5 Dec 2025

Episode 6.18 –

Is All Art Political? The Great Societies, Pt. 1: Metropolis

It seems everything is politics these days. But at least can’t we keep art pure? You know, art for art’s sake? I offer my thoughts on the topic while we examine the classic silent film, Metropolis (1927).

In the process, we discuss an indigenous protest against American Art, the nature of ideology, an opening definition of a Great Society, and the four areas of inquiry we must pursue to answer the question, “Is All Art Political?”

1. The Author’s Intention


2. The Text Itself


3. The Context Around the Text


4. The Reader’s Thinking

This Part 1 considers the first of these by asking what we know about the creators of the German silent film; Part 2 will look at the next three approaches.

Some links to items mentioned:

• An Indigenous Takeover of the MET:  https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/an-indigenous-takeover-of-the-met-asks-who-should-be-writing-art-history-1234757699/


• Metropolis (1927):   https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFzHH9EL9x0

Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/

CHAPTERS

00:00      Great Garden Walls

09:03      Intro Theme

09:38      Framing the Talk

19:18      Some Metropolis Backstory

29:58      Harbou and Lang: Artist’s Intent

37:30      Author Trouble

48:38      Where This Leaves Us

52:49      Closing Credits

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New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/

Have a Question? Literary Nomads Mailbag: https://forms.gle/WKGp1YWrazNZ3TLt8 

Transcript:  https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-18-the-great-societies-pt-1/

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Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.

Visit us for expanded resources for guests and the Waywords community, for other programs and writing, and for opportunities to support our goal to expand reading. Resources available can include full bibliographies of material referenced, full and partial texts, annotated editions, supplemental and expanded episodes, fictional explorations, teaching and learning resources, additional essays, and online courses.

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CREDITS:

Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)

Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:

Chisnell, Steve. “6.18 Is All Art Political? The Great Societies, Pt. 1: Metropolis,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 5 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.