Adriana Pariz

Minutes

I.                    Got into groups and discussed answers to questions from writing assignment two.

II.                 Discussed the background of “The Blue Angel”

A.     Based on novel:  Professor Unrath by Heinrich Mann, a negative view of the school system in Germany.

B.     The Movie was changed to make it a melodramatic love story.

III.               Discussed the characterization in the movie

A.     She was given the name: “Lola Lola” because it sounds more sexual.

B.     After the movie, Emil Jannings (Professor Rath) stays in Germany and continues his acting career there.

C.     Josef von Sternberg (Director) takes Marlene Dietrich (Lola Lola) back to Hollywood with him where they make about 6 movies together.

D.     Hans Albers (Mazeppa, the Strongman) stays in Germany and becomes one of the main Nazi actors.

IV.              As a class, we discussed the answers to the questions from the writing assignment.  Here are some of the answers students gave:

1.      The way sound was used in the film:

- Because of the way Sternberg used silence in the movie, sound became very noticeable.

- Sound was also used to contrast the surroundings.

- The way in which the sound completely shuts off when the door is closed in Lola’s room makes us pay even closer attention to it.  When we pay attention to the sound that comes through when the door is open, we realize that the songs being sung are showing us something about the current situation.

- Music is still used today as a tool to marry sound and acting.

2.   The music that was used in the movie (can be found in the hand-out):

- “Programmed for love from head to toe” is a cynical way for Lola to excuse her behavior.

      - The song “Programmed for love from head to toe” became Dietrich’s signature song.

      - As a class we discussed Lola’s characterization, the pattern she has of hurting men, the way she places her feelings above others, but at the same time she is not a dangerous woman.

3.   Significance of “Blue Angel,” and usage of winged figures:

      - Lola IS the blue angel.

- Blue is a color of desire in Germany.

      - In German Romanticism, the symbol of “Blue Flower,” becomes this unattainable and desirable thing.

      -  One winged figure in the movie is a dead bird in the professor’s apartment.  His maid throws him away saying: “Oh well, he wasn’t singing anymore anyway.”

      - Later on we have another bird (two birds) in Lola’s room.  It shows that there’s still hope for the professor.

      - The eggs the magician uses.  He makes them magically appear.

      - Lastly we discussed when the professor crows at the end.  He crows when he sees Lola kissing Mazeppa, this shows his emotional reaction to the fact that he has no dignity left.

* We did not discuss questions 4 and 5 as a class.*

V.                 Watched English version of “The Blue Angel.”

A.     Watched for the “cluttered” feeling.  Sternberg does not leave a lot of space between characters and viewers. Believes this gives the movie more realistic space (less hollow sound).