How Movies Portray Identity and National Past - Essay Example

How Movies Portray Identity and National Past Number Department Introduction Some of the movies that remain personally intriguing in the manner in which they represent identity and national past are Good Bye, Lenin! and The Seventh Seal. The former is a German tragicomedy film which was produced in 2003, having been directed by Wolfgang Becker (b. 22 June 1954), while the latter is a Swedish film which released in 1957, having been written and directed by Ernst I. Bergman (14th July 1918- 30th July 2007). The success of the movies in bringing out matters of identity and national past are immense enough to be contrasted and compared in a meaningful and sustainable debate, as shall be seen forthwith. It is important to note that in Good Bye, Lenin! nationalism is still regarded as being propounded by the exploits of a state. This can be seen in the instance where Alex Kerner remembers as a child, how he as the first German and in the company of his compatriots, proudly entered space. The fact that this forms part of the movie’s prologue and is presented as a form of flashback, is significant. The significance of the scene is important since it portrays this national occasion as important to the state which is Germany. This caption seems to insinuate that national exploits make citizens more proud (of their country) and inspire the ‘we-feeling’ among citizens. The case immediately above converges ways with Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. This is because, the theme of loyalty to one’s state is extolled, though nationalism is not thoroughly mentioned in Bergman’s work. The extolling of nationalism in The Seventh Seal is seen in Knight Antonius Block obediently carry out the Crusades. The Crusades were sanctioned by the state under the tutelage of the monarch. Because of his loyalty to his state, Block engages in the Crusades, even if such engagements may portend risking life. The difference between the two movies is underpinned by the disparity of time in which they are set. While Good Bye, Lenin! has a setting that dates back to the Cold War (probably 1950s to 1990), The Seventh Seal has a setting that can date between 1095 and 1291 AD. In both cases, the concept of patriotism to one’s country was still regarded as paramount (Vermilye, 2006, 29). In the movie Good Bye, Lenin! the family is portrayed as having an immense influence on the personality and identity of an individual. For instance, after Alex’s father flees to West Berlin, Alex has no recourse to living with his mother Christiane, his sister Ariane and Paula, Alex’s niece who is also Ariane’s daughter. In the absence of Alex’s father, his mother Christiane becomes an ardent follower of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany and a radical idealist (Fisher and Prager, 2010, 17). It is most probable that the author of Good Bye, Lenin! writes the movie with a mind of conservative. This is seen in the manner in which he devotes his time to discuss the effect of national policies on the family. By highlighting the plight of Christiane, Alex and Ariane after the head of the family flees to West Berlin, the audience is made aware of the import of unfriendly policies and absentee fatherhood. It helps that the author uses Alex as a mouthpiece and the protagonist so that in him, the audience is made aware of the far reaching damages that accost an unstable family. Again, the author unites the family in the end, and thereby implying the triumph over the family, over state-sanctioned inhuman policies. It therefore suffices to say that the author tends towards familism rather than individualism, for he had the prerogatives to draw out a plotline that centres on an individual (in lieu of a family), yet he does not. It is also clear that in the period between 1945 (when Cold War started) and 1990 (when Cold War ended) had stronger family values, compared to the moment. Therefore, it is logical that Good Bye, Lenin! contains strong family values. As opposed to the case above where the author as an ideologist presents a family which triumphs over socioeconomic upheavals, The Seventh Seal has an author who is a pragmatist and realist, wanting to portray issues surrounding family life, just the way they are. Despite the fact that the move’s plotline may date back to the period between 1095 and 1291 AD, it is interesting that the author presents the community as an assemblage of families that are not perfect but are marred by serious moral scandals. According to Bragg (1993, 31), Skat is able to successfully persuade Lisa to leave her husband for an adulterous fling in the forest. Lisa yields to Skat’s overtures, despite the fact that she is married. To gainsay the standpoint above to state that the author defends the sanctity of marriage by having Death cut the tree Skat is resting on and then killing Skat is to be too subjective. The death of Skat does not serve as poetic justice simply because death is inevitable to all, the moral standing of an individual notwithstanding. For instance, Death eventually vanquishes Block, despite Block being a brave knight above reproach. Nevertheless, it is important to note that Bergman releases this movie in 1957 when liberalism had already taken root in the society (Gado, 1986, 11). Because of the foregoing, one can easily see that the director, Becker uses the plotline to shed light on the manner and extent to which politics greatly influences family life. This is particularly seen in the fact that the movie is set against the backdrop of the reunification of Germany. Alex’s father escapes to West Berlin, where life is more comfortable and marked with abundance, compared to life in East Berlin. This comes against the backdrop of the Berlin Airlift programme which the US was carrying out in respect to the Marshall Plan, in order to help countries and geopolitical entities that tended towards the US, democracy and capitalism, during the Cold War. Joseph Stalin had created the Berlin Wall to keep people in East Berlin from interacting with West Berlin, and vise versa. This motif remains in keeping with The Seventh Seal where the dictates the lives of the citizens. It is the monarch who issues the decree for carrying out the Crusades. How such decrees affect others is seen in the manner it affects Block’s family and dependents. The Knight for instance comes back to his castle to find it deserted and his wife the only sole occupant of it (Bergman, 1984, 66). The point of convergence with Good Bye, Lenin! is that the absence of a male figure as the head of the home serves as a cause for many problems. Just as Robert’s departure to West Berlin exposes Alex and his family to misery, so does Block’s absence fail to inspire confidence. Block comes back to his castle abandoned by all his servants who had escaped in fear. The immediately above somewhat shows that the political environment greatly affects people’s identity and their way of living. Christiane becomes a radical ideologue and a socialist because of the ideological values that East Berlin under the control of the Soviet Union was trying to further at the time. That Christiane also tends towards socialist ideals is also not fortuitous. Bobock (2008, 22) observes that in this case, Becker shows that movies significantly help in the formation of identity and national past. The national past is described in the movie as one that is totally bereft of democratic tenets and the respect for human life. This is because, Good Bye, Lenin! is made against the backdrop of Cold War, where the US and the Soviet Union are embroiled in a non-confrontational ideological war, as the former advances democracy and capitalism, while the former, socialism. That East Berlin that Alex resides in is presented as a socialist state, is a matter that is underscored by the depiction of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the advent of capitalism therein. The author shows national past as being immediately influential on personal identity and welfare of an individual by closely following events in the movie. Immediately the Berlin Wall falls, capitalism is introduced in East Berlin and Alex immediately forfeits his job, because of the change in the mode of production. However, Alex later wins a new post in a lottery with Denis Domaschke, a West Berlin resident to help in the installation of satellite dishes. Conversely, national identity is seen to affect mannerisms in Good Bye, Lenin! to the point of altering a people’s way of life. For instance, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the introduction of capitalism in East Berlin, Ariane puts away university education to work with Burger King. It is not clear whether Becker takes a standpoint on any of the isms even as he mentions the transformation that takes place once East Berlin is opened to capitalism. Becker merely mentions the events that took place in East and West Berlin to the point that it is impossible to detect his standpoint. To argue that Robert’s departure to West Berlin suffices to reveal the author’s standpoint (by saying that in Robert, the author seeks to postulate that socialism had a destabilising effect on families) is to miss the point. It is true that many sought to sneak to West Berlin so as to benefit from the Berlin Airlift Programme, and Becker only makes mention of this, without necessarily castigating socialism or communism. Again, the way national identity affects personal identity is aptly seen in the person of Christiane. Christiane identifies herself radically and poignantly that she is a socialist. A radical idealist, her affiliations are integrally relatable to Socialist Unity Party of Germany. This is not by random chance since East Berlin was the turf of communism and the Soviet Union. Because of this, it is almost obvious that Christiane had been indoctrinated with socialist ideals as being nobler than capitalism. The converse is also true that Americans and Europeans in the West had also been indoctrinated to see capitalism and democracy as better ideological paths. According to Berghahn (2005, 45), the movie also depicts national past as having the power to affect personal identity and behavioural mien through socialisation and acculturation. Given that East Berlin was communist and loyal to the Soviet Union and Stalin, it is given that it was amenable to the use of propaganda tools. For instance, Alex, Ariane and Lara deceive Christiane by dressing in old clothes and reverting from a gaudy decor to a drab decor which was in their mother’s apartment. By this, Christiane is fed new produce from the West, from old labeled jars. This deception is very elaborate to underscore this standpoint. Later on, Alex and Ariane are able to trick her with a fake report to the effect that East Germany is accepting refugees from America and the West, since there is a serious economic crisis there, though Christiane remains skeptic about it. With the help of his friend who resembles Sigmund Jahn, Alex also attempts to deceive Robert his father by creating the ultimate news segment which is not legitimate, in order to save his father and mother’s marriage. The extent to which national past affects national identity and behaviour is also seen in the person of Christiane. Christiane is ready to accept Westerners and Americans into her home as a good socialist, not minding the costs and inconveniences that will accost the arrangement. The same ideological persuasion that East Berlin was perpetuating is seen to have been strong enough to separate families, and ultimately, individual predispositions. Ultimately, Christiane confesses to the family that initially, Alex’s father had made arrangements that Christiane and the entire family follows him to West Berlin. However, apart from apprehension towards the safety of the plan, it is most likely that the loyalty for one’s country must have played a part in Christiane’s hesitation. It is obvious that this event greatly affects Alex’s personality, since he lacks a father figure upon his father’s departure to West Berlin. The role of the government further underscores the manner in which national past affects personality or character formation. Specifically, it is the oppression by the Socialist Unity Party that compels Christiane’s husband into exile in West Berlin. Nevertheless, it is important to note that in both movies, national identity is depicted as being superseded by personal identity. In Good Bye, Lenin! Christiane is depicted as having outlived the GDR and passing on, three days after the full and official Reunification of Germany. This is Becker’s use of symbolism to show that human identity surpasses the identity of the dictates of the state. In the same wavelength, Christiane’s ashes are scattered by Alex, Ariane, Denis and Lara in the wind, despite this being a legally proscribed offence. Brockmann (2010, 34) deems this as a form of statement to the effect that no matter how authoritarian a regime may be, it cannot overwrite the will of human beings. This conclusion stands diametrically opposed to that which is in Bergman’s works. In The Seventh Seal, the knight and his family are (to be) vanquished by Death. This makes Bergman’s a tragedy since the protagonist perishes and his household with him. References Berghahn, D. 2005. Hollywood behind the Wall: The Cinema of East Germany. Oxford: Manchester University Press. Bergman, I.1984. The Seventh Seal. Lorrimer. Bragg, M. 1993. The Seventh Seal. BFI Publishing. Bobock, B. 2008. Good Bye, Lenin? Social Change as Wound in Post-Socialist Eastern Germany. Norderstedt: Druck and Bindung. Brockmann, S. 2010. A Critical History of German Film. New York: Boydell & Brewer Inc. Fisher, J. & Prager, B. 2010. The Collapse of the Conventional: German Film and its Politics. Oxford: OUP. Gado, F. 1986. The Passion of Ingmar Bergman. Duke University Press. Vermilye, J. 2006. Ingmar Bergman: His Life and Films. Svensk Film Industries. Read More