No poster

In the Shadow of the Machine

1928 · Movie · 22 min

Less advocacy-driven than 100% of Documentary titles →
IMDBTMDB
Audience evidenceThe verdict — who this is for, by the receipts

Made first for older men 1

In the Shadow of the Machine's audience scores lean most toward older men at 76 of 100 1. Its overall reach is rated targeted — targeted reach aimed at a specific demographic segment 2. On content balance it reads entertainment-first at 0 of 100, weighting storytelling over explicit messaging 3.

The receipts — every claim above is sourced
  1. 1
    Audience scoreolder men 76 of 100 is the top quadrant.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
  2. 2
    ReachAudience breadth rated targeted.WhatSphere audience model, score_version 1
  3. 3
    Content balanceContent balance entertainment-first at 0 of 100.WhatSphere content-balance model, score_version 1

WhatSphere presents the sourced record; it does not cast the judgement. Every statement above is drawn from a stored, sourced row — shown beside it — and nothing is asserted beyond what those receipts support.

Verified May 31, 2026Scores accuracy-checked against current data.Think a score is wrong? Submit a correction.

Synopsis

The film was produced as a compilation film. Blum reported in “Film-Kurier“ (5.11.1928): "It will be assembled from excerpts of partly unpublished Ukrainian films. […] Some American footage has also been used. To get material as impressive as possible, a number of films, 0-60, have been viewed." Based on ideas by Dziga Vertov, and largely assembled from the last reel of his film 'The Eleventh Year', this compilation presents an explicit critique of the very technology that Vertov sought to praise, stressing the dark side of industrialization—hands mangled in workplace accidents, train wrecks, coffins—and connects to a particularly German concern with the negative effects of technology stretching from the Romantics to Heidegger, Horkheimer, and Adorno in the twentieth century.

Young MaleYoung FemaleMature MaleMature Female
Primary audienceOlder Men
Targeted

Quadrant Scores

Young Men
54
Young Women
24
Older Men
76
Older Women
46
Advocacy0
Entertainment

Audience Representation

LGBTQ+
0
Score version: v1Data confidence: 85%How are scores calculated?

What did the audience think? Rate In the Shadow of the Machine — every voice counts equally, no account needed. Clean reviews appear instantly.

Compare In the Shadow of the Machine

Put its audience profile side by side with any other title.

Compare with…

Advocacy Over Time in Documentary

The average advocacy score of Documentary titles by release year, with this title marked. Higher is more advocacy-driven.

25507519052022
Average advocacy score of Documentary titles by release year
YearAverage advocacyTitles
190505
193822
196702
196842
197003
197102
197403
197553
198502
198903
199002
199203
199403
199604
199705
199907
200113
2002111
2003115
200409
2005111
2006020
200709
2008113
200905
201002
201109
201203
201308
201405
201503
2018112
201907
2020117
202116
202252
This title (1928)01

This title (1928): advocacy 0 · explore Documentary

Cast & Crew

Albrecht Viktor Blum (director) · Léo Lania (director)