German Expressionism In Film

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When a large population is facing hardships, it is not uncommon to see people turn to art in order to heal. For the post-World War I population of Germany, who were facing severe poverty and humiliation, their healing came in the form of the German Expressionism movement. After so many German citizens who served and/or died in the war, pacifism and a general distrust of authority were on the rise. With this passion, German Expressionism turned the German film industry into a powerhouse. Overzealous and theatrical films became popular, especially those with extreme and anti-realistic styles. One of the first and most popular German Expressionist films was the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Here, we follow the main character Francis through …show more content…

Caligari to the evil enemy of Gotham, The Penguin, there are many similarities between the two characters. Trench coats, top hats, and canes seem to be the clothing of choice by villains in movies, which subconsciously the audience may be aware of, so there is an association of “evil” when characters are dressed as such. Consequently, the viewer then subconsciously distrusts Dr. Caligari as an authority figure. Hair is also a shared trait of both villains, particularly crazy and puffed out strands. In the case of Dr. Caligari, his crazy hair also sets him up to look like mad scientists like Dr. Emmett Brown from Back to the Future or Rotwang from Metropolis. Admittedly, many of these characters didn’t exist at the time Caligari was made, but Dr. Caligari could definitely have inspired these characters, which is why The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is extremely important in film history.
Contrasting the fancy villain get-up that Dr. Caligari is sporting, Cesare has a very shapeless, but interesting, leotard as his choice of clothes. As a result of putting him in a leotard, Cesare has a bizarre and inhuman way of moving which adds to his creep-factor. Further, this lack of individualization by simple clothing can further symbolize Cesare as a puppet to

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