Cried for an hour straight, feeling completely trapped, wedged between all the philosophy I’ve read, being poured into my ear by André all at once, and the tiny couch I shared with my boyfriend, who I couldn’t wait to discuss the film with once it was over [which after Wallace’s last line, while he was going home to his girlfriend in the cab, made the movie feel less like an image and more like a real experience happening to me]…

This film is a cinematic masterpiece for its time, but it is undeniably FASCIST. Anyone who argues that Metropolis empathizes with the workers’ struggle doesn’t know a thing about Marxism. Far from supporting real class liberation, the film criticizes revolution. The workers (the hands) are depicted as impulsive and easily manipulated, ultimately destroying their city in a reckless revolt. This portrayal suggests that they need to be ruled by “superior” beings who are wiser and more rational (the head). This…