Weimar Politics in Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari In his book, From Caligari to Hitler, Siegfried Kracauer proposed that Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was an allegory for the sociopolitical situation of the Weimar period – where Dr. Caligari represents a tyrannical ruler, and the fairground illustrates the chaos that might ensue as an alternative to this authoritarianism. However, the individual characters in the asylum in the alternate ending of the film can also be interpreted as representing “unwanted” groups of people within early Weimar society. Most obvious out of all the examples is Jane, a woman who is seemingly stricken with an illness that makes her think of herself as a queen, and represents Weimar’s departure from monarchy in this interpretation. Although people such as Paul von Hindenburg and Friedrich Ebert supported the monarchy that existed pre-First World War, both of them realized that the ship that is monarchy has sailed, and won’t be willingly endorsed by the …show more content…
As evident in the film, Cesare’s somnambulist condition is, ironically enough, never treated by the director of the institution, Dr. Caligari, but his condition is instead exploited when he is used as a puppet of sorts to kill whomever Dr. Caligari chooses. This robot-like, unquestioning behavior and suffering of Cesare is a metaphor for the soldiers returning from the war fronts, as the soldiers’ mental neuroses were taken lightly by doctors, and refused pensions by the Weimar government. Hence, like Jane, Cesare’s soldier-like character may be portrayed as one of the patients in the asylum, as traumatized soldiers seeking healthcare and compensation were often “unwanted” facets of the Weimar
Roberto Esposito, the author of the nonfiction book Terms of the Political: Community, Immunity, Biopolitics, argues that medicine played a great role in Nazi ideology and practice. He suggests that the genocide carried out in the concentration camps was the result of “the presence of a medical ethics that was perverted into its opposite.” He also mentioned how most of the killings were “medically indicated” and carried out by the doctors at the camps.
The cinematography of the film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was very effective to the audience at the time. During the 1920’s, it wasn’t common to have a horror movie like this with a dark and twisted visual style. Because of the cinematography of this German film, it actually had a major influence on the American films in horror and film noir genres. To get the cinematography right, they had to exaggerate the lighting to give off the feel of it being a horror film.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is praised worldwide for its anti-authoritarian message and expressionistic style with its framed narrative. The film is cited as one of the first horror films and influenced the development of film noir. Caligari remains to this day an important part of the history of German
In section II, “Somnambulist,” although Ana is now a college student in America, she still gets flashbacks of the traumatic events that occurred to her during the Croatian Civil War. No matter how much she puts these thoughts aside, they still reappear unconsciously in her dreams. She “lays awake through the uneasy hours [of the night] for as long as [she] could before the dreams set in” (141). The subject of recurring nightmares demonstrates the idea that the trauma of war never is forgotten, but reappears when you least expect it. Reguardless of Ana’s distance from Croatia, she will never dismiss from her memory the night her parents were massacred and her other horrific wartime experiences. By demonstrating the everlasting trauma of war, readers can be educated on a usually overlooked repercussion of war which only increases the reader's knowledge of the perpetual damage of
Annotated Bibliography Kracauer, Siegfried. From Caligari to Hitler, A Psychological History of German Film. Princeton University Press, 1947. Retrieved from https://monoskop.org/images/1/12/Kracauer_Siegfried_From_Caligari_to_Hitler_A_Psychological_History_of_the_German_Film.pdf Siegfried Kracauer, a 1940s film analyst, was the first to make the argument that German expressionist films like Metropolis shaped Adolf Hitler's totalitarian propaganda. German expressionism was a cultural movement in protest to the bourgeois culture in Germany prior to World War II.
The Collapse of Weimar and the Rise of Hitler In 1919, a defeated Germany was forced to abandon government under the Kaiser, who had fled to Belgium and adopt the Weimar, a democratic but flawed system. Soon after Hitler and the Nazi Party appeared, and years later the Weimar Republic fell. What accounted for the fall of the Weimar? My essay will prove that there was not a single reason, but in fact a series of events that lead to the collapse of the Weimar. President Ebert used the Freikorp, who were a rightwing mercenary unit, to put down the Spartacus uprising, a communist inspired revolution.
Bojorquez as well as other men from the battalion reached out for help from veteran’s hospitals near them, but to their avail they did not receive the help they needed. The lack of understanding and effort was apparent in the type of help these veteran’s hospitals provided. Bojorquez in particular recalled his therapist telling him that he had to treat the pain he felt like a bad breakup; a statement that infuriated Bojorquez. The veteran’s hospitals, as well as the VA, try to provide aid to these veterans who are suffering the traumas of war, but fail tremendously. They aren’t equipped with the tools necessary to morally regulate the thoughts and behaviors of these individuals. Anomy, the lack of moral integration, Durkheim asserts is regular and specific to modern societies. Because modern society is not as strong in the department of moral integration, people who feel they have nothing to lose often commit suicide. Social institutions like the VA often fail veterans in this aspect, causing infuriation with the VA which results in surrender. While the VA claims that they try their best to ensure the mental health and safety of these veterans, the suicide rate of this battalion suggests that they ultimately failed. Additionally, the veterans in this battalion have experiences with egoism,
During the years 1918-1933 the Weimar Constitution was a very significant problem for the government to deal with, however during these years there was also numerous other problems which also caused the government to be troubled. In this essay I’ll discuss, of the two, what did cause the most problems for the government between the years 1918-1933?
leadership or kindness. Caligula, unfortunately, is known as a tyrant and his his tyranny would lead to his death by the hands of his Roman people.
In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson nominated Louis Brandeis, a lawyer from Boston to the Supreme Court. The first Jewish man to be nominated to the Supreme Court, Brandeis was a Progressive who strived from social change and reform. His Jewish faith didn’t control his decisions, but they created his values that would lead to him becoming a champion of the people. Brandeis was a gifted student and lawyer. He graduated from Harvard in 1877 at the age of twenty with the highest GPA in school history. He moved to Boston where he joined the elite class called the Brahmins where he would meet close allies and future foes. Here he met Samuel Warren, a good friend and business partner. The two of them opened a law firm together Warren and Brandeis.
Central to nearly every discussion about the progress and advancement that the United States has collectively enjoyed has been a question about the value and worth of human labor. Undoubtedly, one for the most resounding truths for the United States has been that the country has managed to find a dominant global status and domestic success due to the contributions of its citizens. Science, education, art, and all other industries have flourished due to the efforts of hundreds of people hailing from different backgrounds. Yet despite this historical precedent establishing the need for valuing the contributions of others, there continues to be a resounding national dismissal
The collapse of the Weimar Republic can not be seen as solely indebted to the severe economic problems faced during the period of its rule, but consequently it was the economic issues that became a footstep to the ultimate demise of the Republic. Subsequent to Germany’s defeat in the First World War and German Emperor Kaiser’s abdication from power, the Weimar Republic was proclaimed. The Republic that had emerged from the German Revolution of November 1918 would inevitably fall as a result of numerous issues. However, the extent of which economic problems had in the dissolution of the republic, and how these issues caused or came about due to separate concerns faced by the new democratic system became a major contributing factor.
All of these factors made it very difficult for the German people to be trustworthy, faithful and supportive of the regime of the Weimar Constitution. This idea is re-affirmed through German historian Friedrich Meinecke saying that “true loyalty to the Fatherland requires disloyalty to the Republic”, leading to an opening for extremist parties as well as the Republic’s doom.
to himself "Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become. Hitler an example. Fair makes the old brain reel, doesn't it?." (Kesey 64) However, is that all that matters in the hospital? The authority figures in the novel decide who is sane and who is insane, and by deciding it they turn that into a reality. However, they never come to the realization that in reality the insane one's in this situation is infect the authority figure, Nurse Ratched. By the characters using Hitler as a representation of Nurse Ratched as a psychopath they further come to the realization that they infect are sane and Nurse Ratched isn't.
Forensic science can be defined as the scientific methods and processes in crime solving (International Student, 2017). The many advancements in this field over past years have led to it including many specialist areas such as DNA and ballistics. Forensic science is derived from several scientific branches including biology, chemistry and physics, with its main focus being the recognition, identification, and evaluation of physical evidence (Crime Science Investigator, 2017). It has also become a valuable and essential part of the legal system as it uses a range of scientific methods to gather accurate and important information, relevant to criminal and legal evidence.