The idea of ​​progress inspired by the past is revisited in Fritz Lang's 1927 film Metropolis. Although the film's titular city is a glittering panorama of technological progress , it is through the hands of the arcane inventor Rotwang that the film's most surprising creation comes to life. Like Frankenstein revisiting "outdated" natural philosophers for inspiration, Joh Frederson, the leading figure of Metropolis and the man to whom technology means the most, turns to the aging inventor in hopes of pushing technology even further. The visit to Rotwang is like a visit to the past: his house is the only building we see that is not at all modern (in fact it looks so treacherous when compared to the rest of Metropolis that it is reminiscent of Delacey's cottage in Frankenstein) , his walls are lined with evidence of intellectual, as opposed to mechanical, interests, and he is the only character we encounter who is dressed neither elegantly nor in the drab clothes of workers. It is clear that Rotwang, with his refusal to conform, is seen as an anomaly, a man out of time and as impractical as Frankenstein's beloved philosophers. But just as they held the key to the creation of Frankenstein's monster, so Rotwang is responsible for the latest technological marvel in a city in their grip. When audiences think of Lang's Metropolis, they almost unanimously think of the same image: that of a golden city, mechanics come to life. It is one of the most recognizable images of German expressionist cinema, like the spider-shadow of Max Schrek's Nosferatu crawling up the stairs in Murnau's vampire film, or that of Caesar the sleepwalker sleeping upright in The Toilet of Weine's Dr. Caligari, and yet what separates this self... middle of paper... the mind can think of any progressive idea, and the hands can work to make those ideas reality, but the heart must step back and ask yourself "is it necessary?" ?” Shelley and Lang seem to agree that progress can, in fact, be a good thing. Even after all he has been through, Frankenstein still urges others to “be men, or be more than men! Be steadfast in your resolutions and steadfast as a rock.” (Shelley, p. 292), and Lang was surely aware that without the wonders of technological progress his visual spectacle would never have appeared on the screen. However, Shelley and Lang, in their works, warn of the dangers of not thinking about progress, of not asking “should we do this?” instead of "can we do this?", and warn both readers and viewers that sometimes it is better, like Captain Robert Walton, to witness the perilous end of one's journey from afar and instead return home to safety..