What Megalopolis is REALLY About (2024 Movie)

A video essay (with spoilers) about the dark deeper meaning of 'Megalopolis' (2024), directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman and more. In this video I get into its deeper themes and symbolism, the Tower of Babel and its connections to Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' (1927).
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REFERENCES
'Megalopolis' (2024)
'Metropolis' (1927)
'The Bible: In the Beginning...' (1966)
ARTWORKS FEATURED
'Fresco, Dominican monastery at San Marco, Florence, showing the lance piercing the side of Jesus on the cross' (c. 1440) by Fra Angelico
MUSIC
'Smooth and Cool' by Nico Staf
'Lament (Golden Light)' by Devon Church
'Metropolis' [Original 1927 Score] by Gottfried Huppertz
'One Life' by Patrick Patrikios
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Criticism, review, quotation and news reporting
Caricature, parody or pastiche
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[@kinggreen5424]

We see clearly Cesar is portrayed as a wreckless and self-consumed hedonist, so I don’t think his vision of the future is supposed to be taken wholesale. It represents the cycle starting all over again, just taking a different form. The cycle Cesar wishes to end began with a person/ people just like him. Incredibly profound film, I think.

[@eddyrose8596]

I was so enthralled by this movie that I've been searching for reviews. Though I disagree with your ultimate pov and criticism of the film, this is still the most insightful review of the movie I've seen. Greatly appreciated! Glad to have found this channel.

[@ThorogoodFilms]

Ah thank you! Much appreciated. I should have mentioned that I did find much of the film to be spectacular, and it certainly gave me much food for thought.

[@NedSonntag]

The Power of Bagel

[@rafaelmoura2103]

You might be underestimating Coppolas irony.

[@sharkanenoa5928]

The worst things imaginable have done with the best intentions

[@bperez8656]

Like liberal compassion and tolerance

[@willmcdade3878]

I thought the film was about just the fear of the unknown and where our future is heading. People don't like what they don't understand or don't know and I feel that's why its gotten so many negative reviews but I do understand in some parts it may be a bit cheesy or over the top but I personally loved the creativity of it. There are so many messages in this film he tried to get across I am gonna try see it again to try see if I pick up on some more.

[@keithcaggiano7612]

This movie is historic in a few ways. 1. It will rank among history’s greatest egocentric ridiculous propaganda films with “Triumph of the Will” and “Birth of a Nation”. This films goal is a common psyop piece that is intended to normalize a coming dramatic catastrophe (massive global war) and global shift (to global socialism) so people have a way to perceive what is about to happen perceive what is about to happen and hope to see it as a way to make sense of what is to come. It paints America as a failing empire like Rome was because of its character of greed and excess while workers took under ground ( Marxist herion 101 for the masses) Villainizing those who would want to maintain structure and patriot zealots. Meanwhile it’s prescribing a new organic techno global communism’s that seeks to not give any answers but just to ponder pompous philosophical non answers for the sheeple to be mesmerized by with shiny lights undefined moral ambiguity. Getting us ready for the coming global resents war that they can put into place. Secondly the most fantasticly breathtaking horrible film to be studied and laughed at forever and realize that a young man can make 2 of the greatest movies of all time and the same old senile one can make the worst

[@decodr-ring]

Caesar, Crassus, Cicero -- the original story between these historical men ended in a disastrous fratricidal bloody civil war in ancient Rome. The story in Megalopolis ends in reconciliation and hope. Coppola used a variation of deus ex machina to alter the outcome -- in this case it is a machina ex caelo "machine from heaven". To learn more about the historical context of those three powerful men, watch the video titled "Why Cicero hated Caesar" on the channel named Economics of Empire. With that historical context, I see this movie as an allegory that says a second American civil war can be avoided. Cheers.

[@forgottenpath5919]

That "message of hope" rang hollow because it did not arrive there with any honesty or plausibility. Even the crowd members in the film for Cesar's big final speech look bored and unconvinced.

[@martineldritch]

Rome was built with a superior concrete that leaves many of its structures still standing to this day (the Pantheon, the Colosseum, aqueducts) I suppose megalon is an imagining of what a superior futuristic building material might be like.

[@martineldritch]

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience; throughout it I could not anticipate what would happen next. It was a love story between Driver's and Emmanuel's characters and I suppose in this age of incel cynicism cloaked as stoicism the love story was completely lost on many viewers and critics or simply dismisseded as trivial

[@jensBendig]

Discussion about the future is done exclusively within an exclusive (partially decadent) Super-rich elite. The underdog of that class cares about the "real people", those are on the streets. This is good portraied, I think.

[@ginger22ly]

Spoilers Not to get too picky but I don’t think megalon froze time. That’s a power that Caesar and later Julia have, supposedly representing Coppola’s sense that artists can stop time. Love this cinematic experience.

[@rubiksio6510]

Wow, what a great analysis of the film. Thanks!

[@ThorogoodFilms]

Ah thank you!

[@deaththink]

Thank you for you thoroughness, Thorogood. It sounds to me like you would recommend it, even though at the end you say you do not. You really helped me understand the film better having just seen it. Thank you for pointing out some of the historic parallels cited. Have a great day!

[@ThorogoodFilms]

Ah thanks! It's certainly an interesting film, although I probably wouldn't rush to see it again haha

[@Jack9C]

So an implied magic material conjured from the mind? Looks and feels a lot like a Green Lantern movie. Only worse.

[@benbegleycomedy]

I love this video, it makes me want to rewatch Metropolis immediately and reinforces how messy and convoluted Megalopolis. And you framed this sneakily where I thought it was going to be in favor of Megalopolis as a misunderstood masterpiece, but I loved that it’s more a way to get people to revisit an ACTUAL masterpiece by Fritz Lang

[@rubiksio6510]

@@benbegleycomedy Often movies that are considered masterpieces aren't always seen that way when they're first released. So my guess is that Megalopolis will be seen this way in a few decades.

[@giuseppewolf473]

from Italy, 👍I'll see asap

[@pandakso3365]

How does it end?

[@propeticurge]

At the end of the day the movie got really bad reviews from both critics and viewers so who the fuck cares what it's about

[@Xackadee]

As someone who wasn't really a fan of the film and if I was to write a review would probably be more negative than positive, I do think it's fair to say there's more to art than review scores. My friends and I saw the film together and we all thought it was bonkers but we enjoyed talking about it. Some films with better scores don't give as much of that entertainment experience.

[@TheAnointedOne7]

@@XackadeeTalking about what an absolute sh** show it was? Yeah. Have fun wasting your time on garbage, and discussing a complete pile of dog sh**.

[@Xackadee]

Thanks for the analysis, mate! I saw this film with some friends the other day and it's probably the weirdest movie I've ever seen. I still can't make heads or tails of it, but this was an eye-opening look into what kind of themes and messages it was going for, so nice work! ...Whatever it's saying, I had to agree, I don't think it's saying something good.

[@ThorogoodFilms]

Ah thanks man, that's very kind! Yeah it's certainly a bizarre film

[@kindking8009]

Saw the movie, not a fan. But to be honest, you got off track with your explanation as much as Coppola got off track with the movie. Like you had me at first, then you completely lost me (and by the way, it's pronounced Babble, not Bayble...who ever heard of someone bay-ble-ing?). I did like the bit about what happens when the mind and hands are disconnected. That much is true! That's why we HAVE TO rebuild the middle class in this country.

[@FineLineMotionPictures]

It's different. It's offbeat. It's most definitely unconventional in its presentation and delivery. It possesses supreme visuals. It's a Francis Ford Coppola masterpiece. You, my friend, know not what the hell you're talking about.

[@The1stDukeDroklar]

Pure garbage.

[@martineldritch]

Pure cinema.

[@NPC8474]

@@martineldritch Incredible. My now favorite film.

[@forgottenpath5919]

Thank you! For a second there, I thought you were going to recommend the film. It's a total botch that doesn't ring true on any level.

[@jeremybalyk4416]

This movie was megadoodoo

[@shantoreywilkins651]

📽️🎥🤩😍

[@____uncompetative]

This video essay was a complete waste of my time and was about _Metropolis_ not _Megalopolis_ and had nothing to do with the Illuminati. Shame on you for your clickbait. I will never watch another of your videos.

[@ThorogoodFilms]

I'm sorry you felt that way. I think there's something to be gained in understanding what Coppola was trying to do with Megalopolis by revisiting Metropolis (which he cites as a key inspiration). But I appreciate I could have spent a bit more time talking about Megalopolis itself. I've changed the thumbnail too. Thanks for the feedback. The image was actually the eye of providence from the one dollar banknote, which represents a kind of all-seeing eye that watches over the workers. I thought that was appropriate given the US setting of Megalopolis, and my discussion about who Catilina sets himself up to be. But you're right, I didn't sufficiently draw out that connection in the video so its appearance on the thumbnail was unhelpful.

[@____uncompetative]

@@ThorogoodFilms I did really like what you had to say about Fritz Lang's _Metropolis_ and if the video essay had been focused on that then I wouldn't have had an issue, but then it is less likely I would have come across it due to the algorithm. I don't see the representation of the workers in _Megalopolis._ I see residents who were upset that the Design Authority blew up their apartment buildings in the name of progress they did not vote for - so I suppose it is exploring three themes: 1. The Mayor's plan to develop a casino complex = the _status quo_ of dystopian capitalistic exploitation of the working man by the decadent parasitic rich elites. 2. The Great Architect's plan to develop a _Megalopolis_ = a revolutionary disruption to the _status quo_ which aspires to become a progressive capitalist utopia and is ironically assisted in his plan by the serendipitous destruction of city blocks by the Communist satellite 3. The opportunist populist grass roots politician in opposition to 2. who pretends to represent the interests of the people when they are motivated by a vendetta = fascist, swastika tree stump and black sun tattoo on forehead, etc. Freemasons refer to God as The Great Architect, and Adam Driver's character can stop time (although, there doesn't seem to be much made of this idea... I thought maybe time stops for the pair of lovers when they are together, which is an idea Woody Allen might do, but this was so fumbled that there wasn't any obvious reason for it being in the movie, even though they both stand on a sky-facing clock at one point). Obviously, masonry/cathedrals and freemasonry/the great architect and Hermes Trismegistus/Thoth and Ancient Egypt/Pyramids and All-Seeing Eye/Illuminati symbolism may have been motifs in the movie which could have found a home there, but I wasn't aware of them being explicit, and I thought based on your thumbnail that they were in there in some form and I had missed them, and then you were about to reveal a whole other layer of meaning, and maybe explain why time was being paused (I wasn't even expecting an answer how it was being paused). At one point the Mayor's daughter goes to the Architect's office and says something about T-symmetry. This is totally incorrect and shouldn't have been in the script. T-symmetry has nothing to do with pausing time. There is CPT-symmetry in which physics is expected to work in an antimatter universe where everything is mirror flipped and momentum inverted, but it has nothing to do with pausing time. I guess Coppola heard it somewhere and thought it was a cool sci-fi thing to say, but I wish it wasn't in the script. However, I shouldn't be too hard on things as _3 Body Problem_ is borderline preposterous in terms of its physics, and the less the viewer understands physics the more likely they are to think it is cool and enjoy it. I don't see a Christ sacrifice parallel in Adam Driver's character as there was in _Metropolis._ It felt like half a video essay where you say "Well I am going to talk about M2, but before I do I want to talk about M1 and you'll see why because M2 was heavily inspired by M1, and then you spend a substantial amount of time talking about M1 as if the points of analysis will correspond to your upcoming analysis of M2 and then the video ends." I'm sorry if I came off as rude, but I was annoyed because I felt I had been teased. I don't think there is Freemasonry motifs in the movie, or Illuminati ones, but I was open to being told that there were if I had overlooked them. I think... _Megalopolis_ comes together at the end when the Mayor's wife holds out her hand and invites the Mayor onto the moving pavement destined for the golden shining city on the hill, it is their romantic union rekindled and an echo of the scene with the Architect and the Mayor's daughter on those suspended girders. There is the heart, not in the machines between the levels of _Metropolis_ but between materialist and decadent individuals abandoning hedonism for a pure love contrasted against the exploitative manipulation of lust which is done by Aubrey Plaza of Jon Voight and his son Shia LaBeouf. In terms of Communist thought this resonates with Herbert Marcuse's 60s bestseller _One Dimensional Man_ which Coppola has likely read, and which proposes that the reason why attempts at Communist Utopia have failed is because man needs to be remade as he is too comfortable with Capitalist "bread and circuses" which is the Roman Coliseum _Ben-Hur_ stuff explained, perhaps. Coppola worked on it for 40 years so I expect it needed to have its collection of ideas pared down and probably refocused more on the romantic aspect. It is meant to be idealistic and optimistic yet Adam Driver comes across as an Authoritarian demigod drunk with his own unlimited power of creation. I wouldn't say I was bored at any point in the movie, but it came close to self-indulgence. I just saw _Joker 2_ and liked it a lot more. However, that is being criticised by people who don't seem to grasp it is the only way they could get a sequel. Arthur has to be in prison for killing multiple people, there are grim consequences for those extreme actions. Yet, it can be sympathetic, but realistic about the outcome, and as that alone would be depressing as hell to watch, he escapes his miserable situation with daydreams which take the form of musical numbers, many of which have Lady Gaga in them trying to pretend she can't sing, and failing, and the songs are all old time classics, and well chosen, and I wouldn't say there were too many of them compared to most musicals (but I get it that most people aren't used to the genre so would find it annoying), but it portrays mental illness in its collision with society and the state very well, and I think it is the best film I have seen this year, which I didn't expect would be the case, as so many people were being super negative about it. I think I'd give _Megalopolis_ 6/10 and _Joker 2_ a 10/10. You might not like it at all, but I preferred it to _Joker_ 9/10.

[@ThorogoodFilms]

Ah thanks for sharing those insights! That's really fascinating. Yeah, I think I should have spent more time teasing out the comparison between the two films. And as for Joker 2, I found it really thought provoking.

[@LouisFerreira]

It’s totally not a lie. It’s just not easy and our current focus on diversity makes it more difficult.

[@FSboy70]

What do you mean by diversity?

[@LouisFerreira]

@@FSboy70 DEI policies etc… make it harder to reach utopia. The fastest way to reach utopia is meritocracy.

[@rzn2258]

Stop it. Stop trying to make it sound deep and interesting. The movie wasn't that good.