The Age of Anxiety, Part II: Leni Reifenstahl's Triumph of the Will

Out of curiosity, I watched the first ten minutes (the whole thing is approximately two hours) of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph des Willens on YouTube. It begins in the sky, almost as if from Hitler's POV. He is in a plane, and all the viewer sees is the vast expanse of clouds. After a few minutes, the plane lands, and Hitler disembarks from it. He is apparently in Nuremberg, and there are thousands of people lining the streets to see him. As he makes his way to wherever he is going--he is going to make a speech--the crowd is waving, shouting, and smiling. Everyone, even toddlers in their mother's arms are doing the Roman Salute. Beginning the film by showing Hitler in the sky symbolizes that he is high above all other Germans. Not only is he above them, he can see them; maybe he wanted it to mean that he was "watching over" them. The cinematography, although I am not that experienced or knowledgeable in that area, seemed to be very well done. For example, the beginning. Some of it was shot from above, some of it was shot from below (looking up at the buildings, the flags, the sky). There were close-ups of faces. I have to admit, whenever she zoomed in on Hitler, and if he turned to the camera so his face was visible, I got chills. Even though I only watched ten minutes, it seems as though it would be effective propaganda.
Did Riefenstahl believe that Hitler was a good leader? It seems like most of the Germans at the time thought he was, so it's not so surprising that she agreed to make the film. I wonder how she felt after the war was over and Hitler's true nature was revealed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPAxaFxjiDk

The Age of Anxiety, Part I: Philosophy and Physics

The first time I was exposed to the idea of existentialism was in English class, when we read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Interestingly, Crime and Punishment was published in 1866. This is well before WWI but I guess it was during Nietzsche's lifetime. In the novel, the characters are faced with moral dilemmas, and the value of life, religion and responsibility for one's actions are the driving themes. Raskolnikov murders and robs an old pawnbroker because he believes he will use the money better than she will and also that some people, because of extraordinary intellect or talent, are above the law or rules of society. Existentialism was very hard to understand at first, and still remains quite complex. However, after learning about it in class today, and thinking about C&P, it has become a little clearer.
One of the most thought provoking novels I have ever read is The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. It is set in Czechoslovakia during the years of Soviet invasion and communist terror. It examines Nietzsche's idea of eternal recurrence, one of the foundations of existentialism. If everything that happens to us will happen over and over again (we live multiple lives) then life loses its meaning. But the other side of the argument is that "what has happened once may as well not have happened at all." I like to think that we have one life, and thus our actions have meaning and importance, and I believe that this is the conclusion the characters come to at the end.
It's always fun to learn about science in history. Having studied some of the concepts presented in class, like Special and General Relativity, radioactivity, and atomic structure, it is cool to know what was going on in the world in 'regular' society at this time. These concepts boggled my mind in class (especially Relativity)--I can't imagine what those scientists felt when they realized that there were all these questions that now needed to be answered. The fact that this new age of physics that shattered beliefs about how the world around us literally worked occured at the same time when WWI had already created a disillusioned society is a strange but almost beautiful coincidence.

Connection Across Time: War in Iraq

Although war is perhaps not so glorified as it was in the beginning of the 20th century(see Orpen painting and British Propaganda poster), when the U.S. invaded Iraq, many soldiers went with noble intentions. We were overthrowing a dictator, spreading democracy, investigating "weapons of mass destruction" to protect the rest of the world. It started at a time when everyone was rattled by the prospect of terrorism and eager to wage any war against it. In the early 1900s, Europe was uniting yet dividing itself by forming alliances, and it was a time when self-determination and nationalism and territorial claims were instead the explosive issues. Just as World War I was not expected to last more than a couple months, the United States most likely did not plan on staying on Iraq for over seven years. Like perhaps every since WWI, soldiers are left haunted by their experiences overseas. For example, on Grey's Anatomy, one of the surgeons, Dr. Hunt served as a trauma surgeon in Iraq. Although he is a skilled surgeon and good at thinking on his feet to save lives, he continues to suffer emotionally from what he saw and endured and this strains his personal relationships.

The Treaty of Versailles

In reading about the Treaty of Versailles, I thought about how throughout history France and Germany are always enemies. It may not be this way today, but it is still and interesting pattern. For centuries, the Bourbons hated the Hapsburgs. Otto von Bismarck started the Franco-Prussian War to remove French influence in the southern German states and to complete German Unification. Now in the Treaty Versailles, France wanted Alsace-Lorraine (which they lost from the Franco-Prussian War) back, and basically wanted to ensure that Germany would stay weak.
The pettiness and immaturity demonstrated by the Treaty of Versailles is almost sickening. Could World War II have been avoided if this treaty had not been so harsh? No one can really say, but it's possible. The Guilt Clause placed all the blame on Germany. By punishing and humiliating them, the Allies allowed a country that was also devastated by war to play the victim. Then people like Hitler could justify restoring "the frontiers of 1914" "only by blood"(Mein Kampf, 1924). Wilson's Fourteen Points seem--I can't believe I am writing this--too idealistic. I think if I had been living at the time, I would have agreed with him, and I still do. However, we are still so far from achieving that neatly outlined world. After reading it, I thought "How simple." I'm not going to stop hoping.

Ready To Start: William Orpen

When one thinks of the First World War this is not what comes to mind. The lines and strokes are soft, the colors are bright and cheerful. See the empty bottles of liquor, the soldier's lavish fur vest. In the background, there appears to be a silhouette of two people embracing. The soldier looks calm, ready, and brave, his face glowing and healthy. No, what you probably think of, what I usually think of, is more like Otto Dix's War or Skull--images of death and decay, harsh lines, dark colors, images that overwhelm you and make your head spin. I don't know what Orpen intended to make the viewer feel, but the irony in this painting makes it just as tragic as the raw and honest depictions of war. This soldier probably thought he would be home in four months. Instead, he perhaps suffered for two or three years, just another another victim of the stalemate and slaughter that ravaged the continent.

British Propaganda

It appears that this poster is encouraging women in Britain to join the Red Cross. The "story", the scene, makes me sick. I feel that depriving someone, even one's enemy, especially one's enemy, of water is like a crime...an act so lacking in compassion that you wonder if that person is actually human, something associated with an incorrigible villain in a fairy tale. I don't want to believe that the "German Sister" actually did that. Shame on Britain. Posters encouraging contribution to the war effort by appealing to national pride is acceptable but this is going too far. Of course, this kind of behavior is still prevalent today. Some advertisements blatantly put down a rival's product in comparison. Honestly, for me, it backfires: I don't want to buy the product being advertised. I think advertisements should "play fair". I understand that propaganda is by definition biased, but this is too dramatic.

Skull by Otto Dix, 1924

This drawing of a skull by Otto Dix is the word "haunting" in image form. Notice that the skull appears to have hair and a mustache. It gives the impression of recent death, a sort of half-death half-life state. The worms are devouring the skull, giving this person no peace in death. This was probably the fate of many soldiers: to rot in the trenches. Skulls in general are so eerie--even though there are no eyes or lips, I still feel like someone is staring back at me, attempting to tell me something. Yet the fact that a skull is depicted rather than a face shows universality of fate--all skulls a essentially the same. Many faces could be placed in front.