Freder and the clock machine: Religion and Technology

(This is just me practicing with scene analysis)

Chapter: Fear

The sequence follows the moment when Freder discovers the workers city. He decides that he himself must take up the position of one of the workers, and endures a gruelling ten-hour shift in front of a clock-like machine. The film embodies religious symbology throughout, and Freder represents a physical Christ-like figure as his quest is partly out of sympathy for the people below the world he is accustomed to, and partly out of curiosity to experience the way in which the workers live.

Freder embodies the machine during the end of his shift, as he forms an obligatory attachment to it. His movements are clear reflections on Expressionistic acting; his contortions around the limply hanging clock arms and repetitive movements enhance the horror the scene, making it both surreal and frightening at the same time. This reflects upon ideas of Germany in the 1920’s, and the acceptance and desire for horror. As stated in The Haunted Screen:

“The weird pleasure the Germans take in evoking horror can perhaps be ascribed to the excessive and very Germanic desire to submit to discipline, together with a certain proneness to sadism” (Eisner, 52, 95)

The clock machine appears to serve no real purpose, yet Freder forces himself to carry out its actions. His facial expressions express horror and pain, yet as the machine signifies failure through the lights and thermometers, enhanced by the music, nothing actually comes of it. His black stature against the white clock surface is a reflection of the chiaroscuro technique that was popular in Expressionist film, and it forces the audience to watch his every move, and the tightness of the shot allows for no distractions. Freder becomes another cog in the machine, and his human self is stylised into a mechanical element. Like Christ upon the cross, Freder finds himself collapsed at the foot of the clock, arms outstretched on its arms, crucified by the machine. As he struggles, he says, “Father father! I have never known ten hours could be so long!” which is similar to the “Father father, why have you forsaken me?” that Jesus says on the cross (Matthew 27:45-46).