Note: I watched a restored version of the German release of Metropolis. Evidently there are some differences between the German version and the American version. The android in the German version was designed by Rotwang to replace his and Fredersen's deceased lover Hel. Fredersen asks Rotwang to have the android disrupt the workers plans by giving her the appearance of Maria. Rotwang does, also intending to kill Freder as revenge against Fredersen for stealing Hel. I read that in the American version the android is not programmed by Rotwang, and runs amok on its own accord. I didn't see any mention of this lesson, so I thought I should note this, since it influences what the film says about technology.

    In his review of Fritz Lang's Metropolis, Siegfried Kracauer argues that the film's sentiments align it with German fascism. This reading is inappropriate for several reasons – the film lacks key elements of actual Nazi propaganda, and although it makes a compelling social point, it doesn't make any coherent political points.

    One key feature of Nazi propaganda is a focus on nationalism. Nazi nationalism is not just the subordination of individual interests to state interests, but the willful subordination of individual interests to state interests. Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, an actual example of Nazi propaganda, shows that individual Germans are happy to serve Hitler, their symbol of  Germany. Riefenstahl's film illustrates this by showing happy, healthy Germans enjoying themselves right after showing them working to serve the state. This contrasts with Lang's film, in which miserable workers stumble to their stations. Riefenstahl shows her workers marching in formation, eager and able to serve a common goal; Lang shows his staggering in formation, united only in their exhaustion. Technology is put to nationalistic use in Riefenstahl's film – a sophisticated plane shows the beautiful German cityscape, a shiny new Mercedes carries Hitler through a crowd of adoring citizen-soldiers. Technology is viewed very differently in Lang's film – like the Romantics, he views it as a dangerous, dehumanizing force. Indeed, without the “Heart Machine” the workers will die, but to keep it operating, they have to give up enjoyment of their lives. Another striking illustration of Lang's view of technology comes while Freder is on his sickbed – during his nightmare of Death waving a scythe, there is a cut to a steam-belching factory – it only lasts a few frames, but the implication is clear.

    Another important feature of Nazi propaganda is the Übermensch – the “beyond man.” In many examples of Nazi propaganda this concept is realized by supposing the superiority of the Aryan race, but in Triumph of the Will it is manifested in the transcendent nature of the German political unit. As Dr. Strathausen's lesson points out, the individuals and leaders acting in concert make Germany seem like a “mega-organism,” an “invincible machine.” This mega-organism is indeed “beyond man.” Dziga Vertov's Man With the Movie Camera, although not a piece of Nazi propaganda, also promotes the “beyond man,” implying that technology and humanity merge to become something more powerful and more capable. Vertov illustrates this by weaving images of technology – factories, cars, trains, cameras – with images of every aspect of life – newborn babies sleeping, a woman bathing and dressing, people working and playing. Metropolis' view is very different. Instead of showing the “beyond man” as an (highly desirable) emergent entity, Lang uses Rotwang's android to show it as an instrument of confusion and destruction. It is the tool of the powerful – Fredersen instructs the android to “sow discord” among the workers, disrupting their unity. Assuming the form of Maria, the android convinces the workers to destroy their means of survival and to run amok in the city.

    Critics rightly dismissed Metropolis' political message as naive. As we have seen, it doesn't embody the spirit of Nazi-ism (unity through nationalism/superiority), and as Dr. Strathausen indicates in the lesson, its call for a “mediator” has questionable merit. Indeed, there is no resolution – the film shows a number of problems (e.g. inhumane conditions for workers, gross inequity between the rich and the poor, and a dangerous mob rule), but doesn't give a real solution to any of them. Are we to interpret the film as an advertisement for compassionate trade unions? Should we assume there was a missing intertitle between “THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!” and “THE END” that said “SO THEY CAN COME TO AGREEMENTS ABOUT WAGES, OVERTIME COMPENSATION, AND EDUCATION”? Not even Maria's incomplete retelling of the legend of the Tower of Babel hints at what the resolution should be – if head and hands get together and pursue a common goal, will the Lord overturn the the result with a great wind, confound their language, and scatter them about the earth?

    The need for caution with regard to technology is Metropolis' most compelling point – humans may use technology to enhance their lives, but they should be careful not to make their lives entirely dependent on it. If they do, it can fall into the wrong hands (e.g. workers who don't understand it). This social point is somewhat undermined by the the film's unclear political message. Since it doesn't fit well with films like Triumph of the Will, Metropolis shouldn't be categorized with Nazi propaganda. Similarly, since it is so critical of workers using technology, it doesn't belong with Marxist films like The Man With the Movie Camera. Perhaps it best fits as an illustration of Weimar Germany – a place with too many problems and too few solutions.