Thursday 8 March 2012

Brief Overlook of German Expressionism

To discuss German Expressionism, we can break it down to 3 components which is its theme, narrative, characteristic and also its style. We will begin the discussion with the German Expressionism theme.


History
German Expressionist film movement started after World War I. Germany undergoes severe social, political and economic dislocation after being defeated in the war. This has created a great chaos in Germany. The people were not satisfied with the changes and went against the authority. Therefore, film produced at that time had the theme of revolt.

When Germany entered World War I many of the expressionists had voluntarily enlisted into the armed forces anxious to experience the affects of war first hand believing that it would greatly influence their artistic ambitions (McLaughlin, n.d.). Paintings after the service showed self-analysis of the expressionists. When it transforms into film, the theme of self-analysis is still in practice.

The horror of World War I left the people of Germany in a state of desperate poverty and psychologically scarred. Because of this, filmmakers make films that dealt with madness and other dark theme in a highly stylized and symbolic way (Mensing, 2009).

After World War I, social classes started to divide the people in Germany. It seems like a modernist movement, yet it looks at the psychological effects of the new age of technology on individuals. People in the country at that time faced sexual and emotional uncertainty (Hayward, 2006). Hence, film produced that time reflects the theme of primitive sexual savagery.


Narrative
Moving on to narratives, a narratives meaning is created by establishing something that is a part of a whole story and usually it is the cause of something else. It is usually combined with human actions or events that affect human beings. The meaning of each event is produced by the part it plays in the whole episode (Steve, n.d.).

As for German Expressionist film, it often has stories within a larger narrative. Expressionist often set the films in the past or in exotic environment and its film, too, involved the elements of fantasy or horror genre. Furthermore, Expressionist used the narrative to convey characters subjectivity such as the narrative convention of self-contained stories and emphasize on fantasy. For instance, the Tartuffe (1926) presented the narrative of self-contained stories in the film, whereas, the film of Wachsfigurenkabinett (1924) have had the element of fantasy in the movie.

Furthermore, German Expressionism is considered as an early horror as it encompassed certain plot conventions of horror genre. For the movies nowadays, the conventions of horror genre are used and re-used in the film. For example, evil doctor / scientist who commits murder by manipulating a ‘monster’ whom he controls, Metropolis (1927), mysterious freakish creatures that come to town bringing terror monster falls in love with beautiful girl, Nosferatu (1922) and angry townspeople chase monster from their community (Scribd, n.d.).


Characteristics
The characteristics of German Expressionist film are quite distinctive. German-Expressionist films in general deals with a lot of chaos and sometimes anger due to the loss of Germany in the WWI. One can also notice that it deals with the sense of depression resulted from the destruction they had suffered after the war.


The story of German-Expressionist films often deals with the ongoing of the underworld. The message of the film is often brought out by symbolic elements and depends highly on the atmosphere in the film. German-Expressionism goes on to influence a lot of other genres such as horror and noir films.

Stylized Distortion and Bizarre Shot Composition

The most noticeable characteristic in German-Expressionist film is that they always have fantastic narrative, stylized distortion and also bizarre shot composition. “The angular performances, heavy makeup and distorted settings characteristic of German Expressionist cinema conveyed an ominous, supernatural atmosphere” (Bordwell, 2008). German-Expressionist film has the Oneiric quality which shows a dreamlike mood in the film but the dream is in the form of a nightmare. This form of influence is later seen in a lot of American films especially in film noir detective drama and horror films.


Character's Perspective


The perspective of the story in German-Expressionist film normally focuses only on one of the characters in the film. This means that the audience will experience the perspective of only one character. It is common for this kind of film to have a scene when you can tell that there is danger approaching, an influence often seen in horror films. The film often has disturbing and unsettling depiction of injury or even death.

The main character of the film is normally evil and not heroic. Certain characters in the film have unnatural qualities due to makeup or editing. This causes the characters to appear unapproachable to the audience and makes it hard for the audience to feel sympathy for the character. The settings for its stories are often in the city. The sets are often bizarre. The architectural structure is often visually skewed.

Chiaroscuro lighting


When studying German Expressionism, one can notice the style through some of the special film techniques shown in films influenced by German Expressionism. Chiaroscuro lighting style is often used in German Expressionist film. Chiaroscuro is the arrangement of lights in dim condition that creates a lot of hard shadows. This form of lighting is able to portray the idea of violence, horror and suspend which enhance the narrative of the film.

Madness


In German Expressionism films, character movements and incidents happened are presented in madness form. Character(s) are often portrayed as an insane person. From the beginning to the ending of the film, mise-en-scene of the film is stylized as if it was the point of view of a madman.

Slanting lines and curves


Settings in German Expressionism film uses lots of slanting lines and curves. This is named as Expressionism Und Film (Lindsey, n.d.). Those slanting lines and curves are metaphysical, meaning there are no special meanings to them. Stylizations of the characters that refer to characters’ physical body movement and facial expressions are designed to blend with the curving lines in the scene.  This helps in creating a depth of setting in emotion of character and space where the “Background comes to the Foreground” and vice versa.

Anthropomorphism (animating object) 


Other special film technique of German Expressionism films is anthropomorphism (animating object) (Lindsey, n.d.). In German language, objects are given life. The objects share the same adjectives and verbs with human beings. In film, non-living things are attributed to human characteristics. For example, Alice in Wonderland by Tim Burton give lives to Poker cards, talking cat (Caterpillar) and talking frog (Frog-Footman).

Visual Distortion
There could be a selective distortion in a creative way in the surroundings of characters that shows the complexity of the character. The audiences are able to feel the characters’ depth through the manipulation of the surroundings. For example, in Dr. Calligari; the vision of the prison-cell with its verticals narrowing as they rise like arrow-heads towards the high heavens, while the oppressive effect is heightened by these vertical being extended along the floor where the chained prisoner sits in his own Hell. The rhomboid window is a mockery of his freedom, in its most expressive expression (Lindsey, n.d.).

Doppelganger
Characters in German Expressionism films will create a doppelganger (Lindsey, n.d.), which later become independent and act against the creator. The mirror image can be shadow or personality traits. For example, in the film “Dark City” by Alex Proyas, the Strangers wanted to extract memories from John Murdoch but failed. At the same time, John adapted their super power and fought against them. They unintentionally create the same image of them whom had defeated them in the end of the film.


The journey of German Expressionism from art cinema to the Hollywood mainstream began with the exile and expulsion of many film producers, directors, writers, actors, and music composers from Germany in January 1933. In the year of 1940s, film noir (new film genre) gave tangible expression to the psychic confusion. Film noir received it’s named from French film critics and was heavily influenced by German expressionist film making techniques (Digital Film Archive, n.d.). 


Influence of German Expressionism
A direct connection between the crime films of the German Expressionist cinema and the American private eye movie is made in the work of Fritz Lang, a German director. He brought the dark vision of criminality of his Expressionistic classics to Hollywood and later became one of the most prolific directors of the noir genre. His impressive films include The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia, The Secret beyond the Door, While the City Sleeps and Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Digital Film Archive, n.d.). 


In film noir, Expressionism found a worthy subject in the archetypal American antihero, the visual style of film noir conveys the dominant mood through expressive use of darkness. Character in exterior and interior settings overwhelms the shadows and claustrophobic compositions in predominantly underlit and night time scenes. Characters are given little opportunity to orientate themselves to the threatening and shifting shadowy environment. Silhouettes, shadows, mirrors and reflections indicate lack of both unity and control (Digital Film Archive, n.d.).


The story lines of German expressionist films matched the visuals in terms of darkness and disillusionment. The films' dramatic effects produced motifs of claustrophobia and paranoia. It is often somber in mood and featuring characters from a corrupt underworld of crime.


Many modern films demonstrate the influence of German expressionism, especially horror films. The style of German expressionism is ideal for portraying macabre subject matters. Devices such as low key lighting are used to convey mystery, and monsters lurking in shadows. Distortion is also commonly used in German expressionism. Through make-up, camera angles, costumes and strange backdrops, distortion comes into the later horror films too (Strozykowski, 2008).


Beside this, according Starfield (2006), said that the influence of the German Expression can be clearly seen in some of the Disney movies. We noticed that they tried applying German Expressionism influence into their movies. One of the influences that we have noted is that Disney animators consult the expressionist sketches for the 1992 animated film, Aladdin.  The influences are shown as there are some characters with pointed beards, exaggerated heavy eyebrows and moustaches. These influences can be clearly seen in the villainous character. We know that Disney films owe a direct or indirect debt to German expressionist cinema as Disney favours the German illustrator of Grimm’s Fairy tales, Ludwig Richter, and Heinrich Kley whose elephant drawings influenced Dumbo (1941).


Influence of German Expressionism in Tim Burton
When the filmmakers are discussing about German Expressionism nowadays, first director that comes to their mind will be Tim Burton. Timothy William Burton or better known as Tim Burton is a very famous American film director, producer, animator and scriptwriter who produced a lot of dark and quirky-themed movies. His films are strongly influenced by the German Expressionist. Since 1984, he had directed and produced over 14 films which containing similar aspects and styles which includes Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare before Christmas, Batman, Batman Returns, Alice in Wonderland, Beetlejuice and others. He has advanced the tradition of Dark Gothic Art by applying it into mainstream film production and gain a lot of attention from the public (Chambers, 2007).


Gothic Art was originally found in a lot of religious building, castles and city buildings. During 20th century, it gains another attribute through the lighting of the sets. Harsh contrasts, long drawn elements, shadows and cold forms are necessary for the set. The effect of the shadows in the set give the dark element of the Gothic form and it had also evoked the feelings of terror without actually showing something which is horrific. Dark Gothic Art applied to film, is an important part of the Expressionist form. In modern day films, the true idea of Gothic art no longer exists as a whole. Films of today that took the place of Gothic works are of those of horror, gore, and violence (Chambers, 2007).


Although each of Burton’s films has a totally different storyline but there is a consistency in all his work which is harsh lighting, muted colour, period-design costumes, mono-chromatic set designs and a surrealistic overtone to each film. Many of his sets are artesian and have the appearance of a human touch. Below are some of the films which are influenced by the elements of German Expressionism and dark gothic art by Tim Burton.


In later post, we are going to analyse two films by Tim Burton which have influence of German Expressionism. The films are Edward Scissorhands (1990) and Sweeny Todd (2008).


Film List
Old film
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Genuine: A Tale of the Vampire 
The Golem: How He Came Into the World
The Head of Janus
Hypnose
Nosferatu
Phantom
Metropolis
The Haunted Castle
Pandora’s Box 


Contemporary films
Dark City
Careful
Max
Psycho, The Lodger
Robocop
The Last Laugh
Aladdin
Pirates of The Carribbean
The Haunted Mansion
Alice in the Wonderland
Peter Pan & Wendy
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of the Fleet Street
Edward Scissorhands
The Crow
Blade Runner


References
Bordwell, David, and Kristin Thompson. FILM ART: An Introduction. 8th ed. New York:   
             McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print. Pages 449


Chambers. R (2007) Tim Burton’s Advancement of Dark Gothic Art. Retrieved March 2,   2012  

Digital Film Archive. ( n.d ). Film Lesson Plan : MIA As Classic Hollywood Style.
Retrieved March 1, 2012, from     

EdronFilm. (2009). Tim Burton's use of Expressionism in Sweeney Todd. Retrieved

FilmFreakCentral. (2007). Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.Retrieved
Hayward, S. (2006). Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides).  Abingdon,    
            Oxford, UK: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

HubPages. (2009). Why We Love Tim Burton? Retrieved March 1, 2012, from
             
http://maddartist.hubpages.com/hub/Why-We-Love-Tim-Burton

IMDb. (2007). Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Retrieved March

Lindsey, W. (n.d.). German Expressionism Film Techniques. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from 
            http://filmdirectors.co/german-expressionism-film-techniques/

McLaughlin, N. (n.d.). German Expressionism 1910 to 1940’s Germany. Retrieved 4

Mediaknowall. (n.d.). Camera Angles. Retrieved March 1,2012, from

Mensing, C. (2009). Film history: German expressionism. Retrieved 4 March, 2012 from 
            http://www.helium.com/items/1562986-german-expressionism-film

Scribd. (n.d.). German Expressionism. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from

Starfield. P. (2006). Film and Art: On the German Expressionist and the Disney     Exhibitions.          
            Retrieved March 1, 2012 from http://transatlantica.revues.org/1192#quotation

Steve, D. (n.d.). Steve Denning. Retrieved March 4, 2012, from         

Strozykowski. M (2008). Info on German Expressionist Films. Retrieved March 1, 2012,




25 comments:

  1. Hey, I saw you mentioned the movie Aladdin was one of the influenced by German Expressionism, could you please explain more about it, like what are the influences?

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    1. The story line of the movie Aladdin is more toward surreal content.As you can see, there's flying carpet, magic lamp which can summon Genie. The castle in the film also more toward gothic style. There's lot of low key lighting which bring out and enhance the mysterious feel of the film as well. The character - Jafar in the film also portraying the madness of the film where as a powerful and evil sorcerer . He occasionally manipulates the Sultan into agreeing with what he says by hypnotizing him with a snake staff that he always carries. Jafar even want to get all the power from Genie as his third wishes. It's such a madness behavior.

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  2. In my opinion, one of the German Expressionism influences that I could seen from Aladin is the protagonist character. Aladin is a actually a passive character, as he stole apples and vest even a pair of pants. He steal in order to survive as he send an indirectly message to the audience that stealing is one of the way to survive. Stealing is a negative behavior that had against the norm of society. Yet, he still appear as a main cast and he was drawn with big eye like those Disney heroes to show his innocent. The protagonist,Aladin is misleading the audience especially the children as they are the main target audience of Aladin.

    It's just my opinion and please correct me if i had made any mistake. By the way, I would like to know what are the other Disney movie that influences by German Expressionism.

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    1. Others film are included Alice in the wonderland and Beauty and the Beast. In the film Alice in the wonderland, the setting and props like castle of the film is heavily influenced by the gothic and bizarre style where it do not exist in our real life. The content of the story line is also surreal because it's impossible for the animals to talk in our real life and the characters like the Queen of Heart's body also distorted where she has a big head and the way she moves also in jerky and weird.

      Hope it answer your questions, and thanks for your comments!

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  3. Hi, I've read the articles and it's well explained, but i can't really understand the so called "mise-en-scene" things and the characteristic that you've mention. Could you provide some film examples or images, so that I can have better understanding on what it is. I'm really interested to it as "Edward Scissorhands" is my favorite movie. Thank you.

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    1. Thank you for the comment and suggestion. Images and visual aid of the explanation will be update soon.

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  4. the film movement background are explain in details, but the explanation of the characteristic is a bit confusing. i think it would be better if you separate the characteristic part to different section and explain it individually.

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  5. Indeed a long and in depth analysis on the theme, narrative, characteristics as well as style. It has a complete coverage on the background of the theory. Cited sources from different authorities are pretty self explanatory. However, it would be better if there were visual aids to further complement the descriptions.

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    1. Thanks for the suggestion, we'll make an improvement on it.

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  6. Good descrption and well explained introduction. A bit messy with the fonts and alignments, not consistent. In my opinion, maybe there were too much para involved. Try emerging the para together as most of it only consist not more than 3 sentences.

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    1. Thank you for the comment and suggestion.

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  7. Hi. I find your blog post very informative but somewhat disorganized as you've merged all history, characteristics and influence of German Expressionism in a single text. I think the flow of your ideas would be clearer if you separate them into individual blog posts. =)

    Your film list would also serve as a better reference if you include the years released and the directors.

    You have made a very good explanation about how German Expressionist themes came about because of WWI but it would be more complete if you could include the post-war climate that encouraged its development and how German Expressionist films had overcome anti-German prejudices when it was internationally recognized and shown in major European cities.

    You have a complete coverage of the unique characteristics in German Expressionism. It would be perfect with screenshots. About the 'stories within a larger narrative' which you've mentioned, I'm not quite sure what is meant by 'Tartuffe (1926) presented the narrative of self-contained stories in the film'. Is is safe for me to assume that it is similar to how The Book of Vampire in Nosferatu and the diary of Dr. Caligari in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari serves as a teller of a story within the story? O_O

    Well done overall! =D

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    1. thanks for the compliment.

      Yes, based on the explanation in the post, both of the films that you mention are using the same way to tell the story. The book of Vampire and the diary they serve the same function to tell story within the story.

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  8. Hi. I was wondering why the background and characteristic/stylistic was merge into one post.[Thats why you can see there is 2 comment from a same blog by 2 different person :)]

    I took quite a long time to read this article, and sorry to say i did have a moment want to stop reading it.

    Anyway, is very interesting to see your example is very different from any other same film form blog. Especially when you talk about Disney movie in relation with German Expressionism unique stylistic. But, sadly there is no visual aids (both video and still image)provided to indicate your example. :)

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    1. Thank you for the comment and suggestion. We'll make an improvement on it. Images and visuals for the explanation will be upload soon.

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  9. The fonts used were not consistent. Maybe you could include visuals such as picture or videos as an added advantage. Overall, it was quite well done. There is still room for improvement.

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    1. Thank you for the comment and suggestion. We'll make an improvement on it. Images and visuals for the explanation will be upload soon.

      Delete
  10. In this brief overlook of German expression,it is very informative but quite confusing and disorganise. I would suggest you to separate the thing you have covered into few section such as: History and background of German expression, influence and impact on contemporary film,characteristic and stylistic of German expression and etc... hope my comment will help. thanks! =D

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    1. Thank you for your suggestion and comment.

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  11. Inconsistent fonts made the blog outline look messy even thought the content was well written. Agree with the above posts, you could separate the different parts into news posts so it would look neater.

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    1. Thank you for the comment and suggestion.

      Delete
  12. Even if you want to merge 3 sections into 1 post, do have different titles for each section by underline or bold or italicize them. That will make it clearer and easier to read, long post bores people especially when there's no visuals/screenshots to demonstrate your points.
    I suggest you to produce a more complete list of German Expressionist films. As of now, your list contains 95% contemporary films and only 1 genuine GE film - Caligari.

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    1. Sir,thank you for your suggestion and comment. We'll make an improvement on it.

      Delete
  13. Thanks for your comment,sir. We'll improve on it.

    ReplyDelete