Essay, Questions and Journals

This week in the seminar we focused on our essay, asking questions to determine how we might start to look at our critical text.

 1. What is the 'cultural text' you want to write about?
-Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927)

2. Why that text?
-I want to see how/if camera angles/ the style is used for purposeful effect and to communicate certain messages. From just watching the film it seems like there's a strong use of gender roles and a focus on class, among other aspects, but I want to study more to see exactly what may be communicated.

3. What do you already 'know' about your chosen text? And how?
- A German Expressionism style is used, it looks at the struggle between classes and society - it's basically a moral tale. I know it had a lot of distribution problems, with the film being cut down and lost. It's written about frequently in books and the new DVD extra booklet.

4. What gaps are there in your knowledge/ understanding?
- I want to know exactly how gender is portrayed, which could be done by studying the film in more detail. Maybe I need to look more at the economic/ social situation of Germany at the time and how it relates to the film to provide context. Finding out about the purpose of the expressionist style might also help.

5. How might you go about filling these gaps?
- By using reliable sources such as history, art and film books, that focus on modern era and 1920s Germany. Perhaps looking at DVD extras could also help to find out more about the film itself. Checking films, newspapers and paintings of the 1920s may also provide good context.



3 academic journals whose remit covers the same area(s) as my chosen critical text:

• Film Quarterly

What Do You Believe In? Film Scholarship and the Cultural Politics of the
Dark KnightFranchise
Author(s): Martin Fradley Source: Film Quarterly, Vol. 66, No. 3 (Spring 2013), pp. 15-27  Published by: University of California Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/fq.2013.66.3.15 .

Martin Fradley is a former lecturer at the University of Aberdeen and Manchester University.

It seems quite relevant as it mentions Metropolis and a few key aspects of it's story, in particular the social/ political implications of the workers' revolt. Although it is very brief. The writing style seems appropriate though - critical, but also a bit informal, allowing us to still feel the entertainment in watching the film. The points made are based on the story, so don't need any supporting research/ evidence, but still the credentials of the author are reliable.

• Agenda    

Gender, Women and Leadership

Cheryl de la Rey

Agenda
No. 65, Women and Leadership (2005), pp. 4-11
Published by: Agenda Feminist Media
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4066646

It appears to be slightly relevant in that it looks at female representation, but it focuses more on leadership styles in the real world, not in Metropolis. Still this could be used to relate how both are shown. Agenda is focused on feminism and Africa, so the links to Metropolis could be quite tenuous and the writings could be slightly biased in favour of women's representation. The writing style seems quite formal from the abstract as well, more critical then a film review etc. They do include some statistics, but since only an abstract was given it's not possible to see how the information was sourced. As it's from 2005 the information may be out of date, but might still be useful for a general overview in relation to a 1927 film. Agenda seems reliable as it's a journal that's been running for 23 years.

• Oxford Art Journal

Rethinking the Expressionist Era; Wilhelmine Cultural Debates and Prussian Elements in German Expressionism

Helen Boorman

Oxford Art Journal
Vol. 9, No. 2 (1986), pp. 3-15
Published by: Oxford University Press
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1360412

It seems very relevant as it's concerned with how German Expressionism was used and for what means/ statement. Although only a short abstract is given here it already reveals information on this topic that could be used to analyse Metropolis, especially as it is the same time period. The writing might focus more on the art application, rather then film, but the style is so strong in the film that that shouldn't be an issue. The language used is sometimes quite technical, but understandable. In the abstract no figures are used, so the reliability of this can't be checked, but the journal, being linked to Oxford, suggests that it's reputable.