Representation of justice, morality and responsibility in Films: Film Critique on “M” by Fritz Lang

This article discusses the representation of justice, morality and responsibility in Films through the Film Critique on “M” by Fritz Lang. It explores the social and moral responsibilities of filmmakers and the impact of censorship on movie making. The movie “M” takes up an extremely important concept to convey which is the impact of mental health on man and through the main character of the movie “Hans Beckert” played by peter Lorre it has been effectively conveyed. The movie mirrors the thought of the different clans of people in the society and highlights the existent fear of the common people against an unknown force. The very first thing that the movie highlights is how people get afraid in the society and what does it need to frighten people. It’s a trail blazing classic because it highlights the imbalance of justice in the system.

Representation of justice, morality and responsibility in
Films
Film Critique on “M” by Fritz Lang

Film Critique: “M” directed by Fritz Lang
Films are the best exhibition of motion picture. It cannot be denied that there is huge amount of
money and expectations attached with the making of a film. There are number of people who are
attached with the making of a film and hence it becomes one the ways to feed these people.
Since the inception of movie making concept people have been largely interested in going to the
cinema houses because it provides them with the opportunity to get an escape route from the
normal uninteresting daily life and get into the world of extraordinary life (Shaw, 2012). Films
are so largely embraced and loved because it provides the viewers with a perfect enjoyment for a
particular period of time which again helps them to rejuvenate the lives of the people and helps
the common people to go back to the society again leading their daily lives. Over the decades
with the development of technology filmmakers have found new avenues to express themselves
in a new way and through different themes (Gunning, 2016). Every film is made with the focus
of establishing a particular idea in the minds of the viewers but some of them have strong and
valid agenda to go about discussing certain things. One of the classic movies of the early 30s
during the period when sounds in films just entered was “M”. The movie was a revolution in film
market in Germany because of its complex and volatile subject. “M” is a horror thriller film
written and directed by Fritz Lang a German filmmaker in Post First World War era (Tester,
2013).
Over the years different filmmakers have taken up difficult and complicated concepts to convey
to the audience and this has created significant obligation in the society. Films undoubtedly have
social responsibility and as they drive masses towards taking up lifestyle practices. The actors
and actresses are tremendously followed by the common mass that basically involves passion
and berserk excitement. “M” was controversial because it showed the brutal nature of the society
and what could happen when law and order is not in place and justice acts like the migratory bird
gone in hibernation (Flisfeder, 2016). Controversial topics of films have brought criticisms but
have also influenced people to a large extent (Ingram, 2013). Hence it cannot be denied that the
films they do have social obligations and it is important that the filmmakers understand their
limitations while making films. This statement is clearly contrasting to the art of filmmaking
because filmmaking is considered as the medium that creates the true picture of an issue with the

best possible resources available to it in order to promote or convey a message and hence
working under limitation is just not the right idea for a filmmaker (Gunning, 2016).
Most of the filmmakers like Asghar Farhadi, Majid Majidi, Wong Kar Wai et cetera have spoken
against censorship in the contemporary film environment which clearly shackles their film
making and information conveying abilities. The main focus of censorship has been to make the
filmmakers to understand that the films have social responsibility, morality and justice directly
related to films and hence it is extremely important for the directors to ensure that films reflect
responsibility, morality and justice effectively (Mazur, 2013). There are number of different
films and filmmakers who have been criticised for their honest filmmaking showing the clear
picture of the society and this has fueled the critics to a large extent.
The movie has been hugely criticised for its brutal concept which was back then was absolutely
new to the viewers. There was power and presence of truthfulness in the concept which made the
film cult and it’s still watched by many people all across the world. “M” is a simple horror drama
thriller that conceptualises a character so brutal that people even in the 21st century count bear.
The story simply moves with a man who kills small girls in the society and against the pressure
of the ministers the police makes the lives of the other criminals in the market difficult (Gunning,
2016). This triggers the need of getting the real man behind the serial murders and all the
criminals come together to find the man. The concept is extremely relevant in the common world
because it cannot be denied that the political power of the ministers is due to theses criminals
who move freely in a market (Falzon, 2014). Hence, a person with a different idea is considered
unfit. The present movie questions a number of things for instance, the existence of a man and
the relative problems, the impact of mental health issues and the biggest question is of morality,
responsibility and justice given.
The movie mirrors the thought of the different clans of people in the society and highlights the
existent fear of the common people against an unknown force. The very first thing that the movie
highlights is how people get afraid in the society and what does it need to frighten people. It’s a
trail blazing classic because it highlights the imbalance of justice in the system (Evans, 2016).
One of the major issues that the present movie poses is the responsibility that society has towards
the common people. It is important to discuss the key aspects of responsibility, justice and
morality. The present study will discuss these key aspects with reference to the movie “M”

which would help to understand the social and moral responsibilities which would help to
discuss the key objectives of the present study. Morality and responsibility has been one of the
aspects of movies and there have been numerous movies which have emphasised on them and
hence this movie is extremely valid in the discussion (Tester, 2013).
Representation is an extremely important aspect in movies. How a movie represents its ideas is
an extremely important aspect which needs to be looked after. In the present movie “M” the
director has been able to create an environment of chaos in a society which has just experienced
a world war and there are number of aspects that create misrepresentation of law and order. The
movie is known for its unconventional approach to morality, law and justice and hence is still
considered a classic. “M” has taken certain key aspects which clearly show the instable state of
the society (Falzon, 2014). The movie shows the society as a chaotic environment which is being
affected by complete antisocial activities. The movie has a role to play in the lives of every
individual and hence it is important to be aesthetically sensitive about projecting things. In “M”
the brutality of the main character has been effectively portrayed through the scenes. For
instance in one of the scenes the main character is shown through the mirror which helps to see
the layers of his characters and is extremely pertinent in the society because in society there are
number of people who are clearly masqueraded (Mazur, 2013).
Morality has always been one of the key aspects that have shackled movie making and the
filmmakers have been often been rebuked for their style of movie making and concepts. It is
important to understand that movie making during the initial days were just for money and
during the initial years of cinema people used to watch them just for fun. Over years with the
advancement of technology and globalisation filmmakers used motion picture to convey
information and protest and this is where social responsibility came into the picture (Edwards,
2012). The movie “M” takes up an extremely important concept to convey which is the impact of
mental health on man and through the main character of the movie “Hans Beckert” played by
peter Lorre it has been effectively conveyed (Souillés-Debats, 2016). The character exhibited
different layers especially of anger and fear. The movie showed deeper interest in displaying the
two different characters of the main character mentioned above who was actually a
schizophrenic personality. The social responsibility related to the movie was to let know the
parents that the society is still not completely civilised and hence children could be on the line of

fire being slaughtered repeatedly which has been showed in the movie. It is important to note
that the movie had displayed violence and gore which was not acceptable for many audiences
and hence its social responsibility might be questioned but it cannot be denied that it still remains
to be relevant even in the modern world. Later in the 60s and 70s directors like Stanley Kubrick
had taken up complicated subjects and showed them in a manner that they like. The question of
responsibility that stands in this case is to make the audiences aware of the different facts and
issues that society is facing and “M” has effectively done (McGilligan , 2013).
In both ways it has been able to convey its message and hence it can be stated that “M” clearly
contains significant social message. The filmmaker took the responsibility to digging deep into
the psychological behavior of a man who is disturbed in nature and showed that threat that he
can pose on the society. In a way director Fritz Lang focused on showing the world what could
happen to a person if he or she remains unattended right from the formative ages. Given the story
a moral could be deduced (Gellen, 2015). The film has a different take on the true nature of the
society which is dark and full with resentment. Morality of the movie also reflects upon the loss
of innocence of the children because during the opening the children sing songs about a monster
that’s going to make children mincemeat. He reflected on the true picture of violence through the
movie where even children are aware of the brutality that world could bring upon them where the
society remains oblivious of it. The movie “M” talks of morality and social responsibility in a
different way to be precise through the actions of violence. Lack of compassion in the world is
showed through the killing of children and lack of trust because the citizens seem to blame each
other for these mishaps have been perfectly framed and displayed (Solovieva, 2012).
There are certain key scenes where the central character of the story reveals him showing the
dichotomous self. The moral issues faced by common man in his or her daily life have been
perfectly exhibited through the movie (Edwards, 2012). The constant dilemma of right wrong
was seen in the character’s dual presence where one is constantly overpowering the other. The
core idea of the movie that could be assumed was behind the curtains of war man is becoming
more violent and could go to any extent to establish his or her views and ideologies which has
been clearly reflected through this movie. The excellent directorial approach and lighting
combination the director has been able to show the constant dilemma that a man lives and what it
could actually do to him and to the society (Wunrow, 2012).

A significant part of the movie is related with the major criminals of the area where the movie
takes place. They come into the picture where the police are not able to track down the original
felon (Edwards, 2012). The criminals are largely affected by this and their livelihood almost
wraps up when they feel it is the time they should convene and track down the person behind all
this which would make their lives easier. At the end of the movie the central character “Beckert”
is caught and is placed in criminal rendezvous where he is accused and punished. This is where
the justice system has strongly been questioned. What makes the criminals the ultimate judges of
the society? The question that remains is who gave them right to convict or acquit a person?
What is the role of the law and what is the position of the Government in this scenario. The last
scene where the central character starts sobbing accepting all the crimes and the criminals act as
the lone justice is slap on the face of legal system of the society (Mazur, 2013). The movie “M”
is responsible to highlight the weaker sides of the law and order in the society as in the last scene
the murderer is taken to the court where the criminals are making decisions on justice. It shows
that the society hasn’t yet come out of their primitive thought process regarding justice and this
is why criminals are taking over to create balance in the society. The concept of justice has been
shown in a different manner especially to reveal the complex nature of the justice system where
getting true justice is extremely tough. Justice is a vast aspect and the movie conveyed the
message of strengthening the justice system effectively through that scene that helped to provide
the best of the epilogue to the film (Evans, 2016).

References
Edwards, T.J., 2012. The Man In Black: A Sequence Analysis from Fritz Lang's M (1931). Kino:
The Western Undergraduate Journal of Film Studies, 3(1), p.4.
Evans, S., 2016. M for Murderer: Fritz Lang’s Exploration of the Meaning of Justice.
Falzon, C., 2014. Philosophy goes to the movies: An introduction to philosophy. Routledge.
Flisfeder, M., 2016. Ideology Critique and Film Criticism in the New Media Ecology.
Gellen, K., 2015. Indexing Identity: Fritz Lang's M. Modernism/modernity, 22(3), pp.425-448.
Gunning, T., 2016. Film Criticism: the Challenge of the Specific. Film Criticism, 40(1), p.Q1.
Ingram, D., 2013. The aesthetics and ethics of eco-film criticism. Ecocinema Theory and
Practice, pp.43-61.
Mazur, E.M., 2013. William D. Romanowski, Reforming Hollywood. How American Protestants
Fought for Freedom at the Movies. Oxford University Press, Oxford/New York 2012, xv+ 298
pp. ISBN 978-01-95-38784-1.£ 18.99; US $29.95. Church History and Religious Culture, 93(4),
pp.641-643.
McGilligan, P., 2013. Fritz Lang: the nature of the beast. University of Minnesota Press.
Shaw, D., 2012. Morality and the movies: Reading ethics through film. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Solovieva, O., 2012. The Portrayal of a Murderer in Fritz Lang's M: Toward an Effect of Three-
Dimensionality in the Classical Cinema. Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 29(1), pp.50-63.
Souillés-Debats, L., 2016. When Movies are a Source of Concern. Esprit, (6), pp.60-67.
Tester, K., 2013. Media Culture & Morality. Routledge.

Wunrow, Z.B., 2013. Power and Presence in Fritz Lang's" M"(1931). Inquiries Journal, 5(06).