The Great Dictator

Charlie Chaplin’s film The Great Dictator is a satire on Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. Charlie Chaplin plays a Jewish barber who lives in the slums, but is mistaken for Adenoid Hynkel, the dictator of Tomania which is also the mirror representation of Hitler. The humor in the film, I believe, is appropriate because it was a way for the world to almost release some laughter towards the turmoil and pain Germany caused during World War II. These were times of great sadness and depression, and films like these seemed to make things easier  for people to cope with their emotions.

Charlie Chaplin had me dying of laughter just in the first five minutes of the film when he was circling the rocket that kept following him and spontaneously ignited out of nowhere causing him and his mates to run for their lives. Scenes like this with Charlie Chaplin’s understanding of depicting humor on screen made Hitler’s reign look so sad and pathetic by how easily it was to manipulate and control the masses. The film exposes how susceptible Germany was to Nazism and anti-Semitism which was composed of concepts and ideologies that were so ridiculous for anyone to buy into. Charlie Chaplin knew how to make Germans look silly.

However, my reaction to the final scene was quite different from the rest of the movie. I loved the message of unity and the end to violence in his final speech. It was meant to comfort those who have been harmed by World War II to give them hope and remind them that things will get better. It honestly made me a bit emotional because of how powerful his words were. You assume he’s going to agree and reaffirm the last man’s speech, but instead delivers an opposing message, one of peace and freedom from violence and hatred. Charlie Chaplin finished the film with boldness that was needed in this kind of film to send a lesson of what we should all learn from humanity's mistakes stemming from greed, hate, intolerance, and what people in power can accomplish. The speech ends with the crowd praising their supposed leader with applause and cheering, and this represents the bright future of the world Post World War II despite the horrors that have occurred.

This film was meant to shed light on the ironic aspects of Germany and its people under the rule of Hitler. It was a parody with a twist at the end. We all expected it to finish comically since it seemed to be developing that way throughout the film, but the gravity of its seriousness at the end, I thought, was perfect for a film with a subject as fragile as this. It emphasized that war is no joke, nor is hatred, racism, violence etc. Chaplin's deliverance of humor with its twist of seriousness sent a worldly message that was more than appropriate in The Great Dictator to give everyone a sense of vigor after what has happened.

Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson

Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson, Oklahoma, 1911

The photograph titled Lynching of Laura and Lawrence Nelson has strong cult and exhibition values to it because of the ritual or magic (cult value) and information (exhibition value) contained in it. These two values are considered the two poles of the quantitative shift and qualitative transformation an art piece experiences. Both values coexist in all pieces of art, but one dominates the other. In this particular image, the exhibition value is the more demanding of the two poles mentioned. Benjamin analyzes artwork by the exhibition value over the cult value because of the emphasis of horrific, haunting, and mystical quality found in photography.

This photograph confers the exhibition value because of the ghostly imagery of death it possesses. The people spread out along the whole width of the bridge are proud of the murder that has taken place and glorify it by taking a picture for the world to see.  It seems as if they’re having a great time together with two dead bodies hanging beneath them. This is the sick culture of those times, and this best expresses the exhibition value or the information that’s given to us. How could a society find this acceptable and righteous? Death is a sensitive subject, but to these (white) people on the bridge, they appreciate and are happy about the death of these two African Americans. This is also relative to the times of the Holocaust in that these kinds of people shared the same accepted views on supremacy and racism. The innocent dying for people’s pleasure is the main focus in this photograph. Benjamin states photographs like these are like scenes of a crime. However, in this particular photograph, this is more than true because this is a crime that looks dark and dreary that contradicts economic and social progression. 

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Passage:

Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence (p.220). 

Interpretation:

Walter Benjamin is speaking of the mechanical reproduction of art in how it creates a new perspective of experiences and language. What this means is that instead of what’s actually shown in a painting, a film, or even literature lacks the sense of time and space it was derived from. For example, the painting from Michelangelo, The Last Judgement, shows religious rituals and figures, but what’s not being shown is the atmosphere in which it was painted, where it was made, how, and when it was made. Not necessarily when as in the date, but the time in history that made it significant. Furthermore, Benjamin declares that art isn’t just what’s being displayed in its content. It’s more than that, which is the story of its development and how it came to be along with the aura that surrounds it.

I thought this was a very interesting point of view from Benjamin that makes art more unique and mysterious. The history in which art is made and the influences that helped developed it like social changes or even the changing techniques in art are interesting aspects to pay attention to when analyzing it. Like Benjamin states, this adds an extra element or aura that makes art more compelling and expressive. It’s a new outlook on how to view art that adds another sense of novelty to the grand scheme of things.

The Triumph of Death

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, The Triumph of Death, 1562

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's above painting The Triumph of Death displays the aftermath of a battle in a burning open field which seems have taken place on farmland. As far back as you can see in the distance, it looks barren and lifeless. The pile of dead bodies in the very front looks like they’re trying to be disposed of. This imagery of death depicts the result of war and the price a nation must pay to protect their freedom, justice, and progress. The pain and death revealed portray the dangers of modern life that people have become tolerant of. As an example, Germany’s people became desensitized to images of death and violence like this, not just through paintings, but other forms of art as well like film and literature. This kind of desensitization allows nations like Germany to deal with pain much better than others. They know the price of power is pain. Therefore, as mentioned by Junger, the state that endures the most pain, both inflicting and receiving, becomes the strongest one. This painting shows the dark truth of triumph and what it costs to be supreme. It glorifies death and shows how it's becoming more and more common with society which in turn makes it more tolerable for people to cope with.

Junger: On Pain

Passage:

In war, when shells fly past our bodies at high speeds, we sense clearly that no level of intelligence, virtue, or fortitude is strong enough to deflect them, not even by a hair. To the extent this threat increases, doubt concerning the validity of our values forces itself upon us. The mind tends toward a catastrophic interpretation of things wherever it sees everything called into question (pp. 5-6).

Interpretation:

This passage by Junger suggests that morals, beliefs, and values that humans inherently possess are useless traits that help us none in events of war and politics. He also states how the threat of war makes us doubt the meaning of our values. This is a contradiction of pain that liberal society holds in which good will always triumph over evil. Junger is saying that good is actually weak and can’t be a powerful entity. Evil is what really triumphs because violence is the main factor in conquering one’s enemies and expanding. He suggests that liberalism denies progress, and that pain overcomes any intangible trait that we have which is why he mentions that virtue and fortitude cannot deflect bullets that are fired at us. Progress has to be done with weaponry instead of harmony.

I chose this passage because as we look back into history, civilization could have never started without pain or violence. The progress of any kingdom or state stemmed from war and oppression. For example, the U.S. couldn’t have expanded into the huge nation it has become today if not for violence. I agree that liberalism denies or conceals the relationship to pain, thus, making it a passive means of power. Pain is the forceful impassive way of dominating one another. Being moral and good natured will no longer protect us in our world today with the terrorism and war we are all faced with. Ultimately, Junger describes the amount of pain we can endure the determining factor in how strong a state can be.

Documentaries vs. Fictional Narratives

The difference between the films we have watched thus far is that the fictional ones touched base on the societal changes that Germany went through leading up to Nazism, and the non-fictional documentaries to display the propaganda of Nazism, and the horrors it caused to innocent people who were treated like animals who were herded and killed in concentration camps.

The film M portrayed the horrible crimes of pedophilia and the murders of children that highlighted mental disabilities that were apparent in society. The film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari brought up themes of how society was in a state of chaos and anarchy. This was a metaphor for needed change in government and politics. The Blue Angel symbolized the wild nature of the younger generations, and how they are transitioning into a life of dance, libations, and fornication. This represented the uprising of society’s new tendencies and beliefs in politics which emplaced new values and morals of the young minds in Germany. This was the cultural change that led to Nazism.

The film Triumph of the Will referenced the notion of the will to power. It was a very effective piece of propaganda that influenced Germany’s people to feel a strong sense of patriotism and the new power under Germany’s new set of government. This was a film to make Germans feel the need of retribution from an embarrassing loss in World War I to becoming the biggest superpower in the world. Germans felt invincible and were fearless through imagery like this. This gave people hope of empowerment again.

The film Night and Fog, which was actually made by a Frenchman, depicted the reality of the Holocaust. It showed the unhealthy living conditions, the torture chambers, the treatment of Jews, etc. It showed how inhumane the Nazis were and how they contained people in camps for mass genocide. This film shows the truth of the Nazi campaign against the Jews whom they blamed for the fall of their economy and loss of the war. This was unjust and considered a hate crime to humanity.

Ultimately, the previous films we watched spoke of the cultural, societal, and governmental change leading up to Hitler’s reign and his Nazis. They were fictitious reenactments of social and political issues in Germany. The Triumph of the Will and Night and Fog were documentaries that showed actual footage of events that were happening in Germany. These films instilled fear into the harsh reality of Nazism. They were used as propaganda to manipulate the masses which later led to World War II and the Holocaust. 

Hitler's Final Speech at his Trial for Treason, March 27, 1924

Passage:

The army that we are building grows from day to day, from hour to hour. Right at this moment I have the proud hope that once the hour strikes these wild troops will merge into battalions, battalions into regiments, regiments into divisions. I have hopes that the old cockade will be lifted from the dirt, that the old colors will be unfurled to flutter again, that expiation will come before the tribunal of God. Then from our bones and from our graves will speak the voice of the only tribunal which has the right to sit in justice over us.

Interpretation:

Hitler is stating in his defense that he’s building an armed force so strong that it will be the return of prospering vitality in Germany again. He claims to turn Germany around from a weak dying state run by a Republic into a sovereign state run by a new more effective form of government which later became Nazism. Hitler suggests that the army he will create will be one of the strongest ever, and they will fight to make what Germany should have been if they hadn’t lost the First World War. The Republic was a failure, but he believes he can be the difference for Germany and its future.

German Political Platforms

The communist party platform abolished private property, established land reform programs to distribute it fairly for the common good, gave ownership to government of all industrial operations to benefit the general public, and had a foreign policy that allied with the Soviet Union against capitalism.

On the other hand, the Nazi platform party was very different than that of the communists. It was a union of all Germans to form Germany on the basis of the right to self-determination of peoples. It also abolished the Treaty of Versailles. Only German born non-Jewish residents in Germany were the only ones allowed for citizenship. Non-citizens could only live in Germany as immigrants, subject to the law of aliens. German citizens were the only ones allowed to vote or run for public office. The state insures that German citizens should live comfortably with the availability of food, but if not, then aliens must be forced out of the country. Immigration wasn’t allowed after August 2, 1914. Education was reformed, and the science of citizenship was taught from the beginning of school. The newspapers were to be published by only German citizens and owners in the German language.

The Social Democratic party supported freedom, democracy, and justice. It honored all political and financial obligations in order to keep Germany and upstanding country with honor and respect. It created more jobs from public works, and it provided unemployment compensation for up to six months. It also cut government expenditures to lower taxes. Finally, it believed in the right of those who disagree with the party to speak and write on those issues without interference.

The communist party was run by the government for all the people living on German soil including Jews and other foreigners, whereas, the Nazi party was run by the government for the government in the sense that it only favored German born citizens which only promoted German superiority. The Social democratic party is similar to communism, but it gave more beneficial privileges and rights to the public which grants their citizens a liberal state. Communism and socialism accepted non-Germans as citizens of the state, but Nazism rejected this kind of harmony in society.

State Formations as Organized Crime

Charles Tilly’s review “State Formation as Organized Crime” relates to Weber’s theory of rationalization in the sense that they both have a concern for ethics and the way organizations operate. Weber suggests that to have a constant exercise of power it requires an organization with an administrative staff that carries out the needs and demands to maintain itself to carry out its objectives like winning wars, making states, protecting the state, and profiting from the state. Tilly’s view on organized crime suggests that government and illegal organizations act similarly, but states do it on a much larger scale that is permissible. There is internal control and external control in government as there is in illegal organizations like the mafia or drug rings. The internal control concentrates on monopolizing with a central authority, and the external control comes from war and competition which exist both in politics and organized crime for lust of power and money. You have kings and underneath them lords that run the state, which is identical to organized crime business models. They both deal with immoral acts of violence and perform unethically which suits their interests. Essentially, government is a legal form of organized crime. However, both organized crime and government are carried out with increased effectiveness over time in their ability to make decisions that are beneficial to them.

Politics as a Vocation

Passage:

Whoever wants to engage in politics at all, and especially in politics as a vocation, has to realize these ethical paradoxes. He must know that he is responsible for what he may become of himself under the impact of these paradoxes. I repeat, he lets himself in for the diabolic forces lurking in all violence. The great virtuosi of acosmic love of humanity and goodness whether stemming from Nazareth or Assisi or from Indian royal castles, have not operated with the political means of violence. Their kingdom was ‘not of this world’ and yet they worked and still work in this world. The figures of Platon Karatajev and the saints of Dostoievski still remain their most adequate reconstructions. He who seeks the salvation of the soul of his own and of others, should not seek it along the avenue of politics, for the quite different tasks of politics can only be solved by violence. The genius or demon of politics lives in an inner tension with the god of love, as well as with the Christian God as expressed by the church. This tension can at any time lead to an irreconcilable conflict. (pp. 125-26)

Interpretation:

This part of the speech by Max Weber was about the benefits of bureaucracy and how anything related with politics can’t avoid the nature of violence. He states how politics are supposed to be ethical when making decisions which benefit a country. However, this is impossible since politics always has to deal with unethical circumstances that result to the cost of people’s lives, rights, and their money. For example, if a country is threatened by another by means of military hostility, there must be action to resist this, but usually violence is the only option in cases like this. This is the irreconcilable conflict he mentions in the end of this passage. Ultimately, violence coexists with politics. No kingdom or country has survived without unethical choices that involved violence even when leaders and kings disagreed with it, but knew things had to be done. This creates the concept of doing anything necessary in the best interest for the state, regardless of how immoral the consequences may be. For example, the War in Afghanistan is an act of retribution to prevent terrorism, but it is killing innocent people, women and children, every day.  I chose this quote because I completely agree with it. Politics is faced with difficult obstacles on a daily basis, and it is hard for the world to be harmonious. Countries are always seeking more power and control, and this is what makes politics a game of violence. 

The Weimar Constitution

Article 47

The Reich President has the supreme command over the armed forces, in their entirety.

Interpretation:

This simply means that the German President has absolute power over the military. He has the authority to command Germany’s forces in any way he wishes. However, I found this very important because it shows how there is an imbalance of power when handling the military. This can be very harmful for any nation if the President becomes corrupt because he then can use the military recklessly for his own personal vendetta at the cost of the country’s money and their lives. One man can single-handedly cripple a country if they abused this power. There should always be a balance of power when dealing with the military. One person with too much authority is a disadvantage, hence, the reign of Hitler being a prime example of this.

Article 137

There is no state church…

Interpretation:

The state, being Germany, has no official religion that people must follow. This is a right that grants religious freedom for all German citizens. This is important because it didn’t force society to believe in a certain religion. This is beneficial because this allowed society to not feel oppressed about their faith or lack of faith. This gave everyone the willingness to believe in what they wanted. This is still a law that is used in Germany today. Religious freedom is one of the best laws ever implemented in government and society. 

Kracauer

Kracauer’s thesis that films produced in pre-Nazi Germany leading up to 1933 unveiled a desire for an authoritarian leader is influenced in the history of media, particularly in this case film. The three films, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Blue Angel, and M, all have evidence that support a society that craves an authoritarian government and leader.

In The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Kracauer predicts that the carnival and fairground are considered to be a place of peacefulness, joy, and utter freedom. However, the presence of the mad doctor is an outsider infecting their territory with evilness and discontent. Kracauer suggests that the fairground is an allegory of chaos and anarchy from the organ grinder’s music and the merry-go-round. The freedom is also considered to be the desire to return to the pre-industrial and pre-modern past which translates to the return of power they once had before the Treaty of Versailles was passed. This is a metaphor for change, presumably the uprising of Hitler. Caligari represents Hitler, an authoritarian leader, whom is both a con-man and psychiatrist.

The Blue Angel also possesses signs of the desire for an authoritarian leader. The cabaret in the film is a night-club, but it also symbolizes chaos because of the erratic nature of dancing and music with the addition of libations and fornication. The relationship between the students, Lola, and the professor is meant to represent the social structure of Germany and how it is influencing the Hitler Youth. The students’ aggressiveness towards Professor Rath, who loses his job over his love for Lola, depicts repression and the consequences when breaking the standards of society. Rath loses everything for Lola and is tormented with jealousy and lust which makes him self-destructive. He later works as a clown in the show. Rath went from being a teacher, a person with power and respect, to becoming a joke and someone to laugh at. This represents the fall of Chancellor Hindenburg, and Lola being the new leader, Hitler, that everyone desires and lusts for. The demise of Rath’s and Lola’s relationship embodies the rapid change of moral values in society, thus, leading to the preemptive age of Nazism.

M glorifies criminals who disregard the judicial system and operate in their own way. This is considered to be the group that represents Nazis. However, on the other hand, the police are viewed as a counter-productive element to the story defining them as weak and worthless which suggests the failing efforts of government and authority in Germany at the time. This reinforced Kracauer’s thesis in the sense that the German middle class desired an authoritarian leader, someone who can lead properly and can make a difference. Also, the “M” that was placed on the killer’s back symbolized a growing vigilance and dissolution of government in German society because the mafia wanted to dictate justice their way. The killer can also be noted as a social undesirable. The murders of the children in this film are grueling yet meaningful. The killer represents the result of terror, chaos, economic crisis, and anti-democracy. Chancellor Bruning, the last Chancellor before Hitler, declared a clause in the Constitution as the “emergency powers” which allowed police to freely search anyone’s home. The power of police made the public tense and uncomfortable. This disrupted their way of life, and this foreshadows the public’s desperate need for change in government. The public didn’t support nor believe in democratic values and attitudes which is why they wanted to appoint a new leader (Hitler). This film was more brutal than the other two because of the themes of pedophilia and the murderous acts against children, but this kind of imagery made Germany desensitized. This resulted from the loss of World War I which caused a social revolution and led to a horrible economic collapse. Things were so bad in Germany that the only way they could make a profit after the Treaty of Versailles was to export film around the globe.

Nonetheless, these films all helped in rebuilding the German economy, and coincidentally, exposed social issues that were ongoing in Germany. This helped influence the revolution and reform of Government and the reign of Hitler immensely. I believe Kracauer was right in assuming that film depicted signs of German society’s desire for an authoritarian leader. The country’s economy was plummeting and the ideologies and moral values of the people were changing. This was evident in German films and other kinds of art, literature, and media.

Bloody Disgusting

Child murder was explicitly depicted in cinema during the early 1900s to mock real life murders that were going on in Germany during that time. The film, M, is one of the most popular films in the 1930s that showed children being abducted and killed by the hands of an insane pedophiliac murderer. The author, Chris Eggertsen, of the online article, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep: A Brief History of Child Murder in Cinema, suggests that these kinds of films quell the morbid fascinations of killers and sadists whom get a sense of fulfillment with murder through watching the imagery of child killings and pedophilia.  

These films succeed in dealing with the themes of child murder because for those who can stomach it, it helps people please their fantasies which in turn may have prevented murders and other acts of pedophilia. Furthermore, he states that the murder of children in film still has the aura of queasy morbid allure today for those interested in seeking the most horrid and malicious psyche of the human mind. However, for those who cannot stomach these kinds of films should stick to movies that don’t dramatize these kinds of themes. These films were popular in Germany because of their desensitization of mass media and the reality of occurring murders during that time. However, films like these aren’t popular today with the general public, and the author even states how renowned director and producer, Peter Jackson, failed to make a big hit in the box office with his film The Lovely Bones in an attempt to display these contemptuous related themes of linked pedophilia and murder.

The film, It Happened in Broad Daylight, depicts murder by displaying the bodies of 2 children, one being laid down half buried under dirt and leaves with the other exposed in a ditch. It shows the reaction and emotion of wanderers that come across these bodies that instill fear and terror into the audience. Nonetheless, to see dead children involved in that kind of murderous act is more heavily frowned upon in society. This relates to M because they both had killers who acted upon their temptation to abduct, molest, and murder children for their sick pleasure.

Another film that has similar themes with M and It Happened in Broad Daylight is Who Saw Her Die? The trailer begins with an opening scene of children singing in a circle which also happens in the opening scene of M. This shows the children’s innocence and their acceptance of death. There is a child killing pedophiliac who seeks the company and anticipation of murder focused on the youth. Children are shown being kidnapped by an unknown killer dressed in black. The black represents evil, fear, and death which are all depicted in the film M as well. There also lay a child’s body face down floating in the water as a man loads his boat, oblivious of the cadaver’s presence. This symbolizes all the people who are unaware of the criminal acts that are happening right in front of them, yet none seem to pay attention to the severity of these murders that are ongoing and glorified in the media.

All these films illustrate the temptation and morbid pleasure murderers got when killing and molesting children. This was apparent in the times of early 20^th century Germany. Chris Eggertsen found that films like these wanted to mirror what was going on in real life to raise the truth and awareness of child murder cases; it was also a new form of art that breached the norms of bold gruesome horror that people found entertaining and maybe even secretly fulfilling. It succeeded in breaking the barriers of what is tolerable in film and what is happening in the real world pertaining to murders of children who faced abduction, torture, and death.

Luxemburg

Passage:

“Business thrives in the ruins. Cities become piles of ruins; villages become cemeteries; countries, deserts; populations are beggared; churches, horse stalls. International law, treaties and alliances, the most sacred words and the highest authority have been torn in shreds. Every sovereign “by the grace of God” is called a rogue and lying scoundrel by his cousin on the other side. Every diplomat is a cunning rascal to his colleagues in the other party. Every government sees every other as dooming its own people and worthy only of universal contempt. There are food riots in Venice, in Lisbon, Moscow, Singapore. There is plague in Russia, and misery and despair everywhere.”

Interpretation:

Military has become the main industrial focus which is leaving the world in despair. The economy is suffering. People are dying. The population is poverty-stricken. Governments are neglecting their homeland and fail to only focus on international law, its treaties, and alliances. Religion is no longer shared amongst the majority of people. Finally, governments all over the world are oblivious to what they’re doing to their own people, but have the arrogance to notice the flaws of others, thus, causing riots for food because governments all over the globe are forgetting to provide its people with support and stability.

This means that governments around the world are forgetting the main principle which is to protect and serve their people. It seems as if leaders and politicians are acting careless towards their own countries. The lust of power seems to be the theme of this passage, and having a strong military and diplomatic relations are all that matters.  This was a time of military industrial dominance, and chaos was prevalent in most societies. This shows the displaced values in governments during this period.

Homophobia

Paragraph 175 is a law strictly against homosexuality amongst men and bestiality. This sparked a new level of authoritative government controlling how certain sexual interactions are prohibited and therefore punished if performed. The punishment is so severe from a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 10 years according to how serious the sexual offense is. This homophobia made the general public abhor homosexuals because Germany deemed it unnatural. Germany wanted this kind of control over its people, especially to instill fear and rid of any destructive flaws that it may create for the German social status and structure. Germans considered male on male sexual contact to be just as bad as bestiality. They believed homosexuality to be irregular that it goes against German principles and policies.

Sigmund Freud speaks of the pleasure principle which seeks pleasure but avoids pain, but this ideology transcended into the reality principle which is the merely same thing except that it has adapted to the constraints of society. Thus, consequences were introduced for the different types of sexual activities.  Mass culture in Germany was developed through art, media and government. For example, films created a group psychology to evoke a collective emotion from the audience. This was a technique on controlling how to make the people of Germany feel a certain type of way when it came to politics, sexual orientation, religion, patriotism, and system of government. The film, The Blue Angel, heavily emphasized social structure with established rules of behavior and social roles. The lecture further argues the relationship between freedom and duty. What someone feels like doing isn't always the legal thing, but someones duty isn't always the right thing even thought the law says otherwise. Furthermore, the film brought out the unconscionable desires and fears of the middle class which dominated the German population, so influence on that social class for mass manipulation was necessary for the forthcoming of governmental control and social reconstruction to the birth of Nazi Germany.

Cabaret

English Translation:

"It's All a Swindle" (Alles Schwindel), by Mischa Spoliansky and Marcellus Schiffer (1931)

Papa swindles
Mama swindles
Grandmama's a lying thief
We're perfectly shameless
but we're blameless
after all it's our belief
Nowadays the world is rotten
honesty has been forgotten
fall in love but after kissing --
check your purse to see what's missing
Everyone swindles some
my son's a mooch and so's the pooch

German Translation:

Alles Schwindel
Papa schwindelt,
Mama schwindelt,
tut sie auf blob ihren Mund!
Tante Otilie,
und die Familie
und sogar der kleine Hund!
Und besieht man’s aus der Nähe:
Jedes Band und jede Ehe
jeder Kub in dern Betriebe
und sogar die grobe Liebe!
Und die ganze heut’ge Zeit ja,
sogar die Ehrlichkeit!

Interpretation:

This song suggests how everyone including family like parents, grandparents, children and even dog during these times were deceitful and out to cheat and steal for personal gain regardless of it being intentional or not. It was human nature to take whatever people wanted because of how selfishness and greed were molding society during that time.  Every one's shameless, but no one's to blame means that it isn't the people's fault for behaving this way, but rather the age of indulgences that caused social transformation stemming from mass production of goods and the influence of mass media. People's values during this time changed for the worst, that it was hard to trust anyone since everyone was out to take other's monies and possessions. It is a cynical song that even emphasizes how the ones we love the most aren't worthy of trusting, and it even mentions how we all have someone or something taking things from us or 'mooching' without even recognizing it like our children and pets.

I chose this verse because it makes us weary of who we surround ourselves with, especially today. It's a nice lesson in adapting to an ever changing social environment because we never know who to trust or put our faith into. Everything suggested in this song is true even today with the influence of mass media. Greed and selfishness harbor in people's minds today more prevalently because of the lack and abundance of money. Although, even if it's not money or possessions that people are looking for, it's always something people are getting from you like the presence of good company, a laugh, or good times.

English Translation:

No Time (Keine Zeit)

Nowadays, a person doesn't have a second to spare.
Yet many even think the pace is too slow.
If you do business today, you go bankrupt before you have even started.
People don't want to waste time with the beginning,
they'd rather skip straight to the end.
In this day and age, you fall in love in the evening, are engaged at night,
and get married the next morning.
At noon you have a fight; by night you're divorced.
In negotiations between countries, before a treaty is evened signed,
it's already broken.
Because nowadays it is considered chic to be quick.


German Translation:

Nowadays, a person doesn't have a second to spare.
Yet many even think the pace is too slow.
If you do business today, you go bankrupt before you have even started.
People don't want to waste time with the beginning,
they'd rather skip straight to the end.
In this day and age, you fall in love in the evening, are engaged at night,
and get married the next morning.
At noon you have a fight; by night you're divorced.
In negotiations between countries, before a treaty is evened signed,
it's already broken.
Because nowadays it is considered chic to be quick.

Interpretation:

This song simply means how everyone during this era was always in a rush and felt like never wasting a second out of their day. This is a representation of the fast growing economy, government and society that these times were facing. Again, mass media and mass production caused this hustle and bustle of people. Production and speed were the main assets in commerce which forced people (men, women and children) to work long hours for little pay with unequal and unhealthy labor rights. Time was the biggest commodity and no one had any of it because it was always spent working, so when people weren't working they were always in a hurry to get things done. This caused people to indulge and act impulsively towards what they wanted instead of what they needed. The subtle enjoyments of life no longer existed and time itself was neglected. No one had any patience and being laid back was no longer common.

I chose this verse because it's relative to our current society because just like back then we all had to meet deadlines for certain projects, quotas, and/or goals like we do today. We must fulfill these requirements in order to stay a functioning entity in the world of commerce. We are all pressured to do things by a specific date and if not met we lose out on all the necessities of life to at least live a tolerable survivable life. The world moves at such a fast pace that if any of us don't keep up, we will be left behind. However, time should be cherished and respected because its the only commodity we can never buy back.

The Frankfurt School

“The academic disciplines which have been traditionally charged with the history and analysis of literature have been caught unaware by the impact of mass literature, the best seller, the popular magazine, the comics and the like, and they have maintained an attitude of haughty indifference to the lower depths of imagination in print. A field and a challenge have thus been left open and the sociologist will have to do something about them.” Sociology of Literature, 1948, Leo Lowenthal

Leo Lowenthal was an independent Jewish Marxist born, 1900, in Frankfurt, Germany. He grew up during the time of the Weimar Republic, and he became one of Frankfurt school's  leading expert on the sociology of literature and mass culture at the Frankfurt Institute that was established in 1926 and also became their managing editor that launched its journal, the Zeitschrift fur Sozialforschung, in 1932.  He fled Germany with his colleagues to the U.S. when Hitler gained control in 1933. From that point on he wrote publications that later awarded him with honorary doctorates from the University of Siegen, the Free University of Berlin, and the University of Hamburg. He also received the Goethe Medal and Adorno Prize of Frankfurt and Berlin. He was the final survivor of the Frankfurt School and was recognized internationally as a remarkable symbol of its collective achievement. He is known for his belief that mass culture is psychoanalysis in reverse.

In his above quote, he suggests that mainstream media is changing the way people are reading lousier forms of literature just because of popularity. He emphasizes how excellent literature has been overshadowed by the gaudy colorful magazines, superhero comic books, and best selling novels which all lack the substance that more valuable literature has. He even states that the academic level of reading has been lowered to an easier lesser form of literature which hurts society because it dumbs down our level of intellect and interpretation. The challenge he mentions is how he can make society back like more sophisticated literature again with the obstacle of mass media.

I completely agree with Lowenthal's views because in our modern world, mass media is what drives our society into how people will be molded and how they will develop their character. The media influences everything from fashion to food, basically every aspect of life we can think of. His quote was written over 60 years ago, and it means more today than it did back then. People are so easily influenced now that with everything they see on television, in magazines, the Internet, and what they hear on the radio, it is so easy for a young naive mind to follow what their favorite rapper or athlete tells them to do. People of all ages, not only kids are susceptible to this and are likely to follow someone they look like or idolize. The influence today in mass media is getting worse as time goes on, especially for our younger generations who are very impressionable.

Siddhartha

Passage:

Siddhartha answered: "How old, would you think, is our oldest Samana, our venerable teacher?"

Quoth Govinda: "Our oldest one might be about sixty years of age."

And Siddhartha: "He has lived for sixty years and has not reached the nirvana. He'll turn seventy and eighty, and you and me, we will grow just as old and will do our exercises, and will fast, and will meditate. But we will not reach the nirvana, he won't and we won't. Oh Govinda, I believe out of all the Samanas out there, perhaps not a single one, not a single one, will reach the nirvana. We find comfort, we find numbness, we learn feats, to deceive others. But the most important thing, the path of paths, we will not find."

Interpretation:

This passage seemed to be my favorite because of Siddhartha's cynical and pessimistic outlook on how his people train as Samanas to achieve nirvana. Although he has some doubt, he doesn't disregard the meaning of his faith, but does question the traditional practices that have long been overdue for change. He mentions the long amount of time spent meditating, fasting, and exercising which leads only to failure of nirvana. He is merely trying to think of alternative methods that he and others could practice to reach their ultimate goal of nirvana. He seems hopeless though because he doesn't have the answers which is why he's questioning his current techniques of repetition to no avail. He mentions the path of paths which represents the only possible way to achieve nirvana, but he doesn't believe one exists at the moment. He doubts himself and his peers, but this is the foreshadowing clue which leads to his experience with Buddha and nirvana later in the story. This passage is very Nihilistic in the sense that he's a contrarian to his own beliefs and is skeptical of his own faith. He is against following the practices that have shown time and time again failure upon failure even for those who grow old and die. He wants to see a change. Siddhartha seems to ridicule and forsake his teacher by saying that all the time spent devoted to praying is worthless and is only deceiving others into believing their doing something meaningful and worthwhile, but in reality it is all a waste of time if they don't attain nirvana. It is a very harsh thing to say to one's mentor, but it is a perfectly valid argument. Siddhartha found no value in what he and his colleagues were doing.

I chose this passage because of Siddhartha's resilient antics and questionable state of mind which he confronts bluntly to his teacher about everything they are doing and why. I liked the boldness and honesty of Siddhartha in this passage. I personally love when things are questioned because finding validity and an understanding for everything is worth knowing instead of just believing everything we are told. The best way I can describe this is like when something gets popular and a bandwagon is created, but no one dares to ask why and everyone joins in on conformity. Clarity matters in every aspect of life.

Expressionism and Dadaism

Edvard Munch

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian expressionist and print maker in the late 19th and early 20th century. He greatly influenced German expressionism and is most known for his painting, The Scream. When he first attended college he studied to become an engineer, but later became sick and left. He then pursued his painting career at the Royal School of Art and Design of Christania in Paris. He idolized European art from such artists as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gaugin.  He also took a great interest in symbolism which later transitioned into expressionism which he is most notable for because of the psychological themes in his paintings which struck people's interest and emotion.

"The Scream," Edvard Munch, 1893

In the painting, The Scream, its colors are very dark and dull which is done intentionally to evoke a feeling of sadness and pain. The sky, for example, reminds me of blood which translates to suffering, and the water gives that off the fear of suffocating with no way out. The bald eyebrowless man with the hands to his face screaming portrays panic and fear of death and isolation. What made this painting even creepier were the two people standing in the back as onlookers withdrawing from helping this poor man out which further confirms how alone this screaming man really is. This man feels trapped in his own predicament without any help isolated from society. His mental state is unstable which only deepens his suffering and because of all the pain going on in this picture death is the inevitable conclusion. This conveys Nihilism by denying any type of positive emotion such as happiness, unity, life, and most of all hope. This man is dreaded by hopelessness and cannot find a solution that will help save him. This is a psychological depiction of one's mind when feeling intolerable pain. On a side note, this remarkable painting was recently sold for $119,922,500 in 2012. Four versions of this painting were finished with oil, tempera, and pastel on cardboard.

"The Sick Child", Edvard Munch, 1885-86

The Sick Child is an oil painting of a distraught mother sitting beside her daughter's death bed as she holds her hand with her head down in horror. The mother clearly shows us that there is no hope left for her daughter's recovery from her fatal illness. The daughter has her head turned towards her mother yet it looks like she's either unconscious, too weak to talk, or possibly even dead. Like Edvard Munch's previous painting, The Scream, this one also conveys emotion of anguish, misery, hopelessness, and death. However, the difference in this painting is that this painting seems more real since we can see the humanly features much clearer in this one. Although, it also has very gloomy and dull colors like The Scream that represent an aura of sadness yet again. The Nihilistic theme in this painting is the worthlessness and dreary reality of a lost life. However, it is much more direct and seems more personal than The Scream because this shows a connection between people and what emotion death can cause like anger and emptiness. This lifeless eerie painting can almost be described as torture to some degree because it can relate to anyone who has lost a family member. This too is also intolerable pain, and no parent ever wants to bury their own child. The fear of outliving your child is also something to recognize. Nothing in this painting features happiness, life, or hope.

Hannah Hoch

Hannach Hoch was a German Dada artist who is most known for her work during the Weimar period. She was also one of the originators of photomontage. Before she became an iconic figure in Dadaism, she first went to school for graphics class and met a very influential artist and friend, Raoul Hausmann, a member of the Berlin Dada movement. She learned much from Hausmann and had an intimate relationship with him. When they separated she began exhibiting her work around Europe and was noticed for her most famous work, Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic, which was a collage of different pictures pasted together. She became a Dada artist because she wanted to expose the horrid truth of sexism, war, and racism during that era.

"Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Beer-Belly of the Weimar Republic," Hannah Hoch, 1919 

In this Dada style photomontage by Hannah Hoch, it shows us the era of industrialization and militarism of imperialists. This picture was made by cutting out photos and joining them together to create an illusion of an unreal subject. The colors are mostly yellow and black to highlight the heavy machinery, metal parts, and other mass producing objects to display the power of government and strength of economy during the early 20th century. There are laborers, dancers, women and men alike, that are shown countless times which represent the foundation of war and the power of communism. The nihilistic themes in this photo revolve around Hannah Hoch's anti-war, anti-sexism, and anti-racism movement. She disregards what good any of it is doing and sees no value in it because of all the negative social and political issues it caused. The photo is chaotic to look at to say the least, and it's meant to because it characterizes the the development of unequal human rights, labor laws,  mass production, and a meaningless war. The words anti and Dada are shown a few times in the picture as well which clearly delivers Hannah Hoch's contemptuous viewpoint toward the Industrial age. Hannah sees everything during this time as a setback rather than progression for mankind. Her pessimistic perspective in this photomontage reminds us that she didn't support the transition into the new ear and found it hurtful for society which is exactly what Nihilism represents.

Dada Manifesto - Hugo Ball

"Each thing has a word, but the word has become a thing by itself."

-Hugo Ball

My interpretation is that Hugo is mocking the art of language, but more specifically the art of manipulation. Hugo is stating that we use words regularly, but we do not think or understand their effects and underlying meanings. I believe Hugo wants society to think about what is being exposed to us and how we should interpret these things correctly and accurately. Media is one of the biggest forms of manipulation and word twisting entities we have always had, but if we pay attention to not what's just being said, but what the motive and reason for why it is being said and how, we'll be a lot smarter. Hugo Ball is basically warning us to be cautious and not to be fooled by whats constantly being told to us, and that doesn't just mean media either. It could even be anyone you know like friends or family. There is always a reason for what is said and how it comes across. 

I chose this quote because I thought it was a bit confusing at first, but it pondered my interest. I do agree with what I think is being said which is to be careful of what we're all told because everything isn't always what it seems. For example, the quote makes me think about how the U.S. government and the media portrays global issues to us as if we're the ones being attacked and and we're defending our liberty, but in reality we're in other countries to maximize profits through rebuilding infrastructures to cripple and control their economies and to steal their natural resources. This is a form of manipulation that Hugo Ball is talking about and it is deception at its best. Ultimately, I think Hugo Ball is trying to say everything has its own meaning and we should never underestimate anything or anyone. 

German People and Society

According to the CIA World Factbook, German society has taken great leaps to be where they currently are today having faced the trauma of post-war conditions and financial obligations. To start off, the ethnic group composition of Germany is comprised of 91.5% German, 2.4% Turkish, and 6.1% of other which includes of mostly Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish. The native language is German which goes without saying, but the religious views are 34% protestant, 34% Roman Catholic, 3.7% Muslim, and 28.3% either unaffiliated or have other beliefs. This tells us that at least 68% of German society is Christian. Germany has the 16th largest population in the world at an astounding 81,305,856 people as of July 2012. However, what's surprising is that the population growth is actually declining at a 0.2% rate and ranks 208th in the world. A reason for this is that the birth rate is lower than the death rate. Germany ranks 37th in the world for highest death rate which is very surprising. Although, it is because there are more elderly people than there are young which in turn means the society is dying faster due to old age. In addition, the migration rate is very low at .007% which is good for Germany since no one really wants to leave considering they have a flourishing economy now with great health care. Concerning health matters, 67,000 are infected with HIV/AIDS ranking Germany as 50th most prevalent in the world. Obesity has also hit the population at 12.9% which isn't nearly as bad as the United States, but is likely to increase in the coming years. Germany funds 4.5% of its GDP towards its education system and it certainly pays off because 99% of the population over the age 15 can both read and write. Not many countries can brag about a stat like that.

Germany has prevailed despite its huge economic depression and inferior diplomatic status during the majority of the 20th century, but these societal statistics show that they are still a mini-superpower, economically stable, healthy, and prosperous nation. The Germans have shown persistence through the rebuild of their social structure after battling times of Nazism and genocide. It's sad Germans hold that stigma, but they know they are pursuing whats best for themselves and the world with their proactive attitude and actions in the United Nations to promote peace building and human rights which will benefit them in future diplomatic standings and global trade.

Christianity's Origin

"Christianity as antiquity.-- When we hear the ancient bells growling on a Sunday morning we ask ourselves: Is it really possible! This, for a Jew, crucified two thousand years ago, who said he was God's son? The proof of such a claim is lacking. Certainly the Christian religion is an antiquity projected into our times from remote prehistory; and the fact that the claim is believed - whereas one is otherwise so strict in examining pretensions - is perhaps the most ancient piece of this heritage. A god who begets children with a mortal woman; a sage who bids men work no more, have no more courts, but look for the signs of the impending end of the world; a justice that accepts the innocent as a vicarious sacrifice; someone who orders his disciples to drink his blood; prayers for miraculous interventions; sins perpetrated against a god, atoned for by a god; fear of a beyond to which death is the portal; the form of the cross as a symbol in a time that no longer knows the function and ignominy of the cross -- how ghoulishly all this touches us, as if from the tomb of a primeval past! Can one believe that such things are still believed?"

from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human, s.405, R.J. Hollingdale transl.


The above quote questions the creation of Christianity and where it came from because of who started it and what it seems to represent. The author states how ironic it is that a Jew who claims to be God's son whom was crucified two thousand years ago has any supporting evidence to prove his bold claim of being the son of the almighty knowing and creator of the universe. Crucifixions were common in those times for criminals whom were murderers, traitors, thieves, etc., but the author is stating that Jesus isn't special because he died on a cross which many believe to be a sacrifice, but isn't necessarily one just because other people said it was. The question the author is really asking is why was Jesus treated so special that people just had to follow and listen? As he states, "The proof of such a claim is lacking," which pertains to Jesus' annunciation and identity as a fraud and a lie. The author also mentions how fear is what makes the religious followers so submissive and obedient to an all knowing God that is truly unknown to us. People pray for miracles and are scared to be punished by means of death, sickness, or an after life of infinite pain and sorrow which translates to the masses being controlled by the fear of death and the fear of the unknown after life if, in fact, there is some kind of life after. The author also states how "ghoulishly" it touches people when religion is supposed to be the opposite -- joyful, uplifting, and something positive which is harshly contradicting to the whole meaning of religion entirely.

The argument at hand is faith vs. reason. Today in our modern world, religions of all kinds are growing at extreme rates, especially Christianity. Scientists and realists alike persistently challenge faith because of the lack of evidence religion provides to the world of facts vs. beliefs through  means of experimentation and findings of proof whether it be tangible or intangible. They question holy scriptures like the Bible or the Quran, for example. These kinds of written works are said to be fabricated stories over many many years passed on by word of mouth that may have been misconstrued and/or misinterpreted over time if in fact any of the stories ever occurred in the first place. In today's world, it's becoming more common that people are now starting to really question faith and why it exists. Even the numbers in atheists are growing exponentially. The origin of Christianity is something none of us should overlook because everything even Jesus or God is worth questioning, whether you're a person of faith or not.