Wa Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari

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.

Abstract Expressionism began in the 1940s and the 1950s in New York after World War II from the ideas of Surrealism about art that looks to examining the unconscious mind, and the feelings people hold that makes us all humans. Through the discussion of Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) by Jackson Pollock, I will define Abstract Expression and why this work is part of this movement. Then, through the discussion of Canyon by Robert Rauschenberg, Target with Plaster Casts by Jasper Johns, and Marilyn Diptych by Andy Warhol, I will explain Assemblage and Pop Art and why each of these works belong to those movements.

The first shot is equitably realistic; however, German expressionism lingers in the design of the set, adding oneiric qualities to the shot. One of the most pivotal of German Expressionist cinema, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (dir. Robert Wiene, 1920) presents distorted environments. For example, while one would expect sidewalks and

Artists in the early 1900s commonly utilized techniques of distortion and exaggeration, characteristics of expressionism, to establish the element of emotion. According to Wolf (2017), expressionist artists often incorporate “swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world” (p. 1). Amplification of the human figure often evokes strong emotions for audiences of many different cultures. Additionally, the style reflects the consequences of urbanization, such as the alienation of individuals in society (Wolf, 2017). Expressionism allows artists to surpass realism and reflect the tribulations of living in a modern society.

Stylistically, M appears to be a continuation of the style that was established in cinema through the German Expressionist movement and developed through the Kammerspielfilm, which focused on the actors, lighting, and set design to further investigate the psychological foundations of characters in middle and lower-class environments (150). M can be considered to be part of the third type of film that was produced during the Weimar period that is known as die neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), which portrays "fatalistic and grimy lower-class realism" through the cinematic lens (150). M is able to marry characteristics found in each of these three periods of German cinema.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the first film by Germany to be an Expressionist film. Authorities of an avant-garde movement believed that by using Expressionism in films (as they did in paintings, theater, literature, and architecture) this might be a selling point in the international market. The film proved that to be true and because of its success other films in the Expressionist style soon followed.

German expressionism was born around the first decades of the twentieth century. Following the World War I, it focused on giving “objective expression to subjective human feelings and emotions” (Barsam & Monahan 194). To do so they manipulated design elements. Their aim was to immerse the audience in the story by creating a mise-en-scène that would intensify it.

 Regarding plot and structure of the play we can see that the play is disjointed and broken

Most modern directors’ are heavily influenced by other film styles, films, or even other directors. German expressionism is a film style that contemporary directors have borrowed heavily from in order to create a new approach to the old film style. Therefore expressionism the style is something that modern directors often emulate in their films. Tim Burton is a director that has been clearly been influenced by German Expressionism and its use of stylized elements. This can be clearly seen through the movie Edward Scissorhands. German expressionism is a style of art which developed early into an influential movement of German painting, sculpture, literature,

By distorting the outside world and the characters in it, the audience is thrilled and taken to another world full of horror and distress in a subjective manner. In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the set design is wildly distorted, with construction that had never been seen before. Kristin Thompson and David Bordwell write, “The cutting and camerawork are fairly conservative, but the setting and acting seek to convey a madman’s vision of the world” (Bordwell and Thompson 1). The setting itself, a carnival, was very popular at the time the film was made. The makeup of Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), and his somnambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt) is also included in this bizarre new style of expression.

This exploration, or manifestation of the internal world in turn lead to an exaggeration, or distortion of that which was being depicted by the artist. Although wide spread, the movement had its genesis and the majority of practitioners in Germany. Given its timing i.e. the early twentieth century it is no surprise then that the movement of German expressionism would find its way into the still relatively young, and cosmopolitan art form of cinema. In cinema the ideas of German Expressionism would take root, and be used in films that have remained classics to this day. Of specific note are the films of German Expressionist master directors Fritz Lang, Robert Wiene, and F.W. Murnau.

Surrealism is a movement that built off of the burgeoning look into art, psychology, and the workings of the mind. Popularly associated with the works of Salvador Dali, Surrealist art takes imagery and ideology and creates correlation where there is none, creating new forms of art. In this essay I will look to explore the inception of the surrealist movement, including the Surrealist Manifesto, to stress the importance of these artists and their work in the 20th century and beyond. I also will look to films from our European Cinema course to express how films incorporate the influence of surrealism both intentionally and unintentionally.

Abstract Expressionism is making its comeback within the art world. Coined as an artist movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s, at the New York School, American Abstract Expressionist began to express many ideas relevant to humanity and the world around human civilization. However, the subject matters, contributing to artists, were not meant to represent the ever-changing world around them. Rather, how the world around them affected the artist themselves. The works swayed by such worldly influences, become an important article within the artists’ pieces. Subjectively, looking inward to express the artist psyche, artists within the Abstract Expressionism movement became a part of their paintings. Making the paintings more of a representation

As we look deeper into the historical contexts that came about in Germany during the 1920’s, Germany was confined due to the isolation the country was experiencing during World War I. During this solitude, the German government banned foreign films. German Expressionism was formed in result of the conclusion of World War I which compelled Germany to establish its own style of cinema. German Expressionist films produced in the Weimar Republic

German Expressionism is a kind of art that is supposed to make you feel something. When you look at a painting such as “The Scream” by Edvard Munch (1863-1944), you ask yourself what kind of emotions does this painting give you. A group of early 20th century German artists used the term “expressionism” to desribe the way they produced art. The title later turned into “German Expressionism”. This art movement was prominent during 1905-1925. In German it is known as “Die Brucke” and “Der Blaue Reiter”. Unlike Impressionism, its goals were not to reproduce the impression by the surrounding world, but to express the artists feelings on the surrounding world. Expressionism comes from the route word “expression” which