Harland J. Ash
HST 355
Section 26155
4/26/2016
“Through clever and constant application of propaganda, people can be made to see paradise as hell, and also the other way around, to consider the most wretched sort of life as paradise.”
-Adolf Hitler Leni Riefenstahl was the most innovative and controversial female filmmakers of the twentieth century. Riefenstahl was a woman of many talents throughout her life she was a dancer, actress, director, photographer, and an avid scuba diver. Riefenstahl began her career in film by staring in early silent mountain films from director Arnold Fanck. As she developed her skill as a director Leni began directing her own films, her first being Das Blaue Licht (The Blue Light - 1932). Leni Riefenstahl is best known for her controversial work in the production of two of the most famous Nazi
…show more content…
Leni believed that Jewish film critics were responsible for the poor receiving of her new film. In 1932, Leni was interviewed by radio reporter Rudolf Arnheim and she was quoted in saying “As long as the Jews are film critics, I’ll never have a success. But watch out, when Hitler takes the rudder everything will change.” Ironically many of the people associated with the production of Das blaue Licht were Jewish. Writers Béla Balázs and Carl Mayer were Jewish and even Harry Sokal himself was a Jew. What can be seen here is the beginnings of Leni Riefenstahl’s political ideologies and association with Hitler. During postproduction of Das blaue Licht, Riefenstahl began reading Mien Kampf. Harry Sokal remembers the fascination that Leni had for the book, she even once said to Sokal that Hitler was “the coming man”. The next year in 1933, Leni would direct her first propaganda film for the Nazi Party, Der Sieg des Glaubens (The Victory of Faith –
In 1932 the political situation in Germany was intensifying. The Republic was crumbling and the great depression was taking its toll on the German people. Leni was not greatly affected by the depression and saw little of the violence that was occurring. In Berlin she was persuaded by friends to attend a political rally at Sportsplatz where Hitler would give an address. Instantly Leni had become spellbound by Hitler as he did upon thousands-‘He radiated something very powerful,’ she later observed, ‘something which had a kind of hypotonic effect.’ Inspired by Hitler, Leni ...
I don’t know if I connected the experiential dots with any dexterity regarding John Milton’s Paradise Lost until I visited Disney World recently. It wasn’t until Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, Cruella De Vil, Jafar the evil sorcerer, the Beauty, and the Beast came down Main Street, U.S.A. that I was more able to appreciate the prodigiousness of the procreative masque within Paradise Lost. Panorama grabs the viewer; and, with a mere touch of the remote control, it thrusts him/her into Eden, Main Street, or Pleasantville. Panorama doesn’t settle for facile spectatorship; it invites the viewer into the action and synchronizes the viewer’s pulse with the pulse of its [panorama’s] own creative slide show. To ignore that invite is to not only avoid the tree of knowledge, but to refuse its existence. That tree was not put in the garden to be ignored but to be avoided – a challenge of our obedience towards a sovereign, a tempter of our curiosity, a pulse quickener.
Kershaw later depicts a comment made by Hitler discussing the dire need to deport German Jews, away from the ‘Procterate,’ calling them “dangerous ‘fifth columnists’” that threatened the integrity of Germany. In 1941, Hitler discusses, more fervently his anger towards the Jews, claiming them to responsible for the deaths caused by the First World War: “this criminal race has the two million dead of the World War on its conscience…don’t anyone tell me we can’t send them into the marshes (Morast)!” (Kershaw 30). These recorded comments illustrate the deep rooted hatred and resentment Hitler held for the Jewish population that proved ultimately dangerous. Though these anti-Semitic remarks and beliefs existed among the entirety of the Nazi Political party, it didn’t become a nationwide prejudice until Hitler established such ideologies through the use of oral performance and
Slowly she asked "Is anyone there?" as she walked down the dark deserted road. When she heard a loud sound she turned abruptly trying again "Hello?" Met with only silence she picked up here pace almost running down the dirt road. Her nerves had just began to calm when she heard "WRRRREEENNNNNRRRRRRR" as a chainsaw started behind her. Running she started looking behind her hoping that whoever it was, wouldn’t catch her. With her lack of concentration she tripped over her high heels and face plants into the dirt, giving the murderer a chance to catch up. Slowly he lowered the chainsaw and began cutting --CUT -- This is a common plot used in horror movies today. Movies have changed over the years. They were different five years ago, fifty years ago, and even a almost a century ago. Technologies have unthinkable things possible. They have allowed us to re-sink "the unsinkable ship." They have allowed us to see dinosaurs in all their brutal glory. We have seen imaginary creatures, only ever mentioned in stories brought to life. Movies have moved so far from the 1920's and 1930's. They have developed ideals, rules and even standards; but where did they begin? Did movies just fall out of the sky? Did they just come into being? No they began slowly, silently moving towards a new era, the era we today call "Pre-code Hollywood"
Gordon, Sarah. Hitler, Germans and the "Jewish Question." Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1984.
The movie “Schindler’s list” is a compelling, real-life depiction of the events that occurred during the 1940’s. It illustrates the persecution and horrific killings of the Jewish people. It also exemplifies the hope and will of the Jewish people, which undoubtedly is a factor in the survival of their race. The most important factor however is because of the willingness of one man, Oskar Schindler, to stand out and make a difference.
Lahiri, Jhumpa. “Hell-Heaven.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 638-651. Print.
John Roth tells the story of a German journalist’s broken glasses in Fritz Gerlich’s Spectacles, in which Gerlich meets Hitler himself, and Hitler makes promises regarding his leadership that he does not keep. As a journalist, it was easy for Gerlich’s opposition of Hitler to be publicly displayed in the Munich Post. He exposed the Nazis and their motives for about 12 years (Roth 49). Gerlich was a German man that realized what the true purpose of “the Final Solution to the Jewish Question” was. He was not going to partake in the implementation of the answer of the Jewish Question, but instead presented to people through media that the Final Solution was in the wrong. Straying from the group did have its consequences, as Gerlich was detected by the Nazis when he published an article in July of 1932 (51). Gerlich was taken by storm troopers from his office, then beaten and sent to Dachau, a German concentration camp. He remained imprisoned there for more than a year, and his wife was informed shortly after that he was killed, receiving no written message but her husband’s broken spectacles. Gerlich’s spectacles could be interpreted as a metaphor for the time in his career he spent divulging the Nazis’ intentions;
When first faced with the choice between the statements “people who need people are the luckiest people” and “hell is other people” it seemed fairly obvious to me that the latter was the choice with which I agreed. However, when I started to write about why I believed hell is other people, I found that I could not come up with any reasons to justify my feelings. How could I make such a definite statement about billions of people? For weeks I pondered the question. Eventually I decided that perhaps learning the context of the quote would help me figure out why I was leaning towards that choice. After learning about No Exit, the play the quote comes from, I can see why I identified with this quote. I believe the meaning of quote has become a bit skewed over time.
“The modern German anti-Semitism was based on racial ideology which stated that the Jews were subhuman while the “Aryan” race was ultimately superior,” ("Nazi Propaganda"): (Goebbels)“I beg you and particularly those of you who carry the cross throughout the land to become somewhat more serious when I speak of the enemy of the German people, namely, the Jew, ("Nazi Propaganda"). “Streicher declared: "You must realize that the Jew wants our people to perish. That is why you must join us and leave those who have brought you nothing but war, inflation, and discord",” ("Nazi Propaganda"). “We know that Germany will be free when the Jew has been excluded from the life of the German people,” ("Ministry Of Public Enlightenment"). After Goebbels 's started to target the Jew’s with mean propaganda: It made blaming Jews a lot easier for Germany’s
Babb, Lawrence. The Moral Cosmos of Paradise Lost. [East Lansing]: Michigan State UP, 1970. Print.
Women’s roles in movies have changed dramatically throughout the years. As a result of the changing societal norms, women have experienced more transition in their roles than any other class. During the period of classical Hollywood cinema, both society and the film industry preached that women should be dependent on men and remain in home in order to guarantee stability in the community and the family. Women did not have predominated roles in movies such as being the heroin. The 1940’s film Gilda wasn’t an exception. In Gilda, the female character mainly had two different stereotypes. The female character was first stereotyped as a sex object and the second stereotyped as a scorned woman who has to be punished.
The question of whether Satan is the hero or the villain of John Milton’s Paradise Lost has been largely debated by scholars over the centuries. The ones who believe Satan is the villain of the epic, more commonly known as the Anti-Satanists, tend to argue that Satan is too foolish to be considered a hero, as his “hostility to Almighty power” is ultimately a futile endeavour (as God’s power is omnipotent) (Carey, 135). C. W. Lewis, also an anti-Satanist, goes as far as to claim that to “admire Satan, then, is to give one’s vote not only for a world of misery, but also for a world of lies and propaganda, of wishful thinking” (Lewis, 203). The ones who claim Satan is the hero of the epic, the Satanists, perceive him as the rebellious angel who rises up and defies God’s monarchy and “the tyranny of Heav’n” (174).They choose to focus on Satan’s “nobler qualities, his loyalty in leadership, fortitude in adversity, unflinching courage and splendid recklessness” (Satan/Promo, 3). While these two positions are both valid, this paper will be focusing on a third position: the individuals who believe that Satan is neither the hero nor the villain of the epic.
Criticism. The. New York: Norton, 1975. Fox, Robert C. "The Allegory of Sin and Death in Paradise Lost." Modern Language Quarterly 24 (1963): 354-64. ---.
Milton, John. ‘Paradise Lost.’ 1674. Norton Anthology of English Literature. 7th ed. 2 vols. New York: Norton, 2000, 1: 1817-2044.