Central Argument of the Films 'Last Laugh' and 'Metropolis' and Their Relation to History

Analysis of the Last Laugh and Metropolis
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Analysis of the Last Laugh and Metropolis
In German, the Last Laugh, or Der Letze Mann, is a 1924 German film produced by Murnau and written by Carl Mayer. The Last Laugh film is about a prominent hotel doorman who takes tremendous pleasure in his profession and status. However, his boss determines that the doorman is becoming too elderly and frail to maintain the hotel’s image, so he demotes him to a less demanding position as a lavatory attendant (The Last Laugh). He attempts to hide his relegation from his family and friends, but he is found, much to his dismay. His acquaintances mock him viciously, believing he has lied to them about his famous career the entire time, while his family rejects him out of shame. The doorman proceeds to the hotel, astonished and troubled, to sleep in the bathroom where he works. The night watchman is the only person who is sympathetic to him, covering him with his cloak while he falls asleep.
The film “Metropolis” was produced following Europe’s industrial revolution, culminating in several effects in the 20th Century. As a result, Metropolis illustrates the various components of the industrial revolution. The movie takes place in the year 2026, precisely one hundred years after it was first released. Affluent residents of Metropolis City are largely industrialists and high-end employees who work for them. This group of people lives in opulent buildings (Metropolis). There is, however, a “worker’s city” where underprivileged laborers dwell. These employees toil in the factories, operating the equipment that keeps the Metropolis city running. Workers toil to make ends meet, and some perish in the process.
Central Argument of the Films and Their Relation
It’s probably unexpected that the Expressionist association, which seemed explicitly designed to externalize fear and anxiety, came to a head in the 1920s. Murnau’s cityscape is a slightly dehumanizing image of early-century modernism with its peeping high-rises and hive-like downtown. This additional cultural jolt would throw an artifact like the porter off. Murnau uses the Atlantic Hotel’s rotating door as a reoccurring motif in line with this idea, serving as a constant prompt that change and, more threateningly, repetition is unavoidable (The Last Laugh). The Last Laugh depicts a country’s painful change from kingdom to a commoner, military to reluctant diplomacy, and affluence to severity. It’s a doorway throughout which the doorman is pushed day after day as he tries to reclaim some semblance of his previous self.
Similarly, the main argument of the “Metropolis” film is about inequality. The film’s backdrop is a futuristic dystopian populated by two distinct groups: laborers and philosophers. The film highlights class problems, such as between laborers and philosophers and a caste system. Several conceptual problems are also addressed in the film. First, the film is focused on the more significant political and cultural themes that are graphically represented. The film’s social preoccup...