I kinda like Mecha Maria

     I just saw Metropolis 1927. And I liked a lot about it, though I have some Thoughts.

    So, the beginning of the film has this series of shots, in the Eternal Gardens. Freder is trying to steal a kiss from a woman when Maria walks into the room.

    Notice the birds in these shots. The actual birds, not the women. The first one has a peacock in it. The second one has what I think are two storks, one adult and one child. These birds symbolise characteristics about the women that they share the shot with. A peacock is extravagant, alluring, its feathers an explosion of colors that it uses to attract mates. Contrasted with this elegant mother stork, taking care of its baby storkling. This encapsulates how this film depicts women as a dicthomy of two extremes, that are either idealised or vilified. Women are either vain seductresses, or heavenly and pure maternal figures, so the film suggests. Well, her name is literally Maria, presumably after mother Mary.

    Maria is not a very active agent in the story. She provides spiritual relief, but the advice she gives to the workers is that they should be patient and wait, and keep working in their horrible conditions. That is until a prophesized Mediator comes and saves them. After this mass, she meets Freder, whom she instantly recognizes as the Mediator and falls in love with at the same time. There isn't really any discernible reason as to why she thinks Freder is the Mediator, I guess it's just a hunch. The romance between the two is very shallow, they see each other literally one time before being completely in love. Credit where credit is due though, she does look pretty cool when she's rescuing the children later on.

    An android is built and given Maria's likeness, who is described by the men as "The most perfect and most obedient tool that a man has ever possessed!" She is then made to perform for men's pleasure, using the body of another woman. The dance sequence is actually really well made, I especially love how Death and the deadly sins come alive.

"Nyeeh!"

    Afterwards, we get a scene where Mecha Maria is preaching to the workers. Mecha Maria gives a passionate speech where she riles the workers up enough to make them revolt. She manages to get ALL of the lower-class people to come out and march together against the factory. They flood into the buildings, breaking through all barriers, as if an unstoppable force.

    Mecha Maria is presented as a parallel to Babylon, the "the mother of abominations". But I gotta say... She's kinda badass, right? When she's giving that speech, you kinda have to agree with her. After having watched the workers suffer, it feels kind of inspiring to see them all come together like that, to see the power they possess when united. Mecha Maria is a leader, she feels like a force of mischief and rebellion, a free spirit. We know that she isn't free, that she is following orders to destroy the city. But the regular Maria could have had this same influence with actual agency. Why should the workers be the ones to wait for the mediator? Why can't the elite people wait and endure not benefitting from the  workers' labor? If Maria wanted, couldn't she have similarly lead the workers, in a less destructive way?