Who doesn’t like Weimar Period German Cinema, Communist undertones, androgynous 80’s all-male synthpop acts, and countless references to blade runner and Fritz Lang? I’m not sure, but I am 100 percent sure they are not people worth knowing. So it goes that 80’s synthpop act Camouflage released the video for their 1987 hit “The Great Commandment”. Notice the dwarf with the neon light, the reference to the ball scene in Fritz Lang’s “M”, the similar layout to Metropolis’ Maria with the children, and the similarity between this song and every Depeche Mode song from this time period. Too bad these guys didn’t ride the same wave as DM. Love this song.
Also, I have included several videos to explain some of the references…or at least the references as I percieve them.
Metropolis…They borrow from this whole damn movie…but here’s the part where there is an evil robot made in the likeness of Maria. Funny these people don’t notice the heavy mascara and twitchy eyes. People are stupid.
Then, we have bladerunner…
…and one of my favs of communist propaganda.
I mean, you really have to hand it to the soviets. They knew how to make being a commie look fun and exciting. Making your main target audience be 19 year old boys worked so well, it was adopted years later by Roger Corman’s company to create films with marketable titles. Then, they would write a script based around that title. Por ejemplo…
Man, Boris Karloff is so steampunk…
2 Comments.
Thanks for this post. I’ve been searching for days about the references and specific event behind this song and it’s video. No one seems to have given it much thought and I’m really glad to have chanced upon this article. Seems this is the only one out there. Cheers!
I should also note that the tubing and also the car he drives are direct nods at Terry Gilliam’s Brazil. Glad I could help!