MovieChat Forums > Metropolis (1927) Discussion > Early depiction of a female leader

Early depiction of a female leader

posted 10 years ago by TheLionKingKong
2 replies | jump to latest

I was surprised by the scenes that show dozens of men listening to Maria's speeches. The commander of the revolution who leads hundreds of guys is not a middle-aged or older man. She's a girl.

Fritz Lang movies seem to have several firsts:

1. Woman in the Moon - First time a rocket launch had a countdown, before it was done in real life.
2. Fury - First known use of film footage as evidence in a trial, before it was done in real life.
3. Fury - First movie to use freeze frames, in the above-mentioned courtroom scene.
4. M - First serial killer movie?
5. Metropolis - First movie to show a young woman in a leadership position?

[–] hbenthow 10 years ago

5. Metropolis - First movie to show a young woman in a leadership position?

Female leaders in movies go at least as far back as Jeanne d'Arc (1900), and probably further.

Courage, men! we've not sunk before, and we'll not sink now!

[–] RbDeraj 9 years ago

Her character reminded me a lot of Joan of Arc. Who if you remember was about 16 when she led an uprising in France and was burned at the stake around age 19. This was a movie but that was a real life event that happened about 500 years before.