GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM:

Objective: To explore what influenced German Expressionist film.

• The monster, usually seen as something outside the self in horror plots, really comes from within
• The subconscious creates for itself another, a monster, upon which to blame shortcomings

Context - Post First World War Germany:

• Many Germans felt they had not lost the war but had been cheated and were looking for people to blame:
• The Kaiser
• The new Government
• The Communist
• The Jews

• Threat to social order - dissatisfaction with the privileges enjoyed by the armed forces and aristocracy
• Huge debts due to the cost of the war ($40 Billion - in modern terms $11000 Billion) added to the already struggling economy
• Food shortages had been so bad that 'Germans ate dogs, crows, zoo animals and rodents'

The Seeds of Evil - The Rise of Hitler:

• After the war the German government was in turmoil:
• The Kaiser had abdicated
• There was no stable government
• Dissatisfied citizens were open to radicalization

• Hitler was just one of the extremist who began to gain power and influence over this time

Some notable features of German Expressionist films are:

• Unexpected camera angles
• Stark contrast of light and shadow
• Artificial, stylized sets
• Overtly theatrical (over the top) acting style
• Heavy make-up

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari:

• Directed by Robert Wiene, 1920
• Starts the expressionist movement
• Studio based
• Used stylized settings, distorted buildings pained onto canvas backdrops
• Critics announced that expressionism had found its way into cinema