On 2/9/25 9:44 AM, Evelyn C. Leeper wrote:
It discusses, for example, how the use of various optical tricks
and techniques promoted the idea pf illusions, of a permeable
border between reality and unreality, of the unsureness of one's
own perceptions.
There was a lot of that in pre-Nazi German cinema as well. _The Cabinet
of Dr. Caligari_ is the most obvious example.
There were no horror films or fantasy, the film says, because
there was enough horor, and because the Third Reich was built on
fantasy. (But then later it discusses MUNCHHAUSEN (THE ADVENTURES
OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN) (1943), clearly a fantasy. MUNCHHAUSEN is
available on Hoopla and Kanopy.)
The script for Münchhausen was written by Erich Kaestner under a
pseudonym. Kaestner's writing was banned under the Nazis. I don't know
why exactly, but in the kids' novel _Emil and the Detectives_, one of
the sympathetic characters says, "Bist du meschuggah?" suggesting the
character is Jewish.
Of these films, and of the Third Reich in general, Hannah Arendt
said, "What convinces masses are not facts, not even invented
facts, but only the consistency of the illusion."
Yes, and it's not just "masses" but even smart people who are
susceptible to repetition of claims.
--
Gary McGath
http://www.mcgath.com
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