Rudimente Von Goethes Faust in Hollywood Am Beispiel Von Neun Filmen
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FAUSTISCHE ILLUSION UND REALITÄT: RUDIMENTE VON GOETHES FAUST IN HOLLYWOOD AM BEISPIEL VON NEUN FILMEN By SVEN-OLE ANDERSEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Sven-Ole Andersen 2 To the most important women in my life: my grandmas Else and Lieselotte, and my mom Heidi 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people have helped me to complete this dissertation. Some have also helped me to endure harsh times while writing it. First and foremost, I would like to thank Professor Franz Futterknecht, chair of my supervisory committee. I could not have asked for a better mentor. Besides his literary expertise, I admire especially his analytical abilities and the fact that he did not lose his humor while supporting me during the process of writing the chapters of this dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge not only his abundant help and support but that of the other members of my committee: Dr. Otto Johnston, Dr. Richard Burt, and Dr. Christopher Caes. I have never learned so much about German history and literature than in the courses I took with Dr. Johnston. I owe a great deal to Dr. Caes, and also to Dr. Burt, with whom I took outstanding courses on the nexus of literature and film. Despite their busy professional lives they always took time off to answer my questions. They are my role models concerning professional attitude and publishing. Words are not enough to express my gratitude to my committee members since they have put in many hours to read, reread, and edit my dissertation. Their comments were invaluable. There are, however, many more people who I would like to include here. My heartfelt thanks go to my family: my mother, Heidi, and my father, Detlef, as well as Rolf Weiskopf. Then, there are the professors, mentors, and colleagues to whom I owe much: Drs. Keith Bullivant, Laura McGee, Aneka Meier, Hub Nijssen, David Pharies, Rainer Schnoor, Reiner Smolinski, Christina Overstreet, Mary Watt, and Mr. Hans Markert. I cannot let this opportunity pass without thanking all my dear friends for their love, support, and friendship over so many years: Lars-Ingo Urbat, Kerstin und Heinz Friedrich, Claudia und Mike Husche, Jens-Uwe Meyer, Ralph Bislich, Gerd Heese, Toni Hörnlein, Henry 4 Schröer, Jeanne “Jeannie” and Charles “Chuck” Crampton, and last, but certainly not least, Lauren. What would I have done without you? 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................9 2 DER FAUST DER BÜRGERLICHEN KULTUR: VOM MYTHOS ZUR HOLLYWOOD-IKONE .........................................................................................................21 3 HEINRICH FAUST UND JABEZ STONE: THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER ALS ERSTER GROSSER BEITRAG ZUR FAUSTADAPTION IN HOLLYWOOD MIT DEUTSCHEM HINTERGRUND ..................................................................................53 4 TEUFEL, PAKT UND FRAUEN: FILMISCHE DARSTELLUNGEN IM VERGLEICH MIT GOETHES FAUST. ...............................................................................83 Cabin In The Sky ....................................................................................................................88 Damn Yankees ........................................................................................................................95 I was a Teenage Faust ...........................................................................................................100 Ghost Rider ...........................................................................................................................105 Wall Street ............................................................................................................................109 Indecent Proposal ..................................................................................................................114 Devil‟s Advocate ..................................................................................................................118 Boiler Room ..........................................................................................................................124 5 DAS PAPIERGESPENST DER GULDEN: DER VERKAUF DER SEELE FÜR GELD BEI GOETHE UND IM FILM .............................................................................................139 6 CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................175 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................182 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................190 6 Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy FAUSTISCHE ILLUSION UND REALITÄT: RUDIMENTE VON GOETHES FAUST IN HOLLYWOOD AM BEISPIEL VON NEUN FILMEN By Sven-Ole Andersen August 2011 Chair: Franz Futterknecht Major: German The focus of this study is the Faustian bargain, as described in Goethe‟s Faust, and its transformation in contemporary Hollywood movies. I argue that the principal manifestation of Goethe‟s legacy is that his Faust and its immanent topic of the Faustian bargain are constantly adapted in modern Hollywood movies. With the publication of Faust Part I, in 1808, the German poet depicts a modern human being who wants to break societal barriers and free himself from the restrictions of his time. In addition, Goethe included a love story and a happy ending for the protagonist, in contrast with earlier Faust stories. Taking modern subjectivity into account, Goethe‟s version serves as the basis when modern film makers transform the topic of selling one‟s soul to the devil. The reasons are manifold. First, the topic of the Faustian bargain has not lost its value in contemporary society and its culture. Also, the inclusion of a love story and a Happy End are virtually always necessary for a successful contemporary movie, whereas the Faust figure before Goethe was damned and had no opportunity for redemption. Examples for movies that are based on Goethe‟s Faust, where the devil has a bona fide appearance on screen, are The Devil and Daniel Webster, Cabin in the Sky, Damn Yankees!, I was a Teenage Faust, Ghost Rider and 7 The Devil‟s Advocate. Examples for movies that depict the Faustian bargain without the appearance of a devil are Wall Street, Indecent Proposal, and Boiler Room. This dissertation will also draw attention to the way in which the topic has to be adapted for an American audience. After a brief introduction, Chapter 2 explores the development and transformation of the Faust myth from the first publication, the Chapbook, to modern movies that have helped making Faust an icon for modern film making. The following chapter focuses on the movie The Devil and Daniel Webster, because it serves as one of the best contributions to the American Faust legend, drawing heavily on the German heritage of its director, William Dieterle. More movies are described and analyzed in Chapter 4. Taking recent economic developments in the United States into account, Chapter 5 explores, describes, and compares the depiction of capitalism in Goethe‟s Faust and three modern Hollywood movies, focusing specifically on the characters of the three protagonists. The topic of selling one‟s soul for money is still prevalent in modern American culture, as it was at the beginning of modernity. This dissertation is written in German. 8 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation ist es, den Zusammenhang zwischen dem literarischen Werk Faust, in der Version von Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, und amerikanischen Filmversionen darzustellen, die den Pakt des modernen Subjektes mit dem Teufel beinhalten oder bei denen es sich um eine Variation des Faustthemas handelt. Die Dissertation soll aufzeigen, dass diese modernen amerikanischen Filme sich bei der Abbildung problematischer aktueller Gesellschaftsentwicklungen in Amerika auf die Faustproblematik stützen, die bereits von Goethe beschrieben wurde, jedoch keine identischen Übernahmen sind. Diese Faustproblematik avancierte im Deutschland des 19. Jahrhunderts zur Modellproblematik des modernen Subjektes schlechthin. Gebildete Deutsche erkennen sich seit dieser Zeit als faustische Menschen. Daher besitzt, so die These dieser Arbeit, die Faustversion Goethes noch heute eine Modellfunktion für amerikanische Filmproduktionen, wenn diese gesellschaftliche und individuelle Probleme durch die Verwendung oder Adaption des Faustthemas behandeln. Um diese These zu bekräftigen werden die Protagonisten im Film mit den Hauptfiguren in Goethes Werk, Faust und Mephistopheles, sowie die Krise im Handlungsgefüge des Faust mit den Krisensituationen in den Filmen verglichen. Die Wette mit dem Teufel und der daraus folgende Pakt stellen für das Individuum einen Ausweg dar, der in der folgenden Arbeit ebenfalls behandelt wird. Moderne Entwicklungen in der Gesellschaft des 21. Jahrhunderts,