I wonder. Over at John C. Wright's blog, he posts a reader who argues that it is. Yes, it had some pretty obvious Christian imagery. That doesn't always mean something is filled to the brim with Gospel messaging.
It wouldn't surprise me if it was. Even if Europe and the West were quickly shedding their beliefs in the Christian Faith by the 20th Century, it was still there. And if belief in the religious message wasn't there, you could still find value in the Faith's teachings and symbolism.
Plus, you have to watch out. Even if it wasn't steeped in Catholic meaning, that doesn't mean it was some communist socialist agitprop, as I've at times heard it (and other things) described. In any event, it has been a long time since I watched it. I'll have to go back and watch it. The last time I saw it the boys were much younger, but all agreed it lived up to the hype.
Masterpiece. Subtlety is much more important than being "filled to the brim" with a particular message.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it's not so subtle people miss it altogether. Then it's not worth having. But in this case, I don't think that's a problem - IIRC.
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ReplyDelete"Metropolis" certainly illustrates a point C.S. Lewis was to make twenty years later: that the "advance" of science does not mean the control of Nature by man, but the control of some men by other men using Nature as an instrument. The happy, high-tech hedonists served by the ill-provided "deplorables" in the lower levels looks a lot like parts of modern California.
If C.S. Lewis thought that then, I wonder what he would think now. Though I think the ill-provided deplorables is the camp that our ruling elites increasingly want as many people to be put into as possible.
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