Movie Substrate · Film

Metropolis (2001)

★ 7.1 · 553 ratings on TMDB

Every epoch dreams its successor.

Metropolis poster★ 7.1

In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.

DirectorRintaro
CastJunpei Takiguchi, Kei Kobayashi, Kohki Okada, Kosei Tomita, Masashi Ebara, Norio Wakamoto
GenresAnimation, Science Fiction
The emergence reading

In Metropolis, consciousness is carried by machines — a plane of “plutocratic robot metropolis”. The story fights on E9/E10/E11 of the E0–E14 reality ladder, compressing prejudice, class, technology, authority, rebellion.

↷ machinesJPprejudiceclasstechnologyauthorityrebellion
⇄ Parameter shift — the dial this world turnsrigor: loose
E6androidsentient android laborers exist as a discriminated lower class integrated into society (technology · universal)
Also inFilms about classConsciousness hiding in machinesFilms about technologyFilms about prejudice
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Same rung, same subject

Films fighting at the same level of reality, about the same things.

Igor (2008)E9/E10 · authority, classX-Men (2000)E9/E10/E11 · authority, prejudiceHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)E9/E10 · authority, prejudiceThe Breakfast Club (1985)E9/E10 · authority, classRobin Hood (1973)E9/E10 · authority, classShakespeare in Love (1998)E9/E10 · authority, class

Same subject, different rung

The same preoccupations examined at another scale — one mind versus a nation.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)E8/E14 · rare rung · prejudice, rebellionDr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)E12/E14 · rare rung · authority, technologyWarGames (1983)E12/E14 · rare rung · authority, technologyExtinction (2018)E8/E14 · rare rung · prejudice, technologyOsmosis Jones (2001)E6/E8 · rare rung · authority, prejudiceMortal Engines (2018)E8/E13 · rare rung · class, prejudice

Also bends a rule of reality

Other films that change a standing rule of their world — ranked first by those bending it at the same rung.

Promare (2019)alters at E6 · same rung · looseMaze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)alters at E6 · same rung · looseRed Riding Hood (2011)alters at E6 · same rung · looseDownsizing (2017)alters at E6 · same rung · looseRoboCop (2014)alters at E6 · same rung · looseSeventh Son (2014)alters at E6 · same rung · loose

Also hides consciousness here

Other films that move a human interior onto the same kind of thing.

Alita: Battle Angel (2019)consciousness in machines · cyberpunk scrapyard*batteries not included (1987)consciousness in machines · mechanical‑helpersAstro Boy (2009)consciousness in machines · robotic metropolisClass of 1999 (1990)consciousness in machines · robotic schoolRobots (2005)consciousness in machines · robotic metropolisWreck-It Ralph (2012)consciousness in machines · arcade‑verse

Same subject, different mask

The same preoccupations carried by a different kind of thing — grief told through the dead, an animal, a machine.

Antz (1998)consciousness in animals · authority, classFlushed Away (2006)consciousness in animals · authority, classThe Boxtrolls (2014)consciousness in monsters · authority, classNimona (2023)consciousness in monsters · authority, prejudiceRedline (2009)consciousness in aliens · authority, prejudiceDistrict 9 (2009)consciousness in aliens · authority, prejudice

Same people

Shared director or cast.

Akira (1988)Taro IshidaThe Castle of Cagliostro (1979)Taro IshidaDrifting Home (2022)Rikako AikawaKizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (2016)Masashi EbaraMemories (1995)Shigeru ChibaGhost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)Shigeru Chiba