belle Йpoque's downfall was cause by a myriad of reasons. The