A Study of Nazism in Feature Films
In this coursework, I will be looking at how films made in the past
one hundred years or so have portrayed the Nazis in different ways.
There are three films we have been looking at with a common subject.
These are Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will), directed by Leni
Riefenstahl (1934); Cabaret (1972), dir. Bob Fosse and Schindler's
List (1993), dir. Steven Spielberg. The essay also looks at one
episode from The Lion King (1994), dir. Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff.
All these films in some way look at the subject of Nazism, except for
The Lion King which refers explicitly to Triumph of the Will. We will
be looking at the different filmic techniques used in these films, and
the effects they have on the audience.
Triumph of the Will is a documentary film, written and directed by
Leni Riefenstahl, a former actress. The film is a record of the 1934
Nazi Party Rally at Nuremberg. Triumph of the Will is rarely seen
today, because it celebrates Nazism and glorifies Hitler. Leni
Riefenstahl claimed after the war not to have known about the
treatment of Jews in Germany. She may not have known about the
Holocaust, but must have seen how Jewish people were persecuted, as
this was public policy (and mostly popular with the German people).
However, Triumph of the Will was made in 1934, five years before war
broke out, at a time when Germany was on good terms with the UK.
In the opening frames of the film, we see a view of clouds from an
aeroplane. We see shots of the mediaeval city of Nuremberg, and then
the shadow of an aeroplane passing over it. In the plane is Hitler,
and we see crowds marching in...
... middle of paper ...
...ne is also quite shocking. It is an
up-beat, happy-tempo tune. This fits pretty well with the dancers, but
when we see the image change to the club owner being beaten up, the
music does not change. So we have this jolly music backing a crime
scene.
After analysis of all three films we can make a conclusion of the
three director’s attitudes towards Hitler’s Germany and Nazism. We can
say that Leni Riefenstahl (Triumph des Willens) - a keen supporter of
Hitler.
Bob Fosse (Cabaret) - critical, but also interested in how the Nazis
came to power. We see the results of violence.
Steven Spielberg (Schindler's List) - a powerful sense of what it
means to be a Jew today, and to recall the horrors of the Second World
War and the Holocaust. Schindler's List is a more graphic account with
repeated images of violence.
Righteous Acts Throughout humanity, human beings have been faced with ethnic hardships, conflict, and exclusion because of the battle for authority. Hence, in human nature, greed, and overall power consumes the minds of some people. Groups throughout the world yearn for the ability to be the mightiest. These types of conflicts include ethnic shaming, racial exclusion, physical and verbal abuse, enslavement, imprisonment, and even death. Some of these conflicts were faced in all parts of Europe and the Pacific Region during World War II.
“Modern anti-Semitism, in contrast to earlier forms, was based not on religious practices of the Jews but on the theory that Jews comprised an inferior race. Anti-Semites exploited the fact that Jews had been forced into exile by extolling as ‘fact’ that their ‘rootlessness’ had a genetic basis. A Jew was a Jew not because he or she practiced any particular religion, but because it was a character of his or her blood.”
The film opens with a close up of a couple having sex in a field. That image is flung away and a second image replaces the first. This is of the same couple in an even more explicit position. The camera slowly zooms out as we see that the images shown previously are
Anti-Semitism, hatred or prejudice of Jews, has tormented the world for a long time, particularly during the Holocaust. The Holocaust was a critical disaster that happened in the early 1940s and will forever be remembered. Also known as the genocide of approximately six million European Jews during World War II, an assassination by the German Nazis lead by Adolf Hitler.
Censorship in the 1950's: How did this affect the making of “Night and Fog” one of the first ever cinematic documentaries on the Holocaust? A film by Alain Resnais.
Madness: A History, a film by the Films Media Group, is the final installment of a five part series, Kill or Cure: A History of Medical Treatment. It presents a history of the medical science community and it’s relationship with those who suffer from mental illness. The program uses original manuscripts, photos, testimonials, and video footage from medical archives, detailing the historical progression of doctors and scientists’ understanding and treatment of mental illness. The film compares and contrasts the techniques utilized today, with the methods of the past. The film offers an often grim and disturbing recounting of the road we’ve taken from madness to illness.
Anti-Semitism is dated as far back as 310, when Roman Emperor Constantine I (272-337) converted to Christianity. By the sixth century, most of the Roman Empire had fully converted to Christianity and abided by the New Testament in which Jews were called hypocrites and were blamed for the cruxification of Jesus. At this point in time, is the beginning of when Jews were perceived as different because there were differences between the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity, even though Christianity derived from Judaism. By the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of the printing press enabled the of spread anti-Semitism throughout Europe because of the mass production of anti-Semitic books like Hartmann Schedel’s Weltchronik (1493) and Martin Luther’s On the Jews and Their Lies (1543); however, even with the release of these books, anti-Semitism still had not elevated to a point of radicalism. Anti-Semitism was clearly present in print; nonetheless, it did not reach its copiously radical capacity until its incorporation into film.
Propaganda is the dissemination of information to influence or control large groups of people. In totalitarian regime like Nazi Germany, propaganda plays a significant role in consolidate power in the hands of the controlling party (Nazi propaganda).The propaganda used by the Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany (1933–1945) was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi policies. The pervasive use of propaganda by the Nazis is largely responsible for the word "propaganda" itself acquiring its present negative connotations (definition).
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
The Jews are taken out of the normal lives they have led for years and are beginning to follow new rules set by the Germans.... ... middle of paper ... ... Their lives are only about death.
Jews, a religious group of people originating from Israel, have lived in Europe, including Germany, for about 1500 years (Carr; Shyovitz). As Jews moved away from Israel, agriculture was no longer their main form of breadwinning. They have become more educated and many acquired skilled professions. In Europe, Christians were not allowed to lend money and the Jews have become the main money lenders. The knowledge, skills, and money lending abilities that Jews possessed allowed them to become extremely prosperous. During 1000-1500, most Rulers in Europe were Christians, who disliked the Jews (Carr). Although they lived peacefully with their neighbors, Christians blamed
Arcangel’s 2002 film demonstrates the iconic scrolling pixelated clouds with a beryl bright blue background. The white clouds were
Introductory Paragraph: Propaganda is a tool of influence that Adolph Hitler used to abuse the German population by brainwashing them and completely deteriorating an entire race. How does one person get the beliefs of an entire country? Hitler put Joseph Goebbels in charge of the propaganda movement. Goebbels controlled every element of propaganda, there were many varieties of Nazi Propaganda. Propaganda was also being used as a tool to gain the support of the German population for the war, and supporting their government. The Jew’s were the targeted race and were completely pulverized by the Nazi’s. Hitler not only tried to destroy an entire race, he gained complete control of an entire country.
The film image started out with just a dirt field with dust blowing all ov...
World War II caused astonishing amount of death, warfare, and loss. A large portion of the death caused occurred in Nazi Germany as the terrible war waged on. Keeping the horrendous actions hidden from other countries, and even their own people was one of their largest successes with terrible results. When Germany surrendered in World War One the German population was not aware of the terrible consequences there would be, or that there would be any consequences at all. They were shocked and appealed to find that they were in such big trouble. This set the stage for two very infamous figures in German history, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Gobbles. They would create a sense of unity between German citizens again. However this would happen at a huge cost. The Nazi party used many different tactics to form a fatal sense of nationality in Germany.