#robotmaria

In my Film class this year at Bryn Mawr, we watched Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. It was an extremely long and weird movie, but it had one of the only female characters I enjoyed during that class. We watched movies like like Doctor Zhvagio, Stranger on the third floor, Fury and Casablanca and all the women seemed to be the same; pretty and nice. There were some differences, but for the most part they were pretty submissive and 1-dimensional characters. Maschinenmensch (Machine Man) played by Brigitte Helm is the Robot Version of the character Maria. Although, Maria is a 1-dimensional character herself, Robot Maria (I like to call her this) I find to be really interesting. She’s weird, mischievous, playful and makes these grotesque, over-exaggerated facial expressions throughout the whole movie. She’s supposed to be the “Evil” version of Maria, but I think she’s very misunderstood. She’s blamed for actions she has no control over, while the man who helped create her (Joh Fredersen) is forgiven. I would say more, but I don't want to give away the movie.