Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism - Essay Example

Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism by The of the The of the School The City and State where it is located The Date Approaches to Cinema - German Expressionism Introduction It is beyond any doubt that art plays a considerably important role in the social environment. The earliest evidence of such activity can be traced back almost to the very dawn of the society. What is more important is that in the course of history art has always been regarded as an effective platform to articulate questions that concerned the people. With the invention of cinema, the latter has become one of the most popular ways to address issues that everyone had in mind. That is why it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that movies of a particular age reflect problems that troubles their contemporaries. This paper will analyze two films that belong to German Expressionist cinema and argue that they might be interpreted as a response to a troubled society. Metropolis To begin with, it may be particularly important to engage Metropolis in the discussion. Thus, the beginning of the previous century was a time in history when the human society grew more and more different and stratified. Revolution in the Russian Empire showed that there is a big group of people, the working class, who is in perpetual conflict with the wealthy class that oppresses them. All this was heavily influenced by the view of Karl Marx. The movie Metropolis takes the division between the two classes to a new extreme: on the one hand it, shows people living in paradise who know little about what lays under their city– the true hell on earth (Minden, 2000, p. 191). The directors were able to show that the two worlds are dramatically different in every aspect: space, light, action and many others. This might be interpreted as a fear of the ultimate stratification of classes. Another popular concern in Germany in the beginning of the twentieth century focused on the possibility that machines might take up the place of man. Metropolis highlights this theme very distinctly: it is shown that a man can invent a machine and cover it with human form and no one will be able to tell the difference (Kaes, 2009, p. 199). In spite of the fact that the process of copying the appearance is not properly explained in the money and looks to fantastic, the outcome is more than realistic: people listen to the robotic Maria and choose her as a leader, but being able to see that she is just a soulless robot. When her true nature is revealed by fire, people are more shocked by the fact that they were tricked by a machine. Another important image that should be closely analyzed while considering the connection between Metropolis and the troubles of the German society of the time is the angry and uncontrolled mob (Tasker, 2014, p. 137). There is no doubt that the peculiarities of narration as well as focus on the power of people to overthrow the established order of think reflect the events which happened in Weimar Republic. In other words, the film shows that a violent mob is the most devastating social force that is able to have a destructive influence on the society at present as well as in future. Finally, one should also examine the visual language of the movie in question. Though the movie is black and white, there is no doubt that the director tried to make it as dark as possible, especially the scenes which depict life of the ordinary workers. In addition to that, the movie does not feature depiction of broad landscapes, suggesting that there is little space for the people, everything is taken up by machines (Pigott, 2013, p. 61). This might be regarded as a response to the growing concern that the modern life invades the privacy and freedom of the people. In spite of the fact that the movie exaggerates the extent of it, it is clear that the public was afraid of this kind of future. M The next movie which might contribute to the discussion about German Expressionist cinema was created by the same director, but several years latter and it titled M. There are several themes that may be seen as an indication of problems that the German society was deeply concerned with. First of all, one might recall the very beginning of the movie, pointing out that the innocent chant that was sang by the children prophesied the theme of the movie, namely the issue of serial killers preying on children (Lennard, 2014, p. 132). From a broad perspective, this is a rather intriguing phenomenon as it shows that violence in the German society was so widely spread that it was able to influence chants of the children as well which is a rather troubling phenomenon. This might be seen as an effort of the director to direct attention of the society to the immediate problems that must be dealt with for the sake of the children. The next theme that is discussed in the movie is the relationship between the conventional society and the criminal part of it. In spite of the fact that the latter is deeply opposite to the former, it also might structure itself in a way the ordinary society does, becoming a grotesque emulation of it (Barrow, 2014, p. 318). The movie in question shows that there are might be actions that are so profoundly against the human nature, as killing children, that every citizen regardless of the lifestyle one has chosen would condemn it. By far, the very fact that a director made a decision to create such a movie might be recognized as his deep concern for the organization of the contemporary society. There is yet another symbol which should be analyzed in great detail. At a certain point, one of the beggars marks the shoulder of the main character with a letter M (White, 2003, p. 138). This is truly remarkable symbol; however, the implications that this simple scene had are incredible. One might suggest that such labelling of a murdered is something that shows the deep corruption of the contemporary society: a situation when all people wear masks and anyone is able to appear as an ordinary citizen as long as he or she wears one. In other words, the director wanted to show that the social life would have benefited if people were marked accordingly to what they are, which like a murdered was labelled with a big M. Finally, the very end of the movie should also be closely examined. After the trial over the criminal was over, one of the characters addresses the audience – a technique which was rather popular at the time, but not is almost completely abandoned (Rocha, 2012, p. 219). Thus, a mother shows that justice may surely make a perpetrator experience a severe punishment, but no punishment will even return the killed children; that is why it is responsibility of the parents to watch over them. It is quite understandable that such social awareness is the key message of the movie, suggesting that adhering to laws will not bring the society to prosperity, it is the personal responsibility of every citizen. That is why the finale of the movie draws a strong connection to the audience. Conclusion Having examined all the evidence which was brought up in the paragraphs above, one might conclude that German Expressionist cinema can be interpreted as a response to a troubled society since it focuses on the important themes for the contemporaries, reflects their fears, and gives advice regarding how the situation might be helped. References Barrow, S 2014, The Routledge encyclopedia of films, Routledge, London. Kaes, A 2009, Shell shock cinema: Weimar culture and the wounds of war, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. Lennard, D 2014, Bad seeds and holy terrors: The child villains of horror film, SUNY Press, New York, NY. Minden, M 2000, Fritz Langs Metropolis: Cinematic visions of technology and fear, Camden House, Rochester, NY. Pigott, M 2013, Joseph Cornell versus cinema, A&C Black, Edinburgh. Rocha, C 2012, Representing history, class, and gender in Spain and Latin America: Children and adolescents in film, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY. Tasker, Y 2014, Fifty Hollywood directors, Routledge, London. White, R 2003, British Film Institute film classics, BFI/Fitzroy Dearborn, London. Read More