Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject

Metropolis:

What struck me most about metropolis is how much the bodies of the workers shown throughout the film were part of a machine themselves, that of the larger city. The machines that kept Metropolis running were nothing without the men who manned them. The heart machine which was the most important when not tended carefully completely shut down. The men even moved as though mechanical themselves. In sync and in the same patterns as one another. Walking with heads down those leaving the underground work area walked double the pace of those shuffling back and forth into their underground chamber.

I was also surprised at the end of the film when the workers realized that the cyborg Maria was not human they seemed more horrified than ever. As though being mislead by another human being would have been better than being betrayed by their senses and following the lead of a machine. I think this goes back to what _______ said in the __________article about the fear that cyborg cause as they’re seen as a threat to the human race. They’re not seen as another entity modeled physically after humans that can co-exist together, but rather as though they’re a possible replacement for human life and therefore would want to aid in it’s destruction.

I think another reason that the cyborg Maria is so threatening is that she is gendered female. The inherent notion that someone who is seen to represent the creation of life being that that may destroy it is a disturbing notion attributed to the cyborg. She is marked in being feminine (before taking on the form of Maria) by her metal breast, wide hips, and lack of a phallus. I found it intriguing that even though the cyborg is markedly feminine she is still referred to as “machine man” rather than woman. The spaces seen as gendered within the film were those of the workers particularly. The workers are mainly shown within their work areas and were all male. When they were shown in their living areas is the only time that we see the women workers until they leave their underground city as an angry rebellious mob. As for the above ground Metropolis dwellers the most gendered space was that of the Garden. All of the women are seen as inhabitants of that space, waiting to entertain wealthy men whilst wearing little clothing. It reminded me strongly of a brothel, reminiscent of Jean Genet’s Balcony, where the women don’t leave that space but wait for the men to visit them.

All of the workers shown in the film are in charge of monitoring and working the machines. Turning knobs and levers in order to keep things running smoothly. The bodies move back and forth in very structured patterns. Even those not moving with others while working at the machines move back and forth in even patterns, while when the workers form the mob they do still move together but in a much more unstructured way. I also noted as well that when the workers were walking together (or rather marching) that they all kept their heads down and at similar angles, when they had rebelled they suddenly held their heads up and their movements were released from their rigid movements.