The Power of Misplaced Trust in Modern Times and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
In Modern Times (dir. Charlie Chaplin) and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (dir. Robert Wiene), characters and audiences navigate through the constructions of truth and trust. Authoritative power constructs the definition of “truth,” regardless of a basis in reality, reigning over lower status individuals. Therefore, when power garners trust from through imbalance, negative implications ensue.
Modern Times lampoons us into visual depth with a shot of sheep rushing into one another, making reference to the expression, “like a lamb to the slaughter” (Chaplin 1:25:56- 1:25:53). Hidden amongst the herd of white sheep, Chaplin inserts a single black sheep. The outlier refers to another expression, connoting the dissenter against the masses. Maintaining the same medium shot, the sheep dissolve into modern men, clamoring out of a city subway in an eerily similar fashion as their wooly predecessors (1:25:53- 1:25:47). The use of a fade in likens the two as one and motions
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Caligari, the film questions the power of authority, and thus, agency and autonomy under this power. The film defines power in three places: public officials, Dr. Caligari and Frances. Public officials, like the policemen and city workers, prove their incompetency in aiding Frances through his perspective of the mystery’s unraveling. Their high status and authority manifests physically in their tall seating, pictured first when Dr. Caligari manages to murder his way into the Fair (Wiene 1:06:27- 1:05:04). He slaughters the commissioner, putting into question how well-deserved the public-officials’ pedestals are, just as Modern Times notes the president’s lack of competency. Likewise, the policemen manually step down from their pedestals when jailing the wrong murderer, visually lowering their status to match their erroneous behavior and lending more power to the guilty Dr. Caligari (37:21-
Conspiracy theories have gained a greater discourse in the twenty-first century. Fictional narratives, Hollywood blockbusters, television series and documentaries, and many other pop culture mediums have used conspiracies to spin tales and capture an audience. In this essay I would like to argue that the dominant narrative of a historical event exists because the elite have the power to manipulate and transform it. The group in power values a hegemonic society, perpetuating certain myths in order to create social cohesion within a nation. As a result, conspiracy theories challenge the dominant narrative. This challenge is how subscribers use conspiracy to attempt agency over the elite. I will use the sinking of the Titanic and Don DeLilo’s novel, Libra, to demonstrate how the elite fight for narrative control and how a close reading of these narratives is necessary to evaluate conspiracy theories.
This movie justifies the behaviors of most president men, advisors and candidates. Politics is normally founded on backroom finagling. Lurie shows that the aim of any politician is to gain heroic actions. He thus reveals the worst issues relating to politics and movies. This is because; politics is full of dram as it happens in movies.
In conclusion, Moore provides many facts that tend to show that President George W. Bush utilizes the Power Elite Theory. We feel that Bush is proven guilty in many ways of exemplifying the Power Elite Theory. We think he feels that the power that goes along with the elite class is of great importance, and that he uses this power in ways that seem unfair to the public eye. An example of this is the “convenient” involvement’s that the Carlyle Group and the Halliburton Corporation have in the war in Iraq. Overall, Moore shows in the film how easily a greater power, when abused, can take advantage of the United States’ citizens.
As far back as the Old Testament, the topic of reputation has been, and continues to be, weaved into story lines. The protagonist in a story is quickly identified through the author’s characterization as being a “good guy” or a “bad guy.” The technique used by the writer can be either direct, using the narrator, another character, or the main character themselves, or it can be deduced by the audience through observing the characters actions, manner of speech, interaction with others, and appearance. Once established, the storyline observes the ability of the protagonist to maintain, destroy, or enhance their reputation. The great play writer William Shakespeare demonstrates the difficulties the characters in his plays experience in maintaining a good reputation, greatly due to the outside influences of others. An examination of the impact influence, through the wording of William Shakespeare and from a historical perspective, can have on ones repute, as shown through Shakespearean character Mark Antony from Antony and Cleopatra, will illustrate that a good reputation, while difficult to obtain, is even harder to maintain when left on its own accord.
Firebrand politicians, such as Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, saw an opportunity to encourage nationwide vigilantism by demonising Communist infiltrators. McCarthy’s contribution to the era of ‘containment’ was examined in George Clooney’s 2005 film Good Night and Good Luck. Of the piece, Clooney reflected, “I didn’t want this to be a polarising piece, I wanted it to be a factual one,” justifying his choice of docudrama for its creative innovation. By choosing a grey-scale palette, he represents the ‘black and white’ nature of the historical facts, allowing audiences to interpret his message independently. In a powerful closing monologue, presenter Edward Murrow reasons, “If anyone who criticises or opposes Senator McCarthy’s methods is a Communist, there must be an awful lot of Communists in this country.” This reflects the juxtaposition inherent in Murrow’s initial axiom, and trivialises the effects of McCarthy’s campaign in the public sphere. However, the film contrasts the initial mockery of the containment campaign with the effects the tension of clashing political paradigms had on the private lives of individuals. McCarthy’s inspired vigilantism rendered many unable to distinguish adverse political and personal values, igniting a nationwide ‘witch-hunt’ that superseded his campaign’s anti-Communist intentions. The suicide of Don Hollenbeck, a newscaster accused of being a Communist sympathiser, is shown first from his perspective, using point-of-view shots to create ambiguity, and universalise his actions. The darker, almost non-existent lighting reinforces the scene’s macabre tone, contrasting the well-lit boardroom where CBS colleagues mocked McCarthy in the previous scene. Ultimately, the
In summary, each of the five plays that we have studied throughout this semester have examples of characters using the themes of loyalty, honor and duty to maintain either a positive reputation, a righteous self-image or both. The reason for this being prevalent among all five plays is to show the audience that the image we want for ourselves has a direct correlation with our actions.
In recent news articles, Former New Mexico Governor and Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson admitted to being unaware of the aleppo crisis, and not being well informed on the Syrian refugee crisis. After being pressed and questioned multiple times to whether he was being serious. This article related clearly to a character in the novel, The Crucible by Arthur Miller in many ways. The changes that John Proctor goes through during the story show the theme that men will go to any lengths to protect their reputation.
In the play Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand proves with the character Cyrano and his struggles with physical identity that honor is courageously holding up to one's promises and not taking credit for another’s work despite the consequences.
“It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it,” said the political activist Aung Sang Suu Kyi in her “Freedom from Fear” speech. Power and fear are tools that corrupt those affected by them, either by using them or being used by them. This ideal has been repeated time and time again in literature as well as in current global situations. Conversely, there are also those who repeatedly move against the current of harsh, imposing leaders and make grand acts of heroism, avoiding the corrupted scourge of the powerful. Examples of this mixed concept can be found in The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter, “Unchained Memories,” and in modern-day happenings such as the crisis in Darfur.
After watching Adichie’s TED talk “The Danger of the Single Story” and the film directed by Christopher Quinn God Grew Tired of Us, a main similarity within both of the media was addressing the stereotype misconceptions in parts of the world. Stereotypes exist all over the world and one misconception of one individual could later represent an entire population. In addition to stereotypes, Adichie expands the reasoning for these stereotypes to lie behind power. Meaning that an individual obtaining power has words that have the most impact and leaves that specific listener close-minded to their opinion. Adichie explains in the TED talk “The Danger of the Single Story,” Power is the ability not just to tell the story of another person, but to
The majority of Das Kabinett des Doctor Caligari is told through a series of flashbacks, with the scenes having expressionist-inspired set design and deformed locations to emphasize the unreliable and deluded state of mind of the storyteller. The young protagonist Francis tells the...
Often, too much power can go to that particular person’s head, and he/she can become corrupt. As readers have seen in literature, abuses of power are often harmful to the abuser and their subjects. Corrupted authority and abuses of power eventually lead to the collapse of society. This concept is shown many times throughout the novel Lord Of the Flies and the short story “I Only Came to Use the Phone”. Displayed through characters and actions, abusive power has dominated what should be morally correct in literature.
Each power that this film portrays is based off of an actual real life situation. First off because the film was based off of historical events of a popular industry at the time of bootlegging when alcohol was illegal during prohibition. Every bit of power that the different characters possessed or acquired through whatever way they went about to get it, the one constant variable that was shared was the wanting of power but then once that power was officially obtained they saw the next higher position that held even more power and focused on obtaining it, which is why I named this paper the cycle of power. Everybody wants power and obtaining it can get sketchy, but one thing is certain, power leads to corruption, and the question that if one gets too much power, then when will the vicious cycle end?
Authority in a society is a necessary evil which when unfettered, results in the abuse of power. Power has long been considered a corrupting and a disrupting force in function and in influence. Underlying motives and greed fuel those who seek to gain and or abuse this power. The Crucible examines this twisted force as it corrupts societies’ clergy, blinds its justices, and empowers those who seek to abuse it. Arthur Miller shows how power can be a corrupting influence and how it can blind the judgment of authoritative figures.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s short story, “One of These Days,” describes the disparity between everyday working class people and higher class politicians. The story focuses mainly on two contrasting characters: a humble dentist, Aurelio Escovar, and an aggressive and abusive mayor who takes advantage of his townspeople. Deep in this piece, the situation between the two characters symbolize the corruption of power and the negative influence it can put on society. Though the mayor owns all of the dominance out of everyone in the town, the dentist receives influence for a period of time, taking advantage of it at all cost. We learn at the end of the passage that no matter the identity nor class of an individual, the excess of power can lead to corruption.