Analysis Of The Film ' Leni Riefenstahl '

However, as Wolfgang Ruge argues, “the Nazi party developed a propaganda apparatus whose activities far eclipsed all previous heights of the demagogy of German imperialism.” On this note, it is widely agreed by historians that the regime was highly successful in one of Friedreich's principles; control of the increasingly powerful mass media in German society as a mechanism for public control. Primarily coordinated through the work of propaganda minister Goebbels, Hitler was portrayed as a leader who was at the same time moderate and reasonable who put the national good before his own interest. Other themes highlighted images of strength and authority which appealed to the highly nationalist German population; epitomised by Hitler appearing out of the sky to lead the German people depicted in Riefenstahl's 1934 film Triumph of the Will, still widely considered the most influential propaganda film of all time. The radio, state produced to be inexpensive, become the regimes number one weapon as it allowed propaganda to not only infiltrate but permeate as many homes as possible.

Although presumptions began to arise, Riefenstahl stated that Triumph of the Will was clearly a factual documentary and stated: “Not a single scene is staged…It is history, pure history” and that she simply filmed what she saw. Susan Sontag’s response in her dissertation Fascinating Fascism concluded that the film is fascist propaganda promoting Nazi ideology but itself is not a about fascism . Sontag was right to the title the film was fascist due to Riefenstahl’s extreme forthright about her infatuation with Hitler. In an interview with Detroit news Riefenstahl stated: “To me Hitler is the greatest man who ever lived. He is really faultless, so simple yet so filled with ,manly power... He is really beautiful,

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most revolutionary and certainly most controversial filmmakers of the early twentieth century. The lasting influence of her innovative filmmaking techniques on twentieth century cinema is undisputed by scholars throughout history, but the exact nature of her work is surrounded by ongoing controversy. Riefenstahl’s production of the feature films “Triumph of the Will” (Source 3) and “Olympia” (Source 1) have left a lasting imprint on history; these films established Riefenstahl’s influential career as a film director under the years of the Nazi regime. Although these films are attributed by scholars and critics to be Riefenstahl’s greatest achievements they are also considered to be her greatest fault, for

Triumph of the Will is a documentary of the Nazi Party conference in 1934 in Nuremberg. From the first frame of the film, Riefenstahl captures every essence of how worshiped Hitler

As the film opened in Germany and around the world it became obvious that Riefenstahl had achieved overall success, beyond all expectations. In America, specifically New York it was called “flawless” and “a highly fascinating fantasy”. The Blue Light was even awarded a silver medal at the first Venice Biennale that year. Riefenstahl still saw herself primarily as an actress, but after her new found success, expected to continue filmmaking as a career. If The Blue Light had not influenced her career path she would not have reached her prominence with her films such as Triumph of the Will and Olympia to come. Riefenstahl did not only gain wider international fame, she also gained the admiration and support of Adolf Hitler. According to Audrey Salkeld, “Hitler was already an admirer of hers, having been won over by her first dance of fluttering veils in her first movie.......From then on, he had followed her career with interest, The Blue Light in particular catching his imagination.” Indeed the success of The Blue Light was one of the determining influences on Riefenstahl’s rise to prominence as she states, “This film was pivotal in my life, not so much because it was my first successful effort as a producer and director, but because Hitler was so fascinated by this film that he insisted I make a documentary about the Party rally in Nuremberg. The result was Triumph of

It was created under the order Hitler and was directed, produced and written by Leni Riefenstahl. The movie is about how Germany will rise to power. “Triumph of the Will” documents the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg, over 700,000 Nazi supporters attended this congress. “Triumph of the Will” contains speeches from Adolf Hitler, Rudolf Hess and Julius Schutzstaffel. I could do a whole assignment just on “Triumph of the Will” by itself but instead I will focus more on the climax of the film and the important themes within the

After the collapse of the Weimar Republic, a charismatic political leader Adolf Hitler rose to power instituting one of the most horrific political regimes in human history. Under Hitler’s control, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi party took totalitarian control over nearly all aspects of German life. Hitler administered and over saw fascist policies that resulted in the genocide of millions. In 1936, Walter Benjamin postulated the idea of “aestheticization of politics” under German fascism, in which the outcome of these fascist policies stems from the establishment of aesthetics into politics. Benjamin coined the phrase “aestheticization of politics” with the Nazi regime in mind. This was a regime that new how to deploy aesthetics brilliantly, which can be seen in the film Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl.

In Germany, Hitler used propaganda to make his image superior to everyone else. His face and name were posted everywhere in newspapers, stamps, books, and on billboards. People in Germany during World War II could not escape his name. They were constantly harassed and told that Hitler was their ruler, and he was practically seen as a god. In the book, Hitler and the Nazis: A History in Documents, the author David F. Crew shows how Hitler’s mass publicity was created to be the image of authority in Germany. He says, “This visual assault was part of a larger attempt to create a public image of Hitler, a Hitler myth, which was often the very

Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party rose to power during the period of time right before and during World War II. Although Hitler caused many injustices and deaths, the Germans still looked up to and admired him. German citizens saw him as a leader who brought nothing but positive changes to their country. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party were appealing to the Germans due to Hitler’s potential of stabilizing Germany’s economy, Hitler’s favorable ideas, and the nationalism Hitler was able to bring about.

Adolf Hitler was a man who, in the late 1930's - mid 1940's made a significant mark on history. The Holocaust took place in Germany and Eastern Europe and because of Adolf Hitler nearly 6 million Jews were executed in concentration camps. In 1929 Hitler chose Josef Goebbels as his minister of propaganda. Goebbels goal was to "nazify" the art and culture of Germany. The Nazis spent a lot of money on posters and newspapers, then once they came to power their use of propaganda came into greater affect. Goebbels orchestrated 'rallies' to build support of the propaganda. Hitler used many systems to implement Holocaust including: Propaganda, the relocation of people to the Ghettos, the creation of laws to strip people of their rights, and the use of technology to increase the order of the machinery of genocide.

A Nazi sympathiser is referred to be someone who is a member of the National Socialist German Workers' Party and agrees with opinion, and ideology. Since the end of World War II many have debated whether Leni Riefenstahl was truly a Nazi sympathiser, a propagandist, or purely an artist. Through the analyses of the evidence gathered in this case it is clear that Riefenstahl was not a Nazi sympathizer; she purely did what she had to do to survive, just as every other citizen whom lived through Nazi regime period did. Paragraph 1 Leni Riefenstahl was very passionate about all hobbies and career paths she under took.

Through the eyes of an ordinary German in 1935, ‘Triumph of the Will’ would almost certainly instill a great sense of pride as well as a hopeful feeling for the future of Germany. One would certainly be impressed by Hitler’s speeches, as Hitler was a master at appealing to one’s emotion. Hitler’s speeches dug deep into the emotional core of one viewing the film, or attending those rallies and that is shown by the cheers and shouts that he would evoke from the people whenever he spoke. Furthermore, his speeches would allow an ordinary German to feel hope for a new and better Germany under Hitler’s rule, this was crucial. considering the very low and chaotic times that

Adolph Hitler wanted the 1936 Berlin Olympics to be a large scale national spectacle. So that the rest of the world could see the glory of Nazi Germany, he hired film producer Leni

German Propaganda Hitler gained control of Germany for the first time in 1934. He eventually turned Germany into a totalitarian states also all things German would be turned Nationalist Socialist. His main goal was to make people believe that the Jews caused all of their problems which helped the propaganda work out so well. This made the Jews feel less than human or better off being dead. Citizens of Germany believed that The Jews were the cause of religious, economic, political and racial problems in the country.

Hitler was a German who first obtained power in January 1933 when he became chancellor of Germany. His gift was that he was highly persuasive speaker. He easily appeared to the Germans who at the time was facing many hardships. Hitler knew that in order to unite the people, they needed a common enemy. In this case, it was the Jews. With a united front and an enemy, Hitler’s mass extermination of Jews