Expressionism Theory - Essay Example

Expressionism rejects impressionism, realism, and naturalism and it has been described as using transcendental and “anti-naturalist” instruments and attacking the values of the German middle class through spurring artistic ideas and demeanor. Moreover, it is depicted as choosing the subject matter of spiritual reclamation and using an oratorical tone. In reality, expressionism combined realist and symbolist objects and its transcendental instruments provided an intuition into the social and historical elements (Bronner & Kellner, 4).
Expressionism has often been characterized based on the analytical and abstract proclamations of expressionist artists and libertarians. In truth, the novel and modernistic art movements that prospered in Europe resulted in various confusing ideas and beliefs that had been associated with the movement but had nothing to do with the art. Expressionism gained a significant artistic revolution after it rationalized its importance by proclaiming its profound unconventionality. The movement was further promoted by expressionist artists, literati, and publicists. It soon gained recognition due to its abstract writing and legitimating theories. Geoffrey Perkins also describes these as being the reasons for its demise.

The “two Expressionisms” theory developed by Wolfgang Paulsen divides expressionism into two stages. It explains the distinction of each stage, the first one being detracting and extremely creative and the second one being unsophisticated, vocal and politically active stage. However, there are various contradictory trends in the movement which make it difficult to place them into distinct stages for example, “naïve” and “sophisticated”, “rhetorical” and “formal”, and “artistic” and “political” (Bronner & Kellner, 5). The presence of the two extreme tendencies of artistic and political, and rhetorical and formal in the same works makes the segregation of expressionism into two categories unattainable.
Expressionism has an inconsistent culture. The lack of homogeneity of expressionist rebellions allows inaccurate assumptions to be made. Despite difficulties in defining expressionism, this art movement has been influenced by the social conditions and the cultural traditions that existed in Germany during that time. Nietzsche’s powerful significance in Germany had a great impact on expressionism. Expressionist art was also influenced by romanticism, gothic, and baroque styles of painting (Bronner & Kellner, 7). The zeal and dissatisfaction of expressionists spurred them to demand novel forms of expression thereby resulting in modernization. Expressionism is therefore a crucial source of knowledge illustrating subjectivity through its paradoxical attempts (Bronner & Kellner, 31).

The film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari was written by two authors, Hans Janowitz ad Carl Mayer. The story was influenced by an event Janowitz experienced before World War I near Holstenwall. In trying to find inspiration, he followed the path of a girl’s laugh which seemed to taper off behind a shrubbery. A few minutes later a dark bourgeois man passed him and the next day murder in Holstenwall made the headlines (Kracauer, 1). The story of the film is therefore located in Holstenwall where fair moves. It is also important to note that Janowitz had served as an officer in the regiment during World War I and had returned developing a sense of hatred for the authority that resulted in the deaths of millions of people. After both, authors had written the manuscript they were stuck at the name of the main character. The idea came from a character in Unknown Letters of Stendhal whose name was Caligari (Kracauer, 2).

In the revolutionary story of the film, the authors have criticized the power of the authority that conscripts people and declares wars. To the authors, the archetype of such a ravenous authority was the German government during the war. The character Dr Caligari represents the qualities of such an authority as he desires power and dominance disregarding human values and institutions (Kracauer, 3). Cesare, the sleepwalker being the victim of Caligari’s evil plans is only a device that is being used to perform operations dictated by Caligari. This relates to the common people who after being conscripted have been forced to kill or be killed.

This story was accepted by Erich Pommer due to its aesthetically rich element as the German film industry believed that the foreign markets could only be overcome through artistic accomplishments. Dr Robert Wiene directed the film and indeed its artistic aspect brought the element of expressionism in the film. Read More