Thea von Harbou
Thea Gabriele von Harbou (1888-1954) was a German screenwriter, author, film director, and actress best remembered as the screenwriter of the 1927 sci-fi classic Metropolis and the 1925 novel on which it was based . . . A dystopian and haunting vision of the future eerily resonant with our present-where humanity teeters between progress and collapse-where a privileged elite live above ground in luxurious gilded towers while oppressed workers slave below ground maintaining their monstrous machines. As tensions rise and revolution brews, Freder, the idealistic and privileged son of the city’s ruler, falls in love with Maria, a poor, compassionate woman from the underground who preaches peace and unity among the laborers. While searching for meaning in the fractured society, Freder defies his father’s authority and seeks to bridge the gap between the classes and unite the disparate social orders. Pulsing with mythic symbolism, philosophical depth, and poetic urgency, each page-turn of Metropolis feels like plunging deeper into a prophecy.
