AN INSTANCE OF ESOTERIC IMAGINATION: FRITZ LANG’S METROPOLIS (1927)
AN INSTANCE OF ESOTERIC IMAGINATION: FRITZ LANG’S METROPOLIS (1927)

Summary/Abstract: A pioneer of the science-fiction genre, Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927) has fascinated and puzzled critics and audiences alike. Although the futuristic skyscrapers of Metropolis seem to belong more to the science-fiction tradition, the film is overloaded with symbolic and religious meanings. While the Christian symbolism has been noted and analysed by various reviewers and scholars, its esoteric side has been neglected, maybe as it was often conflated with the religious. However, esotericism is associated with the main idea of the movie, mediation. The esoteric mediates between religion and science, pointing to the birth of modern science from Renaissance Cabbalism, Hermeticism and Neoplatonism.

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