Conflict between sacrifice and love against selfishness and contempt Anonymous 12th Grade

In George Orwell’s novel 1984 and Fritz Langs’ Metropolis, it is seen that both texts explore the conflict between the value of sacrifice and love against selfishness and contempt. Both Orwell and Lang explore this conflict in light of their differing contexts. Behind Metropolis, Lang foregrounds his own Christian values as the counter to economic pragmatism, reflecting the influences of his own Catholicism along with the emerging technological advancements of the Weimar Republic. Whilst, Orwell advocates the value of sacrifice and love of others in the face of political power, reflecting his fears regarding totalitarian regimes emerging out of WWII.

In Metropolis, Lang presents this conflict through specific reference to self-sacrifice foregrounded by his Catholic values. Maria, being the ultimate depiction of these values, foretells to the working class, revealed in the inter-titles, that ‘the mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart’. By metaphorically representing this process as a person i.e. Freder, Lang is accentuating the role of human values in reforming the societal structures’ power, ultimately reflecting his intentions of Metropolis being a contextual message to the German people for a peaceful...