GER 272: Week 7

Film in the Third Reich

„ mostly entertainment films with little overt propaganda „ propaganda films promoted racial and war policies

1 Leni Riefenstahl (1902- )

„ during Weimar made “mountain films” „ came to the attention of Hitler „ famous for Nazi-sponsored documentaries: „ Nuremberg party rallies (1933, 1934) „ Olympics 1936

2 Triumph of the Will (1935)

„ 6th Nuremberg party rally „ technically innovative „ carefully orchestrated, edited „ emotional power of the rallies „ advertised Nazi movement to world

3 Bertolt Brecht’s Galileo

“Unhappy is the land that needs a hero.”

4 Outline of class period

1. exile and “inner emigration” 2. Bertolt Brecht’s life 3. Brecht’s dramatic theories 4. history of the play Galileo 5. group activities with specific scenes

Exile during the Third Reich

„ ca. 730,000 Jews living in Germany and – 390,000 emigrated „ USA: 130,000; Palestine: 55,000; UK: 75,000; Latin America: 80,000 „ ca. 30,000-40,000 intellectuals left Germany „ France, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, UK, Soviet Union, USA

Hollywood: “Weimar on the Pacific”

„ German filmmakers/actors had started coming to Hollywood in the 1920s (e.g. , F.W. Murnau) „ exiles in the 1930s: „ writers: Vicki Baum, Bertolt Brecht, Heinrich & Thomas Mann „ filmmakers: Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder „ philosophers: Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse

5 “Inner Emigration”

„ numerous writers, artists, filmmakers remained in Germany and suppressed their opposition „ some continued to work in their fields; this required governmental approval „ after WWII, tensions between those who left and those who stayed behind

Käthe Kollwitz

„ “Lamentation” (1938)

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

„ mid-1920s: worked in Berlin theatres of , Erwin Piscator „ 1928: “The Three-Penny Opera” (music by Kurt Weill) „ 1933-1947: exile in Denmark, Finland, USA „ 1947: interviewed by HUAC „ 1949: Berliner Ensemble, East Berlin

6 Brecht’s dramatic theories

„ Marxist influence on Brecht „ drama as agent of change „ epic theatre: Brecht’s form of modern drama „ designed to replace Aristotelian drama „ encourages social action of viewer

Dramatic Theatre Epic Theatre

viewer is involved viewer is an observer viewer is in the thick of the viewer is outside the action; action; shares in it studies it viewer’s capacity for action viewer’s capacity for action lessened aroused human being is unalterable human being is alterable

scenes build plot scenes stand on their own

linear development curves emotion, feeling, suggestion reason, argument

Brecht’s dramatic theories

„ Verfremdungseffekt (alienation effect): making the familiar appear strange „ V-effekt used to make plays “epic” in nature „ basic rule: the spectator must know that s/he is in the theatre „ episodic structure „ critical commentary during the play „ songs, music „ little in the way of scenery

7 Galileo: Genesis of the play

„ three versions „ 1938: Denmark „ exile; German expansion „ 1944-1947: America „ Hiroshima/Nagasaki „ 1953-1955: Germany „ Cold War; Oppenheimer affair

Galileo: Key Themes

„ science and society „ class struggle „ individual conscience in a tyrannical state

Skid’s Approach to Interpretive Studies

„ novel (or film, or artwork) as site of societal discourse „ novel can be a web of current issues and ideas „ the interpretive mission: to discover the question(s) to which the work is providing answer (the Jeopardy approach)

8 Galileo: Science and Society

„ How are science and technology portrayed? „ What are the uses of new technologies? „ Does science have an ethical obligation in society? „ What is the reputation of science at the end of the play?

Galileo: Class Struggle

„ How is class portrayed? „ What tensions exist between classes? „ Does science improve or worsen the tensions between classes? „ What is the state of class struggle at the end of the play?

Galileo: Individual Conscience under Tyranny

„ How are tyranny and authoritarianism portrayed? „ Which characters remain true to themselves, and which “sell out”? „ Is Galileo a hero or a coward?

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