Metropolis Movies Reading Answers

Dec 29, 2022

Metropolis Movies Reading Answers comprises 14 sets of questions that must be completed within 20 minutes. It is a topic in the IELTS Reading section. Metropolis Movies Reading Answers consists of three types of questions; no more than two words, and true/false/not given, and choose the correct option. The candidates need to go through the IELTS reading passage for keywords. The candidates must comprehend the passage to answer all the questions on the basis of the given instructions. The topic: Metropolis Movies Reading Answers tests the analytical knowledge and skills of the candidates. The candidates must answer depending on a given cue within a word limit of two words. For true/false/not given, candidates must analyse the passage properly to answer the given questions. Candidates must go through the passage, detect keywords, and recognize synonyms to answer the question. The candidates can follow IELTS Reading Tips from online to achieve better scores in the examination. The IELTS Reading practice papers also cites several sorts of question that will further help the candidates to enhance their learning skill. This Metropolis Movies Reading Answers topic will help the candidates to attain a concept regarding this reading section of IELTS.

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Section 1

Read the passage to answer the following questions

Metropolis Movies Reading Answers

When German director Fritz Lang visited the United States in 1924, his first glimpse of the country was a night-time view of the New York skyline from the deck of an ocean liner. This, he later recalled, was the direct inspiration for what is still probably the most innovative and influential science-fiction film ever made – Metropolis.

Metropolis is a bleak vision of the early twenty-first century that is at once both chilling and exhilarating. This spectacular city of the future is a technological marvel of high-rise buildings connected by elevated railways and airships. It’s also a world of extreme inequality and social division. The workers live below ground and exist as machines working in an endless routine of mind-numbing 10-hour shifts while the city’s elite lead lives of luxury high above. Presiding over them all is the Master of Metropolis, John Fredersen, whose sole satisfaction seems to lie in the exercise of power.

Lang’s graphic depiction of the future is conceived in almost totally abstract terms. The function of the individual machines is never defined. Instead, this mass of dials, levers and gauges symbolically stands for all machines and all industry, with the workers as slave-live extensions of the equipment they have to operate. Lang emphasizes this idea in the famous shift-change sequence at the start of the movie when the workers walk in zombie-like geometric ranks, all dressed in the same dark overalls and all exhibiting the same bowed head and dead-eyed stare. An extraordinary fantasy sequence sees one machine transformed into a huge open-jawed statue which then literally swallows them up.

On one level the machines and the exploited workers simply provide the wealth and services which allow the elite to live their lives of leisure, but on a more profound level, the purpose of all this demented industry is to serve itself. Power, control and the continuance of the system from one 10-hour shift to the next is all that counts. The city consumes people and their labour and in the process becomes a perverse parody of a living being.

It is enlightening, I think, to relate the film to the modern global economy in which multinational corporations now routinely close their factories in one continent so that they can take advantage of cheap labour in another. Like the industry in Metropolis, these corporations’ goals of increased efficiency and profits have little to do with the welfare of the majority of their employees or that of the population at large. Instead, their aims are to sustain the momentum of their own growth and to increase the monetary rewards to a tiny elite – their executives and shareholders. Fredersen himself is the essence of the big company boss: Rupert Murdoch would probably feel perfectly at home in his huge skyscraper office with its panoramic view of the city below. And it is important that there is never any mention of government in Metropolis – the whole concept is by implication obsolete. The only people who have power are the supreme industrialist, Fredersen, and his magician/scientist cohort Rotwang.

So far so good: when the images are allowed to speak for themselves the film is impeccable both in its symbolism and in its cynicism. The problem with Metropolis is its sentimental story-line, which sees Freder, Fredersen’s son, instantly falling in love with the visionary Maria. Maria leads an underground pseudo-religious movement and preaches that the workers should not rebel but should await the arrival of a ‘Mediator’ between the ‘Head’ (capital) and the ‘Hands’ (labour). That mediator is the ‘Heart’ – love, as embodied, finally, by Freder’s love of Maria and his father’s love of him.

Lang wrote the screenplay in collaboration with his then-wife Thea von Harbou. In 1933 he fled from the Nazis (and continued a very successful career in Hollywood). She stayed in Germany and continued to make films under the Hitler regime. There is a constant tension within the film between the too-tidy platitudes of von Harbou’s script and the uncompromisingly caustic vigour of Lang’s imagery.

To my mind, both in Metropolis and in the real world, it’s not so much that the ‘Head’ and ‘Hands’ require a ‘Heart’ to mediate between them but that the ‘Hands’ need to develop their own ‘Head’, their own political consciousness, and act accordingly – through the ballot box, through buying power and through a sceptical resistance to the materialistic fantasies of the Fredersens.

All the same, Metropolis is probably more accurate now as a representation of industrial and social relations than it has been at any time since its original release. And Fredersen is certainly still the most potent movie symbol of the handful of elusive corporate figureheads who increasingly treat the world as a Metropolis-like global village.

Section 2

Solution and Explanation

Question 1-4:

Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1-4 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement is true
NO if the statement is false
NOT GIVEN if the information is not given in the passage

Q1: The inspiration of the movie Metropolis comes from the director’s visit in the USA in 1924.

Answer: Yes
Supporting sentence: This, he later recalled, was the direct inspiration for what is still probably the most innovative and influential science-fiction film ever made – Metropolis.
Keywords: night-time view, New York skyline, deck, influential science-fiction film
Keyword Location: Paragraph A, lines 1-3
Explanation: It was in the year 1924 when the director Frtiz landed in the United States. He witnessed the night-time view of the Newyork skyline from the deck. The director, later on, recalled this as the inspiration for the influential science-fiction film Metropolis. Hence, the statement is true.

Q2: The Master of Metropolis, John Fredersen, is portrayed as an industrialist that the director met in the US.

Answer: Not given
Supporting sentence: Fredersen himself is the essence of the big company boss: Rupert Murdoch would probably feel perfectly at home in his huge skyscraper office with its panoramic view of the city below.
Keywords: Fredersen, big company, boss.
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, line 4
Explanation: The passage indicates that John Fredersen himself is the essence of a big company boss. There is no information provided in the passage that remarks Fredersen as an industrialist. Hence, the answer is not given.

Question 3: The start of the movie exhibits the workers working in full energy.

Answer: No
Supporting sentence: Lang emphasizes this idea in the famous shift-change sequence at the start of the movie when the workers walk in zombie-like geometric ranks, all dressed in the same dark overalls and all exhibiting the same bowed head and dead-eyed stare.
Keywords: Zombie-like, dark, bowed head, dead-eyed stare
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 3-4
Explanation: The paragraph depicts that when the movie begins, the walking sequence of the workers was in zombie-like geometric ranks. It is nowhere mentioned in the passage that they were working at full energy. As per the passage, the workers were wearing dark overalls and were not at full energy and moreover walking in zombie-like geometric ranks. Hence, the statement is irrelevant.

Question 4: The director and his wife got divorced because his wife decided to stay in Germany.

Answer: Not given
Supporting sentence: In 1933 he fled from the Nazis (and continued a very successful career in Hollywood).
Keywords: wife, fled, successful career
Keyword Location: Paragraph G, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph G clearly states that the director escaped from the Nazis to establish a successful career. On the other hand, his wife concentrates on making films. However, the passage has not cited anything about their divorce. Hence, the information is not given.

Questions 5-10:

Complete the summary below.
Using NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the Reading Passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.

The director depicts a world of inequality and 5_______ . In the future, the mindless masses of workers living underground are treated as 6________ . And the master of them is 7________ , who is in charge of the whole city. The writer claims that the director, Fritz Lang, presents the movie in an 8________ term, where the 9_________ of the individual machines is not defined. Besides, the writer compares the film to the modern global economy in which multinational corporations are concerned more about the growing 10________ and money.

Question 5

Answer: social division
Supporting sentence: It’s also a world of extreme inequality and social division.
Keywords: world, inequality, 10-hour shifts, luxury
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 3-4
Explanation: Lines 3-4 of paragraph B indicate that Metropolis can be considered a world where labourers faced severe inequality and social division. The author clearly cited that the workers lived below ground and survived as machines working doing almost 10-hours shifts. On the other hand, the elites live a life of luxury and high above the ground. This indicates that there exists a social division between the labourers and the elite class of people. That’s why the author states that it is a world of inequality and social division.

Question 6

Answer: machines
Supporting sentence: The workers live below ground and exist as machines working in an endless routine of mind-numbing 10-hour shifts while the city’s elite lead lives of luxury high above.
Keywords: social division, endless routine,10-hour shifts
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 3-4
Explanation: The paragraph clearly mentioned the fact that the workers who are below the ground are treated as machines. They were working almost 10 hours of shift and following an endless routine. Hence, machines is the correct answer.

Question: 7

Answer: John Fredersen
Supporting sentence: Presiding over them all is the Master of Metropolis, John Fredersen, whose sole satisfaction seems to lie in the exercise of power.
Keywords: master, sole, exercise of power
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 5
Explanation: Paragraph B depicts the harsh conditions of the labourers. The author later indicates that their master is John Fredersen. The passage also mentions that Fredersen's soul gets satisfied in the exercise of power. This means that the harsh situation of the labourers gives him a feeling of satisfaction and power. Hence, John Frederse is the correct answer.

Question: 8

Answer: abstract
Supporting sentence: Lang’s graphic depiction of the future is conceived in almost totally abstract terms.
Keywords: graphic depiction, future, totally abstract
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, line 1
Explanation: Paragraph C clearly states the fact that Lang has made a graphic depiction of the movie in totally abstract terms. Therefore it indicates, the correct term here is abstract.

Question: 9

Answer: Function
Supporting sentence: The function of the individual machines is never defined.
Keywords: individual machine, defined, slave-like.
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 2-3
Explanation: Paragraph C states that the conditions of the workers are like slaves. The levers, dials and gauges are the machines and industries that workers operate. It has been clearly stated that the function of the machines was not defined. Hence function is the correct answer.

Question: 10

Answer: Efficiency
Supporting sentence: Like the industry in Metropolis, these corporations’ goals of increased efficiency and profits have little to do with the welfare of the majority of their employees or that of the population at large.
Keywords: cheap labour, corporate goals, increased efficiency and profit
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 1-4
Explanation: The author states that multinational sectors keep their factories shut in one continent to take advantage of cheaper labour in other continents. The same situation happens with the industry in Metropolis. They mainly concentrate on improving profits and do not pay any attention to the welfare of the employees. Cheap labour will tend to rise profit and also efficiency. Hence efficiency is the correct answer.

Questions 11-14:

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write your answers in boxes 11-14 on your answer sheet.

Question 11: The first sentence in paragraph B indicates

the author’s fear about technology
the inspiration of the director
the contradictory feelings towards future
the city elite’s well management of the workers

Answer: C
Supporting sentence: This spectacular city of the future is a technological marvel of high-rise buildings connected by elevated railways and airships.
Keywords: bleak vision, twenty-first century, high-rise buildings, elevated railways, airships.
Keyword Location: Paragraph B, lines 1-2
Explanation: The first line of paragraph B contradicts the feelings of the author. He has witnessed the twenty-first century as both exhilarating and chilling. He has analysed the city of the future with high-rise buildings constructed with technological marvels and connected with airships and railways. However, his vision also consists of inequality and social division among workers and elites. Nevertheless, the first statement exhibits the exhilarating and chilling technological marvels. Hence, they contradict each other.

Question 12: Why the function of the individual machines is not defined?

Because Lang sticks to the theme in a symbolic way.
Because workers are more important to exploit.
Because the fantasy sequence is difficult to take.
Because the focus of the movie is not about machines.

Answer: A
Supporting sentence: Instead, this mass of dials, levers, and gauges symbolically stands for all machines and all industry, with the workers as slave-live extensions of the equipment they have to operate.
Keywords: symbolically stands, slave-like extensions, all machines and all industry
Keyword Location: Paragraph C, lines 1-3
Explanation: The passage does not provide any clarity on the classification of individual machines. Its primary motive is to symbolize machines and human labour. The director Lang depicted all machines and all industries as symbolic stands and stuck to the symbolic theme throughout the film. Hence, there is no specific definition of the function of individual machines. Hence, it is evident that “Lang sticks to the theme in a symbolic way” is the correct answer.

Question 13: The writer’s purpose in paragraph five is to

emphasizes the multinational corporations’ profit-oriented goal.
compare the movie with the reality in the modern global economy
exploit the difference between fantasy and reality
enlighten the undeveloped industry

Answer: B
Supporting sentence: It is enlightening, I think, to relate the film to the modern global economy in which multinational corporations now routinely close their factories in one continent so that they can take advantage of cheap labor in another.
Keywords: Multinational Corporation, advantage of cheap labor, increased efficiency and profits
Keyword Location: Paragraph E, lines 1-4
Explanation: In the fifth paragraph, the author states a comparison of the modern global economy with the thematic background of the movie Metropolis. The passage describes the situation where multinational corporations closed their factories and shift to continents with cheap labour. This is very identical to the theme of Metropolis. Hence option B which talks about comparison is the correct answer.

Question 14: What is the writer’s opinion about the movie?

The movie’s story-line is excellent.
The movie has a poor implication in symbolism.
The movie is perfect in all aspects.
The movie is good but could be better.

Answer: D
Supporting sentence: To my mind, both in Metropolis and in the real world, it’s not so much that the ‘Head’ and ‘Hands’ require a ‘Heart’ to mediate between them but that the ‘Hands’ need to develop their own ‘Head’, their own political consciousness, and act accordingly – through the ballot box, through buying power and through a sceptical resistance to the materialistic fantasies of the Fredersens.
Keywords: Develop their own ‘head’, ballot box, buying power
Keyword Location: Paragraph H, lines 2-3
Explanation: As per the writer, ‘Head’ and ‘Hand’ do not require ‘Heart’ to mediate. Instead ‘Hands’ needs to create their own ‘Head’ in a way so that it has its own political consciousness and can act accordingly through buying power, ballot box, and through resistance to the materialistic fantasies of Fredersens. Although Metropolis depicts the accurate condition of industrial and social relationships based on the current timeline, it might not be that suitable at the time of its release. Hence, the writer believes that the movie is good but could be better.

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