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.