“Triumph of the Will”

“Triumph of the Will” at the time of its release was a propaganda film. While it was documenting Nazi rallies at Nuremburg, it was severely biased towards the Nazi party. While most documentaries are by nature biased, This film portrayed Adolf Hitler as a god figure. Shots taken from below him make it seem he is above the rest of the german people, and the use of music makes him appear to be a savior. During the scene where Hitler is at a ceremony, the person introduces him says, "You are Germany! When you act, the nation acts, when you judge, the people judge!" He goes on to say how the people of Germany will be with him through the good and bad, almost like Germany is marrying Hitler. As Hitler is flown in to Nuremburg, there is a shot of him getting off the plane and everybody acts as if he is a superstar. Everybody is going crazy, and it reminded me a lot of Beatlemania where people would go crazy when the Beatles landed in their city. The film obviously was portraying the Nazi party and Hitler as good rather than bad, but to such an extent that it makes the film a propaganda film rather than a documentary. To make this a documentary, Leni Riefenstahl could have shot the scenes without bias. This means filming Hitler in a way that does not make him look like a god, as well as filming the Nazi party in a neutral light, rather than a super positive one. I suspect if Leni Riefenstahl had done these things she would have been killed, so I understand why she filmed the movie as it is.

Propaganda!

From my POV, in the film Triumph of the Will by director Leni Riefenstahl, there are copious camera angles that portray Hitler in a way that is godlike and beautiful. The idea of making any political figure is not dangerous, literally, but the repercussions of such actions might be viewed as such. But what is to be done? Communities could not choose exclusively political figures that are ugly. The movie not only makes Hitler seem attractive, stern, and kind, but also portrays the German villages and country as beautiful; Hitler is metaphorically married to Germany midway through the movie and so there is another connection of beauty made in Hitler's direction. But as I said before, making political figures beautiful is not dangerous in itself, it is the actions they commit once they have been put into a position of power.

Triumph of the Will is most definitely a propaganda film. By definition, propaganda is "information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation,etc." The film is openly for Hitler. The idea spread by the movie is that Hitler is the most beautiful, godlike, stern, smart, and loving individual Germany has ever laid eyes on and he is the greatest and most fit man to rule. I would not, however, argue that this movie is not a documentary. It seems that all of the things that happened in the film were merely being documented and if there were any cuts or extra scenes added, they appeared to be just for the aural aesthetics and clarity. I don't think that it would have been possible to make this film a documentary and not a propaganda film. There is always a hint of bias anywhere in any creative product. The only way would have been to have it be made by a filming and editing robot. In my opinion, every film is made to spread an idea about something. Every film is therefore, by definition, a propaganda film.


-Matthew

The way it was

From the way that we are watching the film, I consider “Triumph of the Will” to be a documentary. If we were German citizens during World War II, then I would label this a propaganda film. However, for the purposes of us watching this film for education, it would be a documentary. While documentaries typically have a narrator, this film is not the typical run of the mill movie so I don’t expect it to meet the unspoken requirements of a documentary. The film glorifies the Nazi movement, tricking the German public that the Nazi’s were actually about spreading good rather than evil. Little tidbits, like Leni Reifenstahl lowering the camera angle below Adolf Hitler’s face and showing how the public goes crazy when Hitler acknowledges them, shows how powerful Hitler’s presence was even though he was not in complete power yet. It's also amazing to think of all the edits that Leni went through, combining live with filmed footage. The music that was chosen really added to how "beneficial and great" that Nazi movement will be, while in reality we all know what truly happened. And While I don’t agree that the movie makes the Nazi movement look “beautiful”, I think it does portray a positive outcome of wealth and prosperity while the people of Germany were very weak and susceptible and just wanted their nation to prosper like they did previously. The potential repercussions of this misguided vision would be what happened in Germany. The public was taken by surprise as to what the Nazi’s were doing and were so scared  to be killed than rebelled and basically let nature take its course. So many innocent people were killed, while it all could have been prevented. 

Blog Assignment !

For Monday, (for full credit) I want you to post on one or more of the following questions:

Describe the film techniques that Leni Reifenstahl uses in Triumph of the Will.

Specifically, how do these films employ the use of music, camera angels, edits?

Some people argue that “Triumph of the Will” is a propaganda film while others argue that is a documentary because it was made up of “actual” footage of the Nazi Nuremburg rallies. How would you categorize it and why?

If you argue that "Triumph of the Will" was a propaganda film, then what could Leni Riefenstahl have done differently in order for this to be a documentary? Would it have been possible for this to be a mere documentary and not a propaganda film?

Many people argue that “Triumph of the Will” aesteticized politics: it made the Nazi movement look beautiful. Does it make the Nazi movement look beautiful? Is this dangerous? Why?

This film is also good launching point for two of the questions that we will discuss in Unit 3: Manifesting Vision:

What are the potential repercussions of misguided vision?

What are the potential repercussions of misguided action, or of inaction?

CITY LIES

Sifting through the pictures available, I am drawn to one that says “City Lie” in western style lettering. The original sign must have said “City Life” since there is a large gap where it appears an extra letter should be. The words are arranged on two wooden boards parallel to one another mounted on a grey wall. They have neon coils inside of them visible because the red facing has been shattered off the surface There are only a few jagged edges of the original red letter-front present.

I believe that this piece is making a statement about society and popular belief. Within the cultural metropolis that is a city, there is an attitude or vibe that comes along with it. For example, they say the people of New York never sleep and that southerners are laid back. The photograph, to me, aims to destroy these notions by knocking out the F in life to say “City Lie”.

I believe that the photographer was trying to imply that we should follow personal intuition and go against the grain of what is normal or popular. 

American Teenager

Described: I see a photo with a somewhat hi-resolution; there are no pixels to be seen. But they're obviously all there. There is a man, most likely in his early twenties, holding a skateboard and standing in front of a grey wall. The wall is colored a darker grey in a rectangle around the upper left half of his torso, including his face. The picture is from the waist up, for a portrait feel, I assume. The man has a buzz cut, two earrings, one on each of his lobes, and then an additional on his cartilage. He has blue eyes, a shaven face, and bleach blond eyebrows. He is wearing a bright blue-green wristband and has a tattoo on his opposite arm that is not in the viewer's complete sight. He is also wearing what looks like a cotton or cotton blend maroon and baby blue plaid long-sleeve shirt with a white crew neck underneath. The skateboard he is holding across his chest with crossed arms has clouds and a hand outlined in blue on it. It has a dark graphic on the bottom, but it is indistinguishable.

Analyzed: It doesn't seem like the artist wanted the photo to be visually appealing or unappealing for any particular reason. The photos, as I read, were intended to create character. The main interest in this photo and rest were the facial expressions, posture, and wear. But, however unintentionally, the skateboard creates movement as a line through the photo from the bottom to the top and then leads into the top of the rectangle. The colors are bright and for lack of better words; go with each other. The skateboard is roughed up and looks like it has been used quite a bit. The composition is centered around the torso and face to exclude as much posture information as possible, I suppose. This is to make the viewer focus on less to get the same amount of information.

Interpreted: The artist created the photo(s) in an effort to create these characters for a project. I believe the object was to see how much you can know about a person without actually meeting or knowing the person.  He does a lot of portraits like these for what seems like the same purpose, but in much different situations and social climates. In another he chose to do all of the photos in black and white for what I assume is an effort to create some sort of mood. In this photo, in particular, I'd interpret the man's facial expression as anxious or scared, but confident. He is not detached from pop culture, because he has a tattoo, wristband, and plaid shirt, which are all signs of a hipster. He is holding onto his skateboard as if it is the only thing he has left. I get this feeling because it is across his chest, instead of to his side, in one hand.

This is good. It definitely achieved the objective and I feel like I know the character in the photo. The colors are stimulating and the facial expression and posture paint a picture (or photo hah).

Accomplishment

I chose A Girl With School Medals 1988. I see in this picture a fence, a wall, a window in the background. From the look of things, I just get a vibe that this might not be in a good neighborhood. That was my first thought. I then notice all the medals she has on her shirt and how proud she looks to have them there. To me, she seems to be saying, "You said I couldn't do this. Well, look. I did." I think that the artist did the things he did such as, the black and white color of the image to show the condition of the neighborhood she lives in, or as a symbol for something else. It creates the mood of the image. I get the feeling that it is an old picture, just based on the black and white color. 1988 is not exactly old however, that is not what I'm trying to say. I just think that the black and white color really is a key part to this image. Like I said before, I think this picture has something to do with stereotypes. If it is actually in a run-down neighborhood like I imagine, then I feel like this is supposed to be this girl showing off her accomplishments. She proved that she was capable of such things, whereas most people don't look at the people from bad neighborhoods and think that they will go anywhere in life. This photo reminded me of Our America, because of the breaking stereotypes theme. I really like this picture. I also assumed right away by her clothing that her medals were athletic medals. I realize now that, that might not necessarily be true. She could have won medals for a number of different things, such as music, debate club, quiz bowl team. Anything. Whatever her medals are for, what I am taking from this photo is that someone put her down. Someone told her she would not make it, but she was able to prove them wrong. She won those medals and shut them up. I enjoyed this photo a lot. It reminded me of my own situation in life. I am trying to be a performer, and am constantly told that I will not make it. I want my chance to win my medals and prove all those negative nancys and debbie downers out there that it is possible.