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Themes present in both movies:  THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI AND THE BLUE ANGEL

Expressionism

Expressionist depicted reality as a root of ‘inner sickness’, which was one of the major components in Nihilism. Expressionist were among the latest generation to inherit the ‘sickness’ of the past, which spangled from the trauma of the First World War. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” is an expressionist film that focuses on “distortions” to depict the inner states of being. The narrator, Francis convinces its viewers that Dr. Caligari was a murderer. Surprisingly, at the end of the movie, the viewer’s realize that Francis accusations towards Dr.Caligari are false and he is actually a patient in the asylum with Dr. Caligari taking care of him. In a sense, the Expressionist main goal is to manipulate the universal reality of the expected outcome to a very inverted and unexpected outcome in the film. The same is depiction is present in the movie “Blue Angel”, Professor Rath a respectable intellectual professor feared and praised by his society; whose teachings involve staying away from the ‘Sickness’ of the world becomes rooted in them through his  lustful desires for a woman. Results, in an unexpected outcome in the downfall of his career. This brings him shame, dishonor, mockery and his unexpected death.

Fate and Destiny.

 The idea that one can become locked into the things of life, and may have no choice in the outcome of his/her life. The idea that tomorrow might be worse than today, was what the generations after World War I endured. In “The Cabinet of Dr.Caligari” Cesare says to the main character’s young friend “At dawn tomorrow you die” shows how people couldn’t tell their fate for the next day. In the “Blue Angel” Professor Raff wanted to bring out the best in his student but turned out to be a disappointment due to his lust in the beauty of a woman. He lost his fate for a better tomorrow and that of his student too. He changed the direction of both his destiny and the destiny of his students all by his irrational desires.

Betrayal

  In “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” Cesare betrays Francis by not killing Jane; falling in love with her and helping her escape. In the “Blue Angel” Professor Rath, was betrayed by Lola publicly humiliating him in the presence of those who once respected him. At this moment he becomes insane and died broken- hearted.

     All these are part of Nihilism, in a sense, that it show the ‘Sickness’ and destruction of an individual an a mockery of real life events as paralyzing the image of modern society.

Quiz # 1

1. What is Nihilism? Is it correct to say it is the belief in nothing?

     

    Nihilism is the belief that all values are baseless and that nothing can be known or communicated. It is not correct to say it is a belief in nothing because it has a system of belief with a secret desire to destroy life. Paradoxically, Nihilism is not just an urge to destroy, but has a creative aspect provided that what is created is something new and not just releasing the old. Fredrich Nietzche (1844-1900) a German nihilist saw nihilism as a kind of spiritual sickness that was diagnosed in Christianity and by extension of most Western Cultures which was based on Christian values. In a Sense, Nihilism is rooted in the incompatibility between Christian morals and our own natural instincts (Repression) which builds up pressure and tension that manifests' itself in different ways (such as: Dancing Mania).

2. What are the differences between Greco- Roman and Judeo-Christian values according to Nietzsche? Which values does he believe are better for living a full and healthy life and why?

       According to Nietzsche, the difference between the Greco-Roman's values and Judeo-Christian values was the fact that both groups’ lifestyles are centered mainly on religious belief. The Judaeo/ Christian tradition contributed both good and bad elements to western society. Among the good elements were concepts of free will, charity and love. Among, the bad element was concepts of exclusivity, guilt and persecution.

Nietzsche view expressed that fundamentalist Christianity was not an open minded religion as Greco-Roman paganism, which often a times lead to crusades. Also, early Christians did not associate themselves with the rules and culture of the Romans. In a sense, Christians destroyed Romans' value to strengthen their own values, and this was nihilistic. The Roman ideals were centered on loyalty, devotion to family and reverence for the gods.

3. Why is Dada art so pessimistic and bizarre? What groups in Germany society where Dada artists trying to discredit and undermine?

    

         Dada art was so pessimistic and bizarre because it was a traumatic response to the World War I. It was an artistic movement against the oppression of bourgeoisie, politics and economist,. Dada was an artistic movement that self-consciously styled itself as "anti-art" that defied the conventional notions of artistic beauty and correctness . The Dada movement was meant to break away from German militarism and nationalism; German bourgeoisie and German socialism. The artists that made up this movement found very little interest in contemporary society worth preserving. Their view was that German society was corrupt and built on exploitation and oppression and needed to be destroyed before anything new could be created.

4. How many jobs does Dr. Caligari have in the film?

     Dr. Caligari had two Jobs:

         1. Somnambulist (Sleep walker)

         2. A Sinister doctor of the institution.

5. Why does Siddhartha leave his father?

        Siddhartha's father, Brahman was admired, quiet, noble in his manner, pure, wise but he never had peace and was still searching for the meaning of life, which was mostly common among the western traditions.  Like the generation of the era, Siddhartha left his father because he wanted enlightenment, he rejects teachings in place of beauty. He wanted to explore the randomness of life in the eastern world. One of his ultimate goal was to have a mind that was unselfish in every aspect of his body and soul(such as emptying his thirst, joy, dream, sorrows and wishing). He condemned teachers as not having anything to teach him and he could only obtain knowledge by experiencing. His departure from his father begins from joining the Semana (Holy Men)

       

6. How does Cesare "die" in the film?

          Cesare "died" in the film while running away from Francis, he gets a heart attack and dies.

     

     

7. Why is the river so important to Siddhartha at the end of the Novel?

        The river is important to Siddhartha because it ends the road to his searching and discovering the meaning of life in its essence and beauty. He sees' the river as representing the fullness of existence, something which cannot be taught but experienced. He has found truth in confining with the river and has realized that everything has existence and is present

The An Indian Tale: SIDDHARTHA.

 An Indian Tale: SIDDHARTHA.
                   
           By Hermann Hesse

There are three major influences on the development of west in the Middle Ages and into our own era. One is the Judaeo/Christian tradition; the second is culture of barbarian Germanic tribes that poured into 

the empire in the last centuries of its existence in the west; and the third is the Graeco/Roman tradition. The Judaeo/ Christian tradition is dominated by the Christian/ Roman Catholic Church. The tradition was mostly based on the old testament which directed the lives of Jews and tribes of the Middle East , while the New testament was more on the teachings and life of Christ. Christianity throughout the Middle Ages based it doctrines on its interpretation of the Bible and its own concepts of how the Christian society should be ordered in order to ensure that as many souls were saved. The Judaeo/ Christian tradition contributed both good and bad elements to western society. Among the Good element were concepts of free will, charity and love. Among, the bad element was concepts of exclusivity, guilt and persecution. The Germanic tribes that came into the empire both as it was collapsing and after the imperial armies had withdrawn from Europe, were pagan. They had some semi-democratic elements, such as the election of war leaders and they worshipped many gods. The worship of one God created more unity among the people and made it easier to diverse tribal groups around a leader as he tried to put together a kingdom and gain authority over more people. The Roman ideals of loyalty, devotion to family and a reverence to gods blended well with some Germanic and Christian ideals. Hermann Hesse, the Author in, An Indian Tale: SIDDHARTHA observed the rise to power of Nazism in Germany. One of his main goal, was to work against Adolf Hitler’s (ruled from 1933-1945) suppression of art. He in totality condemned the Nazi party through his gift of poetry, writing. The Nazi Party had their ideology and practice for humanity which was known as Nazism. Nazism believed in the supremacy of their fore headed gods, known as the Aryan. The Nazi formally focused on anti-bourgeois and anti-capitalist brought shame to the right-wing political system through corruptive financial initiation with industrial owner, this act was called stab-in- the –back legend. This act helped the German army succeed in World War 1 while betraying the civilians on the home front.

     After World War I, soldiers were disillusioned and there was a great existence of human suffering. The end of World War I shaped the attitudes and thoughts of soldier’s going home. A rhetoric that was used during this time was connoted: The lost Generation. This generation began to question their parents’ generations. During the Enlightenment, the lack of certainty, direction and purpose led many people to venture in search of deeper meaning and truth for living. Many expatriate expressed their resentment towards the materialism pursuit during this era.  One of the Philosophers in the era was Immanuel Kant who main objective was to unite reason with experience.

      Siddhartha’s is a well-off Brahmin’s son raised in the West to some day take after his father’s tradition in worshipping Atman. Instead, of accepting his fathers’ tradition;he choose to run off in joining the Semana (Holy men) in search of enlightenment “sidddhartha knew many venerable Brahmans, chiefly his father, the pure one, the scholar, the most venerable one. His father was to be admired, quiet and noble were his manners, pure his life, wise his words, delicate and noble thoughts lived behind its brow —but even he, who knew so much, did he live in blissfulness, did he have peace, was he not also just a searching man, a thirsty man? Did he not, again and again, have to drink from holy sources, as a thirsty man, from the offerings, from the books, from the disputes of the Brahmans? Why did he, the irreproachable one, have to wash off sins every day, strive for a cleansing every day, over and over every day? Was not Atman in him, did not the pristine source spring from his heart? It had to be found, the pristine source in one's own self, it had to be possessed! Everything else was searching, was a detour, was getting lost” (Siddhartha, 5). Like the generations of the era, he wanted to explore the randomness of life in the Eastern World. One of his ultimate goals was to unselfish though by emptying his joy, thirst, dreams and sorrows and wishing. He condemned teachers as not having anything to teach him and that he could only obtain knowledge through experience “There is indeed no such thing, so I believe, as what we refer to as `learning'. There is, oh my friend, just one knowledge, this is everywhere, this is Atman, this is within me and within you and within every creature. And so I'm starting to believe that this knowledge has no worser enemy than the desire to know it, than learning” (Siddhartha, 11). This is a common Nihilist belief whereby our instincts are directly irreconcilable with our conscious will and values.

      The climax, begins when Siddhartha becomes agitated with his affluent lifestyle, and decides to start a new life as a wise Ferryman. In his new life style as the Ferryman he discovers a way of reaching a purpose for life by the river. Many years past, Govinda a very close friend of Siddhartha, who in search of meaning of life choose the religion of Buddah but never found answers. Found, his long lost friend, Siddhartha by the river who looks blissful. Siddhartha tries to shine knowledge into his friend head by letting him know he has found perfection but like always he felt his words sounded foolish to Govinda, saying “Wisdom always sounds like foolishness to another person”. Hence, it will be hard for Govinda to comprehend Siddhartha new found appreciation for perfection: OM(God is omnipotent which means all powerful and almighty)

       The passage that stuck out to me the most was "Listen well, my dear, listen well! The sinner, which I am and which you are, is a sinner, but in times to come he will be Brahma again, he will reach the Nirvana, will be Buddha—and now see: these 'times to come' are a deception, are only a parable! The sinner is not on his way to become a Buddha, he is not in the process of developing, though our capacity for thinking does not know how else to picture these things. No, within the sinner is now and today already the future Buddha, his future is already all there, you have to worship in him, in you, in everyone the Buddha which is coming into being, the possible, the hidden Buddha. The world, my friend Govinda, is not imperfect, or on a slow path towards perfection: no, it is perfect in every moment, all sin already carries the divine forgiveness in itself, all small children already have the old person in themselves, all infants already have death, all dying people the eternal life. It is not possible for any person to see how far another one has already progressed on his path; in the robber and dice-gambler, the Buddha is waiting; in the Brahman, the robber is waiting. In deep meditation, there is the possibility to put time out of existence, to see all life which was, is, and will be as if it was simultaneous, and there everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is Brahman. Therefore, I see whatever exists as good, death is to me like life, sin like holiness, wisdom like foolishness, everything has to be as it is, everything only requires my consent, only my willingness, my loving agreement, to be good for me, to do nothing but work for my benefit, to be unable to ever harm me. I have experienced on my body and on my soul that I needed sin very much, I needed lust, the desire for possessions, vanity, and needed the most shameful despair, in order to learn how to give up all resistance, in order to learn how to love the world, in order to stop comparing it to some world I wished, I imagined, some kind of perfection I had made up, but to leave it as it is and to love it and to enjoy being a part of it.—These, oh Govinda, are some of the thoughts which have come into my mind."(Siddhartha, 65) He uses this passage to show appreciation for creation and to reach to the conclusion that God has created everything in oneness, in his own image. God created man from dust and to reach and breathe him we have to show love to all his creations of the heaven and the earth. This passage shows how the worship of one God in Germany created more unity among the people and made it easier to diverse tribal groups around a leader as he tried to put together a kingdom and gain authority over more people.  From personal experience, I have always believed as you continue your communications with God a time will come when he will tell you the plan for your life. This plan will awaken the seed completely and you will be given great power to carry the plan out. This plan will seem so fantastic that you will know that you are incapable of doing it. Remember, if you use God's power, you can do anything. With God all things are possible. All you have to do is take one step at a time and God will make the plan come true. This was what Siddhartha tries to comprehend in the above passage; that with God’s power the Germans were able to plan their life.

DADA

   Hannah Hoch was born in Gotha, Germany. She studied arts in Berlin and work as a pattern and textile designer from the 1916-1926. From, 1915 to 1922 Hannah Hoch established an affair with Raoul Hausman which eventually lead to an artistic partnership. Hoch’s relationship with Hausman bridged her to become part of the Berlin Club Dada, which involved artistic movements that sort to destroy the oppressive power of the German bourgeoisies. She transitioned to accomplish women emancipation through a technique known as photomontage. She dared to defile the idealized woman of being passive to a renowned independent and stabilized individual. Through her works she showed that there was clear distinction between the women in the media and those in reality. She aimed at demonizing the bourgeoisies influence on media as surreal. The motif of her art work was centered on the viewers using their imaginations in unity with real life situation to see the underlying distortion in gender equality.On the concept of Nihilism, Since, the mass media was a highly centered focus of the mass population Hoch intentionally used the depictions of women in magazine as a vice to strengthen her art work.  

Title:Hannah Hoch, Grotesque, 1963

Hannah Hoch use of photomontage techniques of cut out pieces to communicates her views on social and politics been built on the exploitation of women. She used her art work to alter the representation of gender roles in society.  She redefined the exploitation of women that fascinated the German press to showcase the power of what the new age of women (women of independence). The two cut out heads placed on two innocent girls’ legs creates an emotion filled with anxiety and disgust. The woman face has a beautiful eye with a red luscious lip while the man’s is old with two big lusting eyes’ both images are placed upon the girl’s thin legs. Thus, giving its viewers a provocative insight on a idealized perception of women in society

Hannah Hoch, Bouquet Of Eyes, 1930

Hochs’ through this art work engages the viewer to question each pair of eye in correlation to the other. Hoch uses this art to illustrate the frustration in dealing with gender as either a representation of self or other. It is hard to distinguish between the object and subject; which allows for men and women to be equal through the eye. This art sort of creates the illusion that the eye is the mirror of the soul and from this comes the representation of the future. This art work also shows a time when there is a shift of imperialism to capitalism which leads to the industrial age. During, this time there was renowned definition of women roles and rights in society.

Hannah Hoch, Dada Panorama. 1919

Hannah Hoch work was mostly recognized during Weimar period, also known as the “bathing suit affair”. The first president of the Weimar republic was Friedrich Ebert. Ebert collaborated with the Minister Gustar Noske who was responsible for the death of Rosa Luxembung and Karl Liebknecht. The first act of the Eberts’ decision was to sign the armistice with the allies which would end World War I. This introduced the term “November criminals” where the Weimar republic managed to seize power while betraying the nation.  Both Ebert and Noske are shown wearing bathing suit with fig leaves which shows their disloyalty to the nation. The art work goes further in celebrating the murder of Luxemburg and Liebknecht. The art work generally creates an illusion to its viewers that the World War I was a meaningless battle that amounted to chaos.