Socialism and Fascism
What elements of this story suggest fascist or socialist readings?
What opportunities do either of these systems offer?

Gender
Why does Fredersen take the robot to a dance club to see if it can pass as "flesh and blood"?
Where are the women in the movie? What are their roles both above and below ground?
Why is the robot female?

Class
Who are the workers, what do they do, and what do they look like?
Where do they live?
What are their jobs like?
Why do they meet with Maria in secret?
Where does Fredersen live? What is his life like and what does he do?

Storytelling
Why does Maria tell the story of Babel?

Family
What does Maria tell the children of the workers when they visit the pleasure garden? Why?
How does this impact Freder?
Consider Freder's relationship with his father, master of the city John Fredersen.
How does John Fredersen relate to his son? To the children of his workers?
Where is Freder's mother?
How do Freder and his father relate to Maria and the Maria-bot respectively?
What makes Freder ill? Why does he dream of the seven deadly sins dancing?

The Robot
What purpose does John Fredersen want to use robots for in the future?
Why is this particular robot shaped like Maria?
How does she differ from the real Maria? Consider this visually as well as actually.
Why does she incite the workers to rebellion against the machines?
How is her creator Rotwang similar to or different from Victor Frankenstein?
What happened to his hand?
What is his house like?

Architecture
Look carefully at the drawings of the Metropolis.
What does this city look like? Why?
How do people move around it?

Technology and The Machines
How is technology represented in the film? What does it do?
What relationship do the workers have to the machines?
What mood is evoked by the changing shifts?
What happens if the machines are destroyed?

Iconography and Film Style
Watch the film closely for its imagery.
Do you see repeated images, shapes, or visual themes?
Do you see religious imagery?

Science Fiction
What elements of this story make it science fiction?
Do you see a relationship with "The Machine Stops"? Other works?
What are the lessons of the film? Are you satisfied?

Chapter 1
Why is the first sentence strange? What does it set up?
What is the meaning of the World State's motto "COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY?"
Why does the fertilizing room look so cold, when it ia actually hot inside? What goes on there?
Why do particulars "make for virtue and happiness," while generalities "are intellectually necessary evils?"
How do people know who they are in this society?
Why use the Bokanovsky process at all? How is it an instrument "of social stability?"
Why don't the Epsilons "need human intelligence?"

Chapter 2
What work does the conditioning do? Who gets conditioned? How does hypnopaedia work?
Why condition the Deltas to hate nature but love outdoor sports?
How does time work in this book? History? Why does Ford say "History is Bunk?"
What are the various castes like, and why?
How do the students demonstrate their own conditioning?

Chapter 3
How do the children play together? What is childhood like?
How is our world depicted? How do we get from here to there?
Why must games be so complex in this society?
Why are strong emotions dangerous? Family relationships? Romance? Religion? Art? Culture?
How is sexuality used in this novel? Do you see any problems with it?
What does Mustapha Mond do? What is his relationship to history?
Is there anything unusual about Lenina Crowne? Bernard Marx? What? Why?
How does Huxley use the cinematic technique toward the end of this chapter?
What is soma? What are its uses?
How do people age in this society?

Chapter 17
Why does Mond want to talk with John alone? What do they talk about?
What is the significance of their discussion of religion? What does John argue religion can give to civilization? Why does Mond argue that it is unnecessary and potentially dangerous?
What does Mond believe is the role of God? How is it related to the self?
What role does solitude play in spirituality?
How does John argue that the civilized man has been degraded? From what and to what?
What are your conceptions of the roles of self-denial, chastity, nobility, heroism? What would John or Mond say?
What role does Mond say soma plays in this? What is an "opiate of the masses"?
What does it mean "to suffer the sling and arrows of outrageous fortune" or oppose them?
What does John mean by saying that nothing in civilization costs enough?
In saying no to civilization, what does John say yes to? Would you make the same decision?