German Expressionism in film emerged after the World
War I, with the movie The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920). During this
period, Germany and its people were in a state of turmoil due to the war. The
country was in debt to the people who destroyed it and the citizens were
struggling to cope with the aftermath of war. Films acted a source to not only
reflect the experiences of people, but also as a form of catharsis. In essence,
this form of film was a movement that drove to express feelings, moods and
desires overtly in an artistic format. It resulted in dark, gloomy, eerie films
and the appearance of psychological horror.
German Expressionists did not care
about making the films pretty or capturing the actors in their most flattering
angles, they set the tone and expressed feelings in a hyper-realistic manner by
altering and distorting various visual elements. It challenges the traditional
perception of how one must convey emotions in film. The lights, sets, colours,
makeup, costumes, jarring stop motion, different time frames, etc. were
carefully curated to create a highly developed atmosphere. They also put heavy
emphasis on the use of shadows and creating a physical translation of literary
allegories. For example, in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the characters
sitting in the middle of the room with dramatic, sharp, black shapes to depict
isolation and despair. The characters who were in position of power in the film
were shown perched upon higher chairs to emphasize on their higher ranking in
society.
The movement was
highly influential and many filmmakers today adopted the techniques of German
Expressionism. Most notably, Tim Burton puts a gothic spin in all of his work
and draws inspiration from the German Movement. For example, the figure
displayed is a scene from the movie inspired by the Broadway musical. The
colours, costumes, set and makeup—down to the artistic choice of giving the
murderous barber a streak of white hair all have gothic elements and reflect
the mood of the scene. Additionally, since this movie was based off a musical,
the songs play an extremely significant role in heightening the emotions
visually displayed. The sounds are gloomy, heavy, low and are played on older
instruments such as the organ to increase the sense of drama.
Another
movement that arose from a post-war struggle is Italian Neorealism. In the
backdrop following Mussolini’s fascist regime and World War II, Neorealism
followed the struggles of common folk. It usually had themes pertaining to
struggle for freedom, need for democracy, passion, focus on emotions and moral
dilemma. While this is one aspect of capturing reality, Neorealists also wanted
elements of reality in the process of filmmaking. They often hired non-actors,
shot at actual locations instead of studios, had the camera following the actors
to imitate a more narrative/ documentary style of filmmaking and had very
loosely framed dialogues. The goal was to make it as natural as possible and it
made the viewer feel like they were literally following the characters.
While the first
Italian Neorealist film was Rome, Open City (1945) by
Rossellini, the most notable film of the movement is Bicycle Thieves
(1948) by Vittorio de Sica. The film contains a perfect blend of all
the elements of Neorealism as the story highlights the problem of unemployment
in Italy at the time and follows the life of Antonio and the various trials
that he undergoes in order to simply survive in the worsening economy. The part
of the film that stood out to me was the dilemma of being in a morally grey
area. In order to keep the job, Antonio must have a bicycle. However, someone
stole it from him and the viewer is led to understand that the thief also
needed the bicycle for his own source of livelihood. So, Antonio and his son
search for the bicycle to steal it back from the thief. This is a clever way of
representing the cycle that people were stuck in at the time, the class
struggles and also emphasizing on how situations are not always black and
white. It plays on the classic ethical dilemma of what one would do if they caught
someone unable to afford food stealing bread for their family. However, because
of the narrative style, casual dialogue and filming, the film had a deeper
impact on me as a viewer because I felt a deeper connection to and
understanding of the characters.
The visual text I have chosen that represents
realism is Men Against Fire, an episode from the Netflix
series— Black Mirror.(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5709234/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2).
The series is set in the technologically advanced, dystopian future but aims to
reflect present realities. This episode follows a soldier named Stripe. In this
world, people have an enemy called Roaches. They are monsters who wreak havoc,
steal food from villagers, destroy properties and are considered the pests of
society. Soldiers train all day with only one aim in mind, which is to hunt
down and kill all the Roaches. They are told that if these monsters are allowed
to live, they will breed, pass down their defective genetics to the future
generations who will continue to cause chaos and disturb peace.Early in the
episode, Stripe goes on his first Roach mission and shoots one from a distance
and manages to stab another one to death after a close-quarter tussle. However,
right before he shot the first Roach, it held up a cylindrical device which
emitted a high-pitched frequency. The following scenes show Stripe losing
concentration while hearing this frequency at odd times for a couple of
seconds. When it interferes with his training, his instructor asks him to
get his Mass checked. The Mass is an implant in his brain put by the military
which aids in combat. Next, he visits the psychiatrist who asks him about his
experience of killing Roaches. While describing the incident, Stripe refers to
the Roach he stabbed as “he”, essentially humanizing it. This interests the
psychiatrist as Stripe goes on to explain that he expected to feel emotions
like regret but instead, he did not feel anything. The psychiatrist tells him
that it is common to feel this way and sends him off. He continues to
experience glitches like hearing the high-pitched noise and the visuals of his
dream buffering, which progressively get worse.
Soon he has to go on another mission with his
instructor and another solider because Roaches were detected. While his
instructor is communicating her visuals to the main centre, his Mass starts to
glitch again and finally seems to break. Stripe looks extremely disoriented as
he pulls up grass and dirt and starts to smell it. He asks his partner if she
has ever noticed the smell of grass and she brushes it off with a quick “no”. When
his instructor walks back to them, she gets shot and this is the first time we
see Stripe expressing emotions. His eyes start to well up, he rushes to her
body and his partner has to convince him to leave her alone. They go under
fire, start to attack and Stripe sees his partner killing civilians. He attacks
her because she does not stop shooting them and eventually gets injured himself
while attempting to save them. The people he helped save take him to a secure
area and nurse him.
After this we find out that the people who helped him
are in reality Roaches. These monsters are human, but the Mass in his brain
alters his vision to see otherwise. Additionally, it masks one’s sense of smell
so that the soldiers do not get impacted by the scent of blood and death. It
also induces dreams at night to make sure that the soldiers get a good night’s
sleep, unplagued by the thoughts of taking another living being’s life. It
takes away everything that makes humans, human—stripping them of empathy, free
will and independence of thought because that is the only way to make sure
orders are followed. Roaches have been marked during DNA testing which
distinguishes them from civilians to those in the military. We discover that
they are considered pests because they are more prone to some diseases and
conditions like cancer and muscular dystrophy, lower IQ, criminal tendencies,
sexual deviation, etc. Essentially, their genetics supposedly make them
inferior to others, therefore bringing about a need to eliminate them entirely.
This episode has clear thematic references to how military training and discipline condition soldiers’ minds and strips their conscience away. It also references the idea of some classes being genetically superior and brings to light the lengths people will go to the establish that supremacy. The aspect that stood out the most to me was when the psychiatrist was telling Stripe about how humans do not want to kill other humans, which is why British brigadiers had difficulty pushing soldiers to take action during World War I and that before the War, soldiers shot their bullets above the enemies’ head only to scare them.
He emphasizes on this and talks of how empathy makes people weaker which is why the Mass is a friend—it enables one to do what one has to do in order to “survive”. The irony is not lost on the viewers who see how this superior class is more dangerous than the Roaches they dehumanize and kill. The parallels between this dystopian setting and how classism exists in our current society cannot be ignored. Therefore, I believe that this visual text is an accurate depiction of realism.
Image
Reference:
Amato, G. &
De Sica, V. (Producer), & De Sica, V. (Director). (1948). Bicycle
Thieves [Motion Picture]. Italy.
Brooker, C. (Writer) & Verbruggen,
J. (Director). (2016). Men Against Fire [Television series episode]. In
Brooker, C. & Jones, A. (Producers). Black Mirror. Silverstone,
KO: House of Tomorrow.
Logan, J. MacDonald, L., et
al (Producers), & Burton, T. (Director). (2007). Sweeney Todd: The
Demon Barber of Fleet Street [Motion Picture]. USA.
Meinert, R. & Pommer,
E. (Producers), & Weine, R. (Director). (1920). The Cabinet of
Dr. Caligari [Motion Picture]. Germany.
