Minutes for October 1, 2003

Films by Leni Riefenstahl:  First film: Das Blaue Licht (1932-33)

                                             Last film: Tiefland (1941) finished in 1954

Introduced one of her most influential films:  Triumph of the Will and Olympia

Noted that Riefenstahl likes to incorporate unusual women outside of society, i.e. woman in the mountains in Das Blaue Licht and the gypsy mistress in Tiefland.

Apparently was fond of Hitler as a charismatic leader and hated Goebbels, while claiming she was not aware of what the Nazis were doing.

Olympia is more of a documented film; that is it is not staged as propaganda but still contains some ideological bias:  This is so as the Olympics themselves had propaganda value for Germany and the Nazis.  Berlin and Germany “cleaned up their act” during the games, thus giving the world a look at a Germany tolerant of Jews and foreigners, rather than showing the reality   of Germany’s anti-Semitic policies.  Riefenstahl downplays any Nazi symbols or soldiers in Olympia, in an attempt to convince the world Germany is not a threat. She even spotlights Jesse Owens and his triumphs despite accusations to the contrary that she slighted the African-American track star.

Alluded to three recent articles in the newspaper pertaining to The Third Reich:

• High School teacher displaying the Nazi flag and playing the national anthem of Germany as part of a halftime show displaying nations of WW2 during a Texas football game.
• Art dispute between Jewish collectors and a Vienna museum over ownership due to Nazi confiscations
• Analysis of hospital records indicating Nazi officials had 200,000 patients killed

Then showed a clip from Victims of the Past (1938) and Opfer der Vegangenheit, a Nazi Kulturfilm (educational film) that wanted to prepare Germans for a policy to kill the mentally ill/weak.  The short was designed to desensitize public about killing handicapped.  When we place Olympia into a context of such vicious attacks on the weak, Riefenstahl’s film of physical beauty and strength takes on political overtones.

Viewing of Triumph of the Will:

Interpreted the Credits:  obvious, large font in Germanic, gothic style to emphasize the traditional.  Dates used to allude to the Nazis’ claim that Germany was stabbed in the back by the Socialists and Jews, and also to highlight of Hitler as their savior. Hitler is seen arriving on a plane after an extensive flight through the clouds as if he came down from the heavens for Germany. 

During Hitler’s speech religion and national suffering are blamed on The Weimar Republic in a sort of shorthand Germans of the time would most likely have understood.

For greater impact the inspection scenes are heavily edited. The anthem by the soldiers is united.  Sound, rhythm, pictures work together.  Parts of the body like face and hands are shown in close up.  Whenever Germany is mentioned, Hitler or the Swastika is shown.

Flags descending symbolize battles lost.  Blame put on the communists and reactionaries for being stabbed in the back in own country.  Nazi party starts the rightist revolution with the Night of the Long Knives during which they eliminated all the leftist leaders in the SA.