German Expressionism has influenced thousands of films and filmmakers since the art movement began in the 1920’s. It is known for its dismissal of the standard conventions of Western filmmaking for a more off-kilter style of storytelling. Some film historians consider Metropolis (1927) to be one of the most groundbreaking German Expressionist films ever made. However, there are many instances throughout Metropolis in which it deviates from the eccentric Expressionist style. There are many obvious occurrences of expressionism during Metropolis, for example the opening machine sequence, but conventional Western techniques are also common in the film.
A protest against the growing naturalism in the arts that occurred in nineteenth century Germany, at its very root it is against naturalism. The original idea of Expressionism was to present the subjective perspective to the audience, which means the work is distorted to evoke moods or ideas from the audience. Expressionism plays had different context or story lines over time, but the idea was very similar, it was about the conflict between sexes, generations and classes. It was to show freedom against authority, after all the slaughter and killing after World War one, expressionism theatre became a way for people to express themselves. “Men screams from the depths of his soul” .
Culture in the Third Reich National Socialism typified much more than a political movement that has been portrayed since the end of WWII. The Nazi leaders that came to power in January 1933 seeked the political authority to alter or improve the Versailles Treaty, and also wanted to reclaim and expand upon the land they had lost after the loss in World War I. They also found it necessary to manipulate the cultural landscape. They sought to return the country to its more traditional “Germanic” and “Nordic” values, to toll the Jewish, foreign, and degenerate influences that destroyed the German culture. In doing so they sought to shape a racial community which would coordinate with the Nazi ideals.
3. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) Metropolis is an important example of German Expressionism and of early science fiction. A great inquiry on future of humanity, a critique of society, a prominent dystopian film. Fritz Lang’s remarkable work has dazzlingly designed sets, costumes and unpredictable characters. Beneath its magnificent artwork and set design, the film tells the eternal conflict between oppressed and oppressor.
Also as component of German Expressionism, the use of wide angle and long shots really gives the viewer an opportunity to not just view the characters but the overall picture as well. In essence, it gives this haunting feature along with the sense of realism and the expressionism (this is most evident in the interiors of Count Orlok's Castle) that gives the film its mesmerizing visual power. The camera also does a great job of using the light to elevate the darkness of the town and its people. Towards the close of the film, there is one scene that cannot go unnoticed, which shows a perfect example of German
His cheek blushed with pink when he smiled, to sum up, he looked like a male version of Princess Doll. No wonder if he hardly found his place among his neighbor boys who were born with coarse features, broad shoulder, and sunburned skin. When he was at the junior high, boys and girls started to call him beautiful. They said he had the face of an airbrushed model in a fashion magazine. It should have
German Expressionism often stressed important ‘lessons’ and, in his play, Dürrenmatt uses expressionist techniques in his stagecraft, writing style and the distorted reality of the setting to emphasize this lesson. Dürrenmatt’s description of the stagecraft within his play reflect principal methods used in German Expressionism. In German Expressionism, the scenery is left ambiguous as to not define a specific location. Durrenmatt’s describes the stage scenery as “sketchily drawn” (Duerrenmatt, 1) and “just a bare indication” (36) which create the image of a faint, anonymously portrayed town. This means that Dürrenmatt is giving the illusion of a commonplace that could be anywhere in Europe which highlights his idea that corruptibility plagues everyone.
The Gothic Movement heavily influenced Emily Dickinson’s poetry. Literature often reflects the writer’s emotions about an event that are taking place at that time period. For example, the Gothic Movement appeared in the late 18th century as a branch of the Romantic Movement within the arts. The Gothic Movement was in reaction to the Enlightenment, which emphasized individualism rather than tradition, and was significant in this period. However, some writers found this too optimistic, and therefore unrealistic, and in reaction, created the Gothic Movement.
Gothic literature is the succession of romantic literature and a genre that particularly covers the period of time from approximately 1764 to 1840 although it has been prominent until this day. It emerged in England but expeditiously spread to France and Germany to finally pervade almost the whole world. As Jerrold Hogle writes: …it exploded in the 1790s (the decade Walpole died) throughout the British Isles, on the continent of Europe, and briefly in the new United States, particularly for a female readership, so much so that it remained a popular, if controversial, literary mode throughout what we still call the Romantic period in European literature. (Hogle 2002: 1) To the most outstanding and representative writers from these times belong:
He seems in the beginning and throughout most of the story as nervous and timid. He is so timid that when he announced there was a troll in the school he fainted. After a wile we learn that he is a lying conniver. 6. Stereotypical: Hermione Granger - Hermione is stereotyped as a nerd because she is very smart and a math genius.