Films

Metropolis

I first saw Fritz Lang's masterpiece about five years ago when the Varsity Theater in Des Moines showed the currrent restored version by the F.W. Murnau Foundation. Seeing this film in the darkened environs of the Varsity was a real treat, but more than the ambience of an older theater, I enjoyed this incredible dystopic narrative of life in the year 2026, when all of humanity is divided between thinkers and workers, i.e. knowledge workers and blue-collar laborers.

The Tower of Babel in Metropolis (1927)

Among the many metaphors that run throughout the film is that of the Tower of Babel, which has special resonance for us this semester as we struggle with recent attempts to categorize and make sense of exploding volumes of information wrought by our digital age. In the third week, we'll view Metropolis during the second half of our class, so bring your popcorn and get ready to watch an early futuristic tale of our times. Shown week of January 25th.

Man with a Movie Camera

One of the primary reasons that we are watching this film is that Lev Manovich, author of The Language of New Media, refers to it often throughout his work. But beyond that, it's an interesting film because of the creative angles and composing techniques that Vertov used early in the history of film.

Opening Shot from Man with a Movie Camera

Though much of our course is focused on text and its future within the realm of business and technical communication, it is important to remember that we are living in an age very much dominated by the visual arts, and Manovich's use of Man with a Movie Camera does a great job of reminding us of this fact. Shown week of February 15th.