In the second year of my A-Levels Film Studies course, I had to complete a research project related to the topic of 'shocking cinema.'
I decided to look at German expressionistic films because I had recently discovered silent cinema and was especially drawn to the horror films of silent cinema.
I focused on three films: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919), The Golem: How He Came Into The World (1915) and Nosferatu (1922).
I then produced a presentation outline, a catalogue of referenced materials and an overall evalution of putting the project together.
I have here combined the three submission components together into one blog post.
Research Project Presentation: The German Expressionism Aesthetic
The First World War’s influence upon the German Horror Film
Presenter:
In the earliest years of cinema leading up to the First World War Germany provided little contribution to the growing medium. Early German cinema consisted mostly of a shambles of films bought from other countries. Germany, however, would establish a shocking and lasting effect on the whole of cinema in the years immediately following the conclusion of the First World War. (Item 6) In my research project I will ask how the events of World War One influenced the German expressionistic film movement as portrayed in the German horror films of the pre 1930 period. Specific textual reference will be made to Robert Weine’s 1919 classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari as well as Paul Wergener’s 1920 The Golem: How he came into the world and F.W. Murnau’s 1922 Nosferatu.
Video clip: Scene with Cesare approaching Jane upon the bed (Item 1)
Presenter:
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari, considered by many to be the first horror film and the quintessential German expressionistic presentation, aided in bringing the German cinema to prominence in the years following the Great War. The film is notable for its distorted sets produced in the vein of German expressionism, thus, promoting a very intimate film of expression that plays heavily on the emotions of the spectator. (Item 5)
Projector: Screen grabs will show various iconic images from Caligari (item 1)
Presenter:
When viewing Caligari one is immediately taken by an all too apparent feeling of unease. The hard and broken transparency of the sets promotes a crooked and confused and unreal world one which mirrored an increasingly frustrated Germany at the time. The First World War, by all accounts, had been a wasteful and pointless war putting the world long after into a state of social trauma (Item 13). Germany especially suffered becoming distraught both through its society and its economy. Caligari can be viewed as a visual representation of the social turmoil that Germany was experiencing (Item 4). The slanted, sharp and noticeably bleak sets present a once serene Germany which now festers as deranged and dysfunctional due to the horror underpinning its disposition. (Item 11)
Video clip: Climatic scene with Francis in the insane asylum with all the characters walking distraught about him (item 1)
Presenter:
The expressionistic art aesthetic was an attempt to place man at the centre of the universe and Caligari conveys these psychological ideologies of the War stricken world, albeit in a pessimistic fashion. Philosophical and scientific enquiry in the previous century had established further knowledge into the realms of evolution and religion. The concept of God began to diminish as mankind claimed his own destiny through the advancement of technology and Darwin’s evolutionist belief and theory. The dawn of the Twentieth century promoted only further promise in the human adventure. The Great War, however, put a stark and bleak end to this as the world was suddenly struck by unconceivable technological and human horrors (Item 9). For the first time the world saw rotting corpses riddled with bullets and barbed wire wreaked together with the stench of disease and death. Battles, such as the Somme, presented mankind being destroyed by the very technology they had engineered to better themselves. In Murnau’s Nosferatu the benevolent Count Orlok is a plague carrying figure who seeks to corrupt and destroy everything his web engulfs. As with the very nature of War and technology he descends upon the rural town of Wisborg and brings with him the initiative for change with the prospect for dominion. (Item 12) Murnau presents the dark psyche of Humanity; something which Freud had only recently brought to light (Item 7). Orlok is the embodiment of progress; Humanities hunger to survive, to grow and to indulge their desires. He is the startling figure and personification of man’s subconscious concerns and worries. He is himself a Vampire, someone who survives only by consuming the lives and resources of others. (Item 8)
Video clip: Sequence of sailor breaking into Count Orlok’s coffins with rats streaming out; the rising up out of coffin and then causing havoc upon ship. (Item 3)
Presenter:
Like Orlok man has an urgency to consume and in what was becoming an increasing age and world of consumerism Humanity was reliant on this hunger (Item 6). A hunger that would lead humanity into a state of decay as poverty grew and the climate warmed. Orlok’s physical appearance is deliberately reminiscent of a rat; the Count, by his very nature, has become disfigured and gruesome he is the visual ensemble of Humanities nature turned in upon itself and transfigured into something destructive and something ugly (Item 9). Nosferatu, therefore, can be seen as allegorical in its conveyance of a starkly pessimistic view of Germany’s own social toil unto the rest of the world. The world around began to redevelop whereas Germany was left to rot and decay into plague and economic disaster. Count Orlok then is the embodiment of all that is resentful and angered and bleak about German society and which Adolf Hitler would soon enrage further. (Item 12)
Presenter:
All German horror films of this period deal with an impending doom; a horrific disaster that will soon befall the characters of the narrative. In Caligari it is the madness of Francis, In Nosferatu it is Orlok and the plagues he unleashes on Wisborg and in Paul Wergener’s 1920 film of Jewish mysticism it is the Golem. In the third of three films made about the mythological figure the Golem’s origin story is revealed. The stars forebode the warning of a great calamity that will soon befall the Jewish community of the 16th century Prague Ghetto. Therefore, the Rabbi Loew constructs a saviour from clay and once installed with life the Golem is put to work. But as with all tools and forms of technology they can be used for great harm as well as great good.
Video clip: Sequence where the Golem is instructed to go and seize Miriam but ends up throwing Miriam’s lover off the roof – sequence should climax with this action (Item 2).
Presenter:
The Golem is technology gone wrong; it was created to protect the Jewish community but in many ways was the catalyst for its destruction. To put it simply the Golem is a self fulfilling prophecy: Humanities urge to better themselves but the process of which always detracts something from the overall outcome (Item 10). As with the First World War this view can be starkly realised and in many ways The Golem can be seen as a reminder and warning to another Jewish community that a new impending doom was coming as a result of the First World War (Item 13).
This impending doom was present in all the early German horror films as it was a reflection, though the art form of German Expressionism, of the anxiety that Germany felt towards the rest of the world, and as result it filtered throughout the films it produced. Dark themes concerned with the mutilation of humanity and the corruption of the soul: the madness inside the cabinet, Orlok’s undying urge and the Golem’s unbounded strength. All themes that fascinated a growing world and all themes brought about because the world could not and would not stop growing.
Research Project Catalogue
Films
Item 1:The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Cabinet Des Dr Caligari, Germany, 1919, Dir. Robert Weine).
This film is considered to be a landmark in film history as it is the film that gave a sudden push for German Expressionism in the movies. It was also quite unique because of its complex narrative and explorations into the Human psyche.
Item 2:The Golem: How He Came Into The World (Der Golem, Germany 1920, Dir. Paul Wegener)
Considered to be the best version, of the three that were made around the Golem myth and by Wegener, this film is a perfect example of German Expressionism set design. It also conveys the bleakness of the German Urban landscape in the very stark and gritty design of the Jewish ghetto.
Item 3:Nosferatu (Germany 1922, Dir. F. W. Murnau)
A perfect example of cinema at its darkest, Nosferatu is an insight to just how bleak the world was in the 1920s. The film’s narrative offers little hope and contains countless occult references throughout. This film can also been seen as a major landmark as it would greatly inspire many films to come in the following decades.
Books
Item 4:The Rough Guide to Horror Movies (Alan Jones, Rough Guides ltd, Penguin, 2005)
This aided greatly in my research as it presents all there is to know about the horror genre in a nut in the shell fashion. The book provided easy and coherent access to a vast and vibrant genre.
Item 5:Horror: The Definitive Guide to the Cinema of Fear (James Marriot & Kim Newman, Andre Deutsch Limited, 2006)
A highly detailed book covering all the decades of horror cinema from its birth right up to the present day. Providing insightful information on perhaps every horror film ever made as well as articles on issues concerned with the genre, such as the occult, this book inspired my presentation greatly. Also Provided much insight upon German Expressionism in the movies.
Item 6:Silent Movies: The Birth of Film and the Triumph of Movie Culture (Peter Kobel and the Library of Congress, Hachette Book Group USA, 2007)
In many ways the most definitive book on the silent cinema, produced by the library of congress, it gives an over view of the entire silent filmmaking era. This was especially useful to me as it allowed me to place the genre of horror into the context of its time. The book also allowed insightful information on the growth of the early German filmmaking industry.
A reference book that essentially contains all the need to know information on films and their makers, from the birth of cinema to the present day. This book was useful when I needed to review dates or the career of a film maker, such as F.W. Murnau.
Documentaries
Item 8:Universal Horror (Dir. Kevin Brownlow, Universal Home Video, 2004)
An enjoyably easy introduction to the genre of horror in its youth and this informed me simply of the major films and their inspirations in the genre as well as how they would later influence other films.
Item 9:Kingdom of Shadows: The Rise of the Horror Film (Dir. Bret Wood, Kino International Corp. 1998)
Providing a highly rich context and historical setting to the films it explores, this documentary allows the aesthetical workings behind the early horror films and the German expressionistic movement to be revealed. Through relevant examples from a whole variety of horror films of the pre-1930s the documentary determines why these films have the power to continually frighten and intrigue.
Item 10:The Kingdom of Ghosts: Paul Wergener’s The Golem and the Expressionistic Tradition (Dir. R Dixon Smith, Eureka Video, 2007)
As this documentary was largely focused upon The Golem it allowed its aesthetic qualities to be revealed and established just how the film fits into and was inspired by the Germen expressionistic film movement.
Audio Commentaries
Item 11: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Mike Bird, Eureka Video, 2000)
This audio commentary provided me with much explanation of the film’s narrative and its various links to the psychological studies of Freud and other contemporaries of the time. The commentary also went to great lengths to explain how current events, such as the First World War, would have played an influence on the film.
This audio commentary brought much light to the mysteries that shrouded the production of Nosferatu as well as the various occult intricacies that the film contains. The audio commentary also laid out insight to the inspiration for the film aside from the original Dracula novel.
Websites
Item 13: Wikipedia article on the First World War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_war_one)
While largely unused, this source was imperative in establishing that my comments about the First World War were correct. The article also gave some insight to the social trauma the First World War caused around the world after its conclusion.
Unused Material
CINEMA - Year by Year: 1894 – 2005 (Robyn Karney, DK, 2005)
While this book was insightful the information it held was incredibly repetitive of the previous sources I had researched, therefore, because of this I did not feel that it warranted being referenced as a true source.
A History of Horror (Eli Roth, Neil Marshall, James Wan and Greg Mclean, Total Film – issue 134, 2007)
While this magazine article included good points, relevant facts and views from the filmmaker Eli Roth I did not feel the information was providing anything new to what I had already collected and included within the presentation
Research Project Evaluation
In my research project I have been looking into the German horror films of the pre 1930s period; specifically I have been exploring how these films were influenced by the horrors of the First World War. Firstly, I think it should be said that I am happy with the subject I chose to explore. I never considered an alternative as I have quite a passion for the early horror films and because of this felt that this seasoning would add to the overall flourishing of my outcome. The sources I selected were a mixture of books, documentaries, commentaries and articles all of which I had previously explored and, therefore, could use to my advantage as they could be easily navigated and dissected for the purpose of my presentation. The process of researching this presentation also allowed me to further explore and discover and enrich my own understanding of a subject I take great joy of looking into.
The actual writing of my presentation I found to be somewhat daunting as there were three options to pick from. However, I picked the script option as I felt it would be easier and more effective for me to lay down exactly what I would say opposed to a compressed version, which I feel would lack clarity or real insight into the subject. I am happy with the outcome of my presentation and while it can not be said that it does not explore its relative themes: World War One, German Expressionism, the German film industry the horror genre and the human condition on a vast scale it does allow, what I consider to be, a brief and insightful glimpse into these areas. I feel that various aesthetic values are touched upon in the three films I explored and in addition to this the influences from The Great War and its aftermath of social trauma and economic decline.
The presentation is not as open ended or as eye opening as I would have liked it to be and by this I mean, while I did say enough of what I believe, I did not ask enough questions and allow the audience to explore the subject from there own view point of personal beliefs. If I had done this then it would have supplied the presentation, from the viewpoint of the spectator, with a much more vast approach as it would have opened it up for the audience to place their own ideas within it and thus engage the audience to wrestle with the opinions. However, saying this, while I did not directly or clearly address the audience to question with or against me, I think that this process would come naturally to any keen spectator with an interest in the subject I was exploring. For in my presentation many points are touched upon and yet at the end no specific conclusion is provided, therefore, what I have been saying is left open ended and applicable for the spectator to come to their own conclusion.
A Moving Picture is the second film essay I wrote for my A-Levels Film Studies course. I wrote this textual analysis all the way back in 2007 and its focus is a scene from Stanley Kubrick's Dr Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb.
I have performed some minor editing and corrections on my very early and crude writing style. I have also added screenshots from the examined scene to further illustrate the content; as well as a YouTube video of the scene itself.
A Moving Picture
A black comedy directed by Stanley Kubrick, Dr Strangelove or: How I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, released in 1963 is a film which shows the funnier side of nuclear combat. The film is a platform upon which Kubrick satirizes governments, politicians, military figures and nuclear war; he shows the ridiculous and, at times, almost childlike side to it. However, even for a film that is a satire, it does contain an interesting visual style which seems to have grounding and be deliberately like still photography. A scene which demonstrates this use of still photography very effectively is the third Ripper/Mandrake scene of the film. The scene features the characters General Jack D. Ripper, played by Sterling Hayden, and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, played by Peter Sellers.
The scene last for 4 minutes and 42 seconds and consists of only five different shots and has only nine cuts between these shots. This gives the scene a very slow pace, yet a great amount of uneasiness is created in this time. This is the scene which this essay will examine and this analysis will focus on the cinematography, the mise-en-scene (all that is located within the frame) and how the movement or lack of it is used to create meaning.
The scene begins with a long shot of a half-lit hallway. It appears dark closer to the camera and lighter further from the camera; only half the hallway is illuminated and this, combined with information that was supplied before in a previous scene, suggests to the spectator that the building is mostly deserted.
Group Captain Mandrake then enters the shot as he comes onto the hallway and heads for Colonel Ripper’s office. He is wielding a radio which is playing the only music that is present within the entire scene and it is optimistic and euphoric music which acts as a complete contrast to the bleak realization which Mandrake will soon get from General Ripper.
This music is also the only connection this military and political world, which the film demonstrates, has to the outside world of the everyday citizen. Like that world and the music, Mandrake is also the only piece of hope that this nuclear war can be stopped; only he does not realize it yet.
The layout of General Ripper’s office is established through a long shot and the camera shows Colonel Ripper at his desk in the foreground and in the background the audience sees Mandrake enter the room. The cinematography of this scene is a clear example of the still photography technique which Kubrick was very skilled in and uses throughout the film.
This shot lasts for 2 minutes and 56 seconds without any cuts whatsoever; the only movement that occurs in the shot is that created by the actors. The camera's view has the effect of a fly on the wall because that is effectively what it is as it watches these two characters interact.
The camera is positioned in such a way that it is located in the right position and for the right amount of time to allow the audience to examine and explore Ripper's office. The mise-en-scene of this scene can be interpreted as such that General Ripper’s office can be seen as a representation of himself and the slow deterioration of his mind. This conclusion can be drawn from the fact that whenever the audience sees General Ripper it is always in his office.
This can further be demonstrated in the way that the office deteriorates further and further throughout the film as it becomes constantly under fire and this constant bombardment and deterioration is mirrored in the way Mandrake keeps insisting for the three letter code group and by the way that the pressure of oncoming defeat makes Ripper’s self-belief slowly fall to its eventual end with his suicide: “I don’t know how well I could stand up to the torture." Also, the only other person we see in the office is Mandrake and this is symbolic because Mandrake is the only person who Ripper allows to get inside his head in the way he allows Mandrake in and then locks him in the office in this scene.
In this scene, though, General Ripper’s office appears still relatively normal for as such is his mental state; it appears tidy and organized very much like General Ripper. Another connection is the way, like Ripper, this room has more beneath the surface. This can be seen both in Ripper but also in his office in the way there is a gun hidden under a file on the desk and later the spectator sees there is a machine gun hidden in Ripper’s golf bag.
The office, like Ripper, has a much more dangerous side underneath. The lighting of the room also reflects Ripper’s character in that the lighting appears dim and in the room creates unusual apparitions of shadows. This gives it a very film noir quality which creates a foreboding uneasy feeling and suggests to the audience that in this scene they will see the other side to General Ripper.
One of the reasons for why Kubrick has positioned the camera over Ripper’s shoulder is because it hides Rippers eyes from the audience and in doing so hides his true intentions. For up until now the details of what exactly the cause of what has been happening are very vague, yet this is the scene which identifies the main catalyst of the events that have taken place and the events which will soon take place.
Yet in this 3-minute shot of the film Kubrick hides Ripper’s eyes, even when ripper gets up from his desk and he is facing camera his eyes are still hidden on account of the lighting which makes them appear shadowed under Ripper’s brow.
Yet, saying this, his actions do tell the spectator some of what is really going through his head. Examples include when Mandrake first comes in and General ripper sits slowly back in his chair and begins tapping his pencil against his desk as if this simple action represents his mind considering the next course of action.
However, the reason for why Ripper’s eyes are hidden and for why this shot last for so long are done for two reasons. Firstly, it adds to the overall tension of the scene because if a shot is held for too long it makes the audience feel uneasy because they do not know what is happening outside of that shot. However, the main reason for why this is done is because it adds so much more emphasis to the following series of the same close-up shot which profiles General Ripper’s face.
Due to the fact that the last shot lasted for so long this new shot as well as General Ripper’s intense face jump out at the spectator. This new shot followed soon after by one of Ripper exposing the gun, which was hidden under some files on his desk, finally makes the audience realize what General Ripper’s true intentions are as the penny drops.
Kubrick then continues to show the full extent of Ripper’s madness through his use of still cinematography. For in this new profile shot of ripper, which occasionally cuts to a profile shot of Mandrake but is mostly focused on Ripper, Kubrick presents the true madness which the audience now sees is feeding through the clenched teeth and through the black eyes.
Kubrick has positioned the camera so that it tilts up at him and makes him appear large and important. The fact that the camera is tilted tells the audience that ripper is not entirely in contact with reality whereas the fact that Mandrakes profile shot is level tells the spectator that he is in contact with reality.
The tilted camera, though, most importantly emphasizes the heavy shadowing round his eyes that hold a bold intent which culminates in an unstoppable madness which shows the spectator how dangerous General Ripper actually is. This shot of Ripper appears almost as an biographical image that would be on the front page of General Ripper’s Biography for the image has that kind of composition and set-up which seems to capture his true personality which, in this case, is a very dangerous personality.
This scene, just as with the rest of the film, really could just be considered to be a slideshow of photographic images which Stanly Kubrick has taken and then cut together one after the other.
Dr Strangelove really is a moving picture yet Kubrick uses this stillness of cinematography to his advantage because it further emphasizes the mise-en-scene of his film but more importantly creates an eeriness which completely mirrors and captures the reality of real life.
Kubrick makes his shots last for so long because it allows the audience time to examine and to think about who really the bad guys are, who can you trust but most importantly he allows the audience time to look at what seemingly is a terrifying prospect but then shows the spectator the funnier side.
Take the final seconds of the scene this essay has been analyzing the audience is watching General Ripper’s profile shot and his terrifyingly intense face give a speech to Mandrake but then like all good jokes it has its punch line: “The international communist conspiracy to sap and in-purify all of our precious bodily fluids!”
Then the spectator sees just how pompous General Ripper really is.
Point of view is very much at the heart of the focus of the Breaking Cinema podcast I have been developing since the beginning of 2015. It was originally its own project, but I have since incorporated it into my MTA (Masters of Transdisciplinary Application) portfolio and, after many false starts, as expressed in the 17 test episodes already recorded, I have decided on a limited-run of 10 feature length episodes which will utilise an experimental documentary storytelling format to constructively explore the subjects of film, media and psychology from a lucid and lateral, but highly entertaining and quirky perspective.
I even have a very large episode outline document written for the 10 episodes and, alongside the study component of my MTA portfolio, I am currently in the process of recording the material for these episodes.
The episode outline document.
It is called Breaking Cinema, but ‘Breaking Blindness’ would be a more accurate name for what I am really trying to achieve with it. Ignorance was a topic I explored in my BA (Hons) theoretical dissertation and ignorance in general is something which has always bothered me about human beings and the world at large.
However, I more so have a problem with the lack of education on the subject of ignorance and how to go about identifying it and then constructively producing a positive outcome from it – this is what I am aiming to achieve with this podcast and cinema just happens to be a very good means of handling the topic.
My own issues with ignorance are tied up with my passions of cinema – hence the name of Breaking Cinema - and in order to thoroughly outline the mechanisms which produce ignorance, you have to unravel human psychology and confront the individual and/or collective point of view which can produce ignorance in the first place. This is the subject of Episode 1: My First Education in which I present a very personal presentation of my biases and my prejudices and how these are reflected in my preferences of cinema.
This podcast is actually a very personal project in which my point of view plays a strong role and is heavily critiqued over the course of the 10 episodes. However, the point of overcoming ignorance is to see beyond a singular point of view, which is precisely why I am exploring and presenting other point of views as a part of the project.
Like my MTA portfolio, the podcast is very diverse in its focus of topics and it very much ties into the various concentrations of my MTA portfolio. Each episode has a different focus and format presentation, but all the episodes build on one-another and all come together to present a constructively unified exploration of how cinema and media as a whole play a very revealing, strengthening and defeating role in the human psychology of ignorance.
The podcast draws heavily on the thinking of Marshall McLuhan, a man who was ahead of his time. I have just finished reading Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man in which McLuhan proposes that every form of human invention from the blade to the television is a form of media and that all media are extensions of the human being. In short, this is a ground-breaking work in which McLuhan puts his finger on the pulse of every technological reformation and automation we are experiencing today… and he wrote this back in the 1960s!
The podcast is very much tied up with my endorsement of Constructive Film Studies and the podcast itself is called Breaking Cinema, i.e. breaking away from cinema, so it is studying the subject of film, but starting with the spectator, not the film, and examining it from their point of view, so as to expand the scope of the discipline to include a broader psychological and subjective perspective, because it is in the psychology of human beings that we can find the underpinnings and deeper correlated complexities of the collective entity we have come to refer to as ‘cinema’. The films themselves can only tell you so much, the films plus the spectators can tell you a hell of a lot more... and this is when you start to see a bigger picture forming.
“Films are not 2D images on a screen, they are not isolated entities, they are us. They exist through us, the expand through us and they are everywhere now. They are much broader, bigger entities and if you want to study them, if you want to create them, if you want to do something with them, you can not ignore that. That’s the point of this podcast, that’s at the heart of Breaking Cinema.”
Ultimately, it is about presenting an entertaining and informative presentation which will enrich and, hopefully, widen the point of view of the listener. This is precisely the reason why I am doing this project as an audio podcast, opposed to a series of YouTube video presentations, because presenting this topic - as well as the visual topic of cinema - in an audio format makes you think and visualise it in a completely different way!
As I have discovered from the many podcasts I have listened to, it makes the brain of the listener work harder and will force them to use their own imaginings and life experiences to illustrate the presentation of the episodes. As a result of this, it will be a much more subjective and relevant exploration to the point of view of each and every listener/spectator.
"Radio is provided with its cloak of invisibility, like any other medium. It comes to us ostensibly with person-to-person directness that is private and intimate, while in more urgent fact, it is really a subliminal echo chamber of magical power to touch remote and forgotten chords. All technological extensions of ourselves must be numb and subliminal, else we could not endure the leverage exerted upon us by such extension. Even more than telephone or telegraph, radio is that extensions of the central nervous system, that aboriginal mass medium, the vernacular tongue? The crossing of these two most intimate and potent of human technologies could not possibly have failed to provide some extraordinary new shapes for human experience.”
- Marshall McLuhan, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, 1966:263-4
There were a lot of loose threads left hanging in my theoretical dissertation and the first 10 episodes pick up those threads and tie them up as a collective entity, in regards to the wider concerns of my MTA portfolio.
There is a lot of potential to do more episodes, but, for the time being, the 10 already outlined more-or-less cover what I want to cover. I am just focused on getting these 10 episode produced.
Slowly, but surely the Breaking Cinema podcast is coming together!
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