Junius Pamphlet (Chapter 6)

Quote: Junius Pamphlet (Chapter 6)

German freedom, that same German freedom for which, according to the declaration of the Reichstag group, Krupp cannons are now fighting, has been endangered by this attitude of the social democracy far beyond the period of the present war. The leaders of the social democracy are convinced that democratic liberties for the working class will come as a reward for its allegiance to the fatherland. But never in the history of the world has an oppressed class received political rights as a reward for service rendered to the ruling classes. History is full of examples of shameful deceit on the part of the ruling classes, even when solemn promises were made before the war broke out. The social democracy has not assured the extension of liberty in Germany. It has sacrificed those liberties that the working class possessed before the war broke out.



Rosa Luxemburg in her writings exposes how the ruling class officials have taken for granted the liberty of working class to satisfy their political supremacy. The working class is continuously deceived into voting for war credits as a means in creating national unity among their society. The working classes were deceived by the ruling class that they were fighting for their freedom and rights. The ruling class were very aware that they had sold out the proletariat rights and freedom to for allegiance in engaging in a fair war.

 I choose this quote because it reminds me how authoritative figure take advantage of the system for their own happiness. Those in power never like to get their hands dirty they always leave the dirty jobs for society to handle. It reminded me of elites in the dream story- Dr. Fridolin and Blue Angel- Professor Raff, how they try to encourage their followers(patients and student) the right paths to take and meanwhile, they are the one that are very exploitative in such bad manners. The quote reminds me of the “backstabber” Hitler that signed the treaty of Versailles in betrayal of German people.

Midterm

1) Compare and contrast the strategies of detachment used by Siddhartha and Ernst Jünger. Why is detachment a necessity? What are the strategies of detachment used by Siddhartha and Jünger? Who has the better strategy and why?


      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. According to Professor Mudaco’s notes on nihilism, 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(Mudaco, Aug.26). Fredrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German nihilist saw nihilism as a kind of spiritual sickness that was diagnosed in Christianity and by extension of most western culture, which was based on Christian values. 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, Expressionism and detachment. Detachment was a common practice used by the German people to further trace the roots, or go beyond beliefs of traditional society to find meaning in the world.

        Detachment was a necessity, in that; it allowed one to experience the randomness of life in the eastern world. The German people thought that traditional values were meaningless and outdated. This was when they started to seek for a new leader that would change old values to create new values. Thus, Mudaco states “Germans were forced to confront a sense of nihilistic meaninglessness in the world brought on by dehumanizing technological rationality that seemingly crushed humanity rather than elevating it. The possibilities of authentic experience and man’s place in the universe were other areas of concern as German’s struggled to find sense of meaning in a world that has seemingly lost all meaning( Mudaco, Aug. 26). In the book “Siddhartha” by Herman Hesse describes a world in which people struggle to find the spiritual meaning of life when the only way to learn is by questioning the traditional teachings in the West. Siddhartha search to find meaning relates to what was going on in Germany in the 1920s. In a sense, during the 1920s, like Siddhartha, the people of Germany felt that it was not making any sense to believe in the God they were being told to believe in. The people in Germany witnessed a lot of cruel things happening in their culture, and started asking how God can allow things like the war take place. Siddhartha was raised to believe in a higher power, but felt that was not enough because no one was able to tell him anything that he did not already know. The war that was going on in Germany made a lot of people to start questioning things they felt did not make sense, Siddhartha remarks “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 Braham” Hence, Siddhartha detachment was to turn towards eastern religion and at the same time reject western religion. Siddhartha, rejects conservative views of priest, monks and throws himself into the sensuous world of appearance “The purpose and the essential properties were not somewhere behind the things, they were in them, in everything” This statement clarifies Professor Mudaco’s remark that there is a strong interest in Eastern religion and Philosophy that stems from a disenchantment with western religion (Mudao, Sep.9)

         In the book, “On Pain” by Ernst Junger was written in 1934, the first year of Hitler’s dictatorship. Basically, Hitler was an advocate for the devil, through the opportunity of attaining immeasurable powers. During the time, Hitler was an opportunistic leader who took advantage of the fall of Weimer republic to rise to power. During this period, the German people needed a leader that would restore pride to German people especially after the shameful defeat in WW1. Hitler, instead of uniting the people, decided to take the path of division and destruction; he promoted anti-Semiticism and anti-communism. Hitler was very manipulative to the German people. It was so easy to manipulate people into believing anything. The German people wanted honey but Hitler gave them a poison of destruction. Hitler represented change in values; changing the old values to create new values. He knew German people wanted change. The German people wanted to get rid of old values and Hitler helped them break away from old traditions and replace them with new traditions, new values, in the process, he brought them terror and destruction. Junger focuses on the growth of technology in the creation of a mechanical society where individuals have become unconscious workers that find pleasure in the submission to the machines. Junger believes that reliance on a world of machine and technology in avoiding pain is very useless and that for one to experience the world in its full pleasure we must go back to traditional ways of doing things “it is a matter of maintaining complete control over life, so that at any hour of the day it can serve a higher calling. The central question concerning, the rank of present values can be answered by determining to what extent the body can be treated as an object (Junger, p.17). Junger believes for one to become part of the world and have full liberty, one must master pain “treating pain as an object. Master pain and not avoid it” Pain is what makes life real and valuable. The avoidance of pain through technology does not confront reality but instead hides pain “Pain’s disregard for our system of values greatly increases its hold on life…Our children’s tales close with passages about heroes who, after having overcome many danger, live out their lives in peace and happiness”(Junger, p.4) Therefore, the existence of pain contradicts the dominant values of liberal society which holds out the myth that good will always triumph over evil (Mudaco, Oct.14).

          In embodiment of Nietzsche three way paths which involves inherency, materialism and aestheticism; Siddhartha seemed to pose all these skills and is the better strategist. In Inherency, Siddhartha came to an understanding that the world was created by OM: the perfection, which in modern times means an omnipotent God. He found this Om: perfection in the river “Already, he could no longer tell the many voices apart, not the ones of children from those of men, they all belonged together, the lamentation of yearning and the laughter of the knowledgeable one, the scream of rage and mourning of the dying ones, everything was intertwined and connected, entangled a thousand times. And everything together, all voices, all goals, all yearning, all suffering, all pleasure, all that was good and evil, all of this together was the world. All of it together was the flow of events, was the muse of life. And, when Siddhartha was listening attentively to this river…”(Hesse, P.61). In materialism, Siddhartha had abandoned his father’s religion in search of true meaning of life. He wanted to free himself from worldly things, to experience from scratch the direction of life because he believed he could never learn from teachers “ A goal stood before Siddhartha, a single goal: to become empty, empty of thirst, empty of joy and sorrow” (Hesse, P.8). In aestheticism, Siddhartha rejected the teachings of priest, monks and concluded that in order for him to learn about the world, he must learn about himself.


2) Discuss the relationship between nihilism and changing attitudes on sexuality. In what ways did traditional values place prohibitions on sexuality? Why did these prohibitions lose their power after the first World War? Using The Blue Angel and Dream Story as a reference discuss the new attitudes towards sexuality that developed during the 1920s and early 1930s

       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 parent’s generations. During the enlightenment, the lack of certainty, direction and purpose led many people to venture in search of deeper meaning and truth of living. Many expatriate expressed their resentment towards the materialism pursuit during the era. In general, WW I brought major changes to the women in the work force. Sexual revolution brought with it changing ideas about women. The idea of free love surfaced among women- a social movement that rejected marriage.
          The 1920s saw a restless culture, led by American’s youth rebelling against the moral restrictions of past generations. The young college students challenged traditional notions of proper behavior. Young people ventured off to Jazz clubs, smoked and drank illegal liquor. In the movie, “Blue Angel” Professor Raff, a very intellectual individual tried to indulge into the mind of his students on the importance of morals, etiquettes and avoiding irrational lifestyle. These students were part of lost generation seeking to see what was in the outside world. Professor Raff‘s student began going to night clubs and indulging themselves in what was known as the Jazz age. The Jazz age involved with influential music was often associated with lose morals and defiled social codes of the time. Professor Raff students were also encapsulated with the flapper. Flappers were the women of the sexual revolution era. During the Sexual Revolution, the social Movement - Free love, involved promiscuity that allowed sexual partners rights to a relationship without commitment or marriage. In the 1930, during the great depression there was a huge failing economy. Women workers were still cheaper and certain fields of work were closed to men. men found themselves unemployed. women's lives were less disrupted by the depression than their husbands. Because of this, women became the center of stability in the family. As women rights increased, so did social freedom.As women rights increased, so did social freedoms.The image of the short-haired, short-skirted, independent-minded and sexually liberated ‘Flapper’ woman, who lived life to the fullest. The flapper represented everything modern in the 1920s. With this new image of woman, a sexual revolution followed as attitudes towards sex changes and birth control became widely acceptable and available. In the movie “Blue Angel” Professor Rath lost his respect by being entrapped with his lust and free love in the ‘Flapper’, the ‘Flapper’ made him loose his sense of integrity, respect and moral. A major theme that surfaces in the movie “Blue Angel” is the weakness of the intellectuals “Mann’s story deals with their inability to share in the sensual pleasures of the world resulting from bookish and scholarly lifestyles. It suggests a division in people between mental and physical, the mind and body, that is incomplete but often times attempts to cross over into the other realm is destructive for these characters. In other words Rath might kind of resemble this guy” (Mudaco, Sep. 23)
   This idea in the weakness of intellectuals also ties into the book “Dream Story” Edgar Allan Poe both couples Dr. Fridolin and Albertina both fantasize about sexual encounters. It seems that professionals in the modern age are enclosed into “irrational’ behavior and have ignored their morals. The Sexual mores of bourgeois society and its attachment to materialism but also showing the openness of this society for those who are educated. (Mudaco, Sep.9). Such behavior displayed by Dr. Fridolin of being jealous of his wife fantasy and wanting to do the real things makes society seem very despicable. Basically, the idea of elite’s citizens drawn in a world of sex and desire. Nihilism calls into question traditional value-monogamy, and the institutions of marriage have been inverted into new ideal of modern times that are rooted in ‘sickness’. The idea that the morality of the monks and nuns (Christianity) regarding sex is just a surface appearance or something for lower classes to follow while the elites who outwardly approve of and sanction these values freely ignore them in their private lives (Mudaco, Oct.4)

On Pain

PASSAGE Choose.

    Photography, then, is an expression of our peculiarly cruel way of seeing. Ultimately, it is a kind of evil eye, a type of magical possession. one senses this very clearly in places where a different cultic substance is still active.  The moment a city like Mecca can be photographed, it falls into the colonial sphere( P.40)

      This passage relates to the Dada era or Dada Movement, Photomontage was used to create picture to capture the stupidy and violence of the time. Dadaist used photomontage to gasp the attention of their audience, to break rules and to stretch the boundaries of their art.

      I choose this passage because photography is used to express ideas. photography is used to display images in an abstract way that allows people to see things differently than they would normally in their everyday life. photography is used to capture historical events of positive or negative environments.

9/23

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.