Through the texts ‘Metropolis’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, Fritz Lang and George Orwell the composers both reflect as well as challenge the values within the times which they lived. The historical context of Metropolis challenges the values of the time in which Lang lived while the historical context of Nineteen Eight-Four reflects the values of the time Orwell lived. Values such as humanism, personal choice, liberty and family values are challenged through both Metropolis and Nineteen Eighty-Four. These are just some of the values of the time in which Lang and Orwell lived.

Metropolis is a silent black-and-white film directed by Fritz Lang which challenged the values of humanity and personal choice through the historical context of the film. This film was made in a time which was ‘between the wars’, it was made in a time where German society was under the Weimar Republic, a system of parliamentary democracy formed after WWII. People residing in Germany would also go to the cinema to not only watch a film but to also escape from the hardships of their daily life. Within the era where Germany was under the Weimar Republic rule until Nazis rose to power, leading to the Treaty of Versailles where Germany agreed to be guilty of beginning the war and also to pay for all compensations. This agreement led to a Great Depression which hit the Republic hard and in the early 1930s allowed Hitler to rise up along with the Nazi party. Within Europe there was a period filled with uncertainty from society and even questioning regarding the nature of humankind. Therefore, robot Maria within Metropolis can be thought of to satirise the Weimar Republic’s idea of the ‘new woman’. Therefore through this science-fiction film, it is portrayed that the values of humanism and personal choice are challenged through the events within history prior to the completion of the film.