Adam Slade
Intro to Film
Dr. Nichols
11/17/16
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Book Report
At first glance the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Robert Wiene is a distorted, outdated horror movie that leaves the viewer completely and utterly confused. Once you analyze the film in its cultural context though, and expand your understanding on it’s meaning, you can see the movie reflects Germany’s Weimar Republic at the time of the movies release, and the Avant Garde movement of Expressionism which was a movement that “lasted roughly between 1910-1922” (pg. 35).
At the inception of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Germany’s economy and peoples had suffered a great deal due to the loss of WWI, and the post-war period alone led to 700,000 Germans
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The brilliance of the art isn’t in how magnificent it looks but more so in how the distorted buildings and objects make us challenge our own preconceived perception of reality. This was a huge theme in the movie as we realize at the end of the film that Francis is a crazy man and the entire frame was of his delusion with reality accusing Dr. Caligari to be a murderer when in fact he was the Insane Asylums Chief Medical Director of which Francis was a patient. This twist at the end of the film was meant to express that we are all biased to believe one perspective of reality (as we believed Francis until we discovered the truth), and that there are so many interpretation of reality we don’t appreciate or acknowledge. The expressionism cinema was meant as a rejection of reality/natural aesthetic. It’s aim was to defamiliarise the conventional vision and constructions we allow ourselves to adopt and it did all this by using depth of field, distortion, high contrast, exaggerated expression, and the emphasis on design and composition to create an uncanny environment.
In conclusion The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was a film that was meant to challenge our preconceptions of human nature and condition. As well as that it was meant as a form of expressionism which was also meant to allude to the recent events of Germany’s past, but make those in the present reflect on what had happened during WWI and act as a mirror image of the Democratic Weimer Republic it was filmed during which was portrayed as unstable and
Therefore he cannot change what he remembers into what he is told or reads in history. In this film Benigni plays on the reliability of memory and how ones context and experience of one event in time can be contrasted compared to another person’s experience. Benigni’s use of colour and lighting, or lack thereof is symbolic for the mood and tone he wishes to set for the audience, the first half of the film it is full of colour in the movie where as in the second half it is gloomy and dim lighting to highlight the horror and bleak attitude towards the holocaust. This is also symbolic for the ‘light’ being the history and truth of the event and the “dark” symbolic of the memory. The use of comedy throughout the film is a
However, as you watch the movie, it becomes clear that Goya had many intellectual flaws of the Romantic Movement. Such as his passion for the Duchess of Alba that haunted him for the rest of his life. I also realized that his deep desire for holding onto the past kept him from living in the present. What the artist needed to understand is the implication that he survived a deadly disease, not understanding this implication meant that he is possessed by fear and longing which is what showed in scenes where the Duchess of Alba would appear and he would lose himself. The fact that he was possessed by fear and longing, is what made his work so
When the film started I got a brief look at some of the paintings before the documentary actually went into Marla story. My first thoughts was someone is just trying to make money off this kid and she being forced to do these silly paintings. So I supposed I went into this movie with a somewhat negative view but after actually watching Marla work on a few paintings that view change. This made me come to the conclusion that, although all forms of art gives us a peek into the personality of the artist, Modern art seems to do it best. Modern art is usually nothing but raw emotion or powerful ideas driving the art.
This painting is an accurate representation of Italian Mannerist style, and has all the characteristics that defines it as so. A very important characteristic that helps us define a Mannerist style piece is contextual ambiguity, what makes us feel uncertain of what is going on throughout the entire piece and what the objects scattered mean to
Christopher Paolini is an American author who began writing the highly popular Inheritance fantasy book series at the early age of fifteen. The series consists of four novels called Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance. As a young writer, Christopher Paolini faced many challenges, which he overcame through hard work and perseverance. His life story and accomplishments are impressive and inspirational.
The style was known to be extremely spiritual, more realistic, and emotional. Catholics encouraged this art style because of their fight against the Protestant reformation hoping they it would return art to its traditional religious roots. Though I could not find any specific reason why Paolo made this art, I would assume it had something to do with the Protestant Reformation going around during this time. A social issue within the church which created a dynamic divide between those who believed salvation was granted by good works and those who believed salvation was attained by faith. The Protestants, the leaders of this movement who believed in salvation through faith, hoped to reform the Roman Catholic Church.
As mention before, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari possesses a unique visual style often associated with German Expressionism. Robert Wiene, a director of this film, wanted the style to be extravagant and experimental. Distorted art scenery is used in almost every scene of this film. Tents, pillars, doors, walls, chimneys, roofs, and some other scenic designs are all depicted in an out of balance, and the floor is also diagonal. Contrast between white and black is heavily used, and lighting emphasizes it.
Germany has made major economic advancement in their recovery efforts since World War II. With the surrender of the Nazis, allied forces occupied Germany, from 1945-1949, maintaining all policies that were emplaced by the Nazi Party, which resulted in an economic disaster. “There were price controls, rent controls, wage controls, and extensive general regulation of the economy. The net result was an economic disaster and the creation of near-famine conditions.” (Watkins) Even after the allied forces released its grasp and allowed Germany to retract the controls it caused major inflation previously suppressed by the controls.
The important of all this innovated aspect of the film is the best argument against Kracauer’s analysis, “The ‘story of the famous story’ has obscured the ultimate responsibility for this remarkable achievement. It was undoubtedly a happy combination of talents” (Robinson1997). The film history of Dr. Caligari is without a doubt what makes this film so transcendental. It is important to point out that Kracauer analysis also has a lot of factors that explained creation of the story in the film. Society are affected by war, so it is clear that the writers were influenced by terrible experience in the World War I.
Film takes photography to another level. Film, or the cinema “is objectivity in time.” For the first time with film “the image of things is likewise the image of their duration, change mummified as it were”. Bazin argues "only the impassive lens, stripping its object of all those ways of seeing it, those piled- up preconceptions, that spiritual dust and grime with which my eyes have covered it, are able to present it in all its virginal purity to my attention and consequently to my love.
And, as the shot of the glass breaking shows, there is beauty even in this lack of permanence and the destruction itself. The viewer is exposed to every facet of glasswork, which makes Sattler's love of its intricacy
Introduction Expressionist theatre was a German theatre tradition that was first established in the 1900s, has had a huge influence on later theatre traditions all around the world. The stage craft of it, was particulary important, for which later German practitioners such as Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Picator was strongly influenced, as well as the performance styles that they worked on, which is the Epic theatre and Physical theatre. Later on, this form was then spread from Europe to America, and impacted famous playwrights from Sean O’Casey to Eugene O’Neill, which they produced “The New Stagecraft” based on it. Expressionism in theatre contains a lot of various acting styles, symbolic performances “Not one Expressionism but a number of loosely
Abstract expressionist work remains widely put down by various parts of the public for lacking much of the fundamental roots and base features that other, more realism-focused styles present in a way that is more understandable at first glance. Unfortunately, many only view art as a pretty scene to gaze at or something to always be pleasant to the viewer’s eyes, without regard to intentions and processes that add so much more to any given piece. As times moves forward, there will always be a number of individuals who just don’t care for non objective work due to a lack of willingness to understanding it, even if they really do contain all of these deeper components, and sometimes even a significant degree more when one really takes time to analyze and take in all that each piece has to offer. Among many who stretch the boundaries and basic ideas of art, Jackson Pollock was one of the few who really acted as a leading force behind the abstract expressionist movement.
After its defeat in the First World War, Germany was left in a miserable state; there was a massive shortage of resources and thousands of German people died. The morale and spirits of those who survived were shattered, many were left in disarray and forced to deal with devastation in any way possible. Many artists, including creators of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, served in the war and were forever changed after witnessing the horrors of war. The effects of the war caused them to turn inward and seek ways to try to explain their emotional states. A key movement that came out of Germany is this period was German Expressionism.
Introduction More possibilities of visuality are observed these days through special digital effects that are used in the films. These visualities and special digital effects are surprising the audience. These technological advancements are not something new within the cinema industry as an art. Cinema has always been an art, which stood and grew through the technology. However, even from the time of entrance of the first experimental movie, distinct groups had a contradictory attitude towards the situation.