Expressionism: "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari"


The film that I chose for Expressionism was, “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. I chose this film because it is one of the most famous German Expressionist film. “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” was filmed in the 1920s and it was directed by Robert Wiene. The film is about a psychological unstable hypnotist who hypnotizes people just to murder them while they are hypnotized. Since this film was written after WWI it tells about the experiences of Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. The film is a metaphor and Dr. Caligari is the hypnotist who represents the German government and the man that Dr. Caligari hypnotizes represents the civilians who were under the power of the government during the war. The theme of the film could have been to show the dark ways that the civilians were brainwashed by the government and ended up dead. This film shows Expressionism psychologically and physically. The film is psychologically mysterious and expressed different view point when it came down to seeing it in the realistic side. A lot of mise en scene was used throughout the film. The asymmetrical sets, the shadows, and the impact of the artistic control for the lights in different scenes also made the film an Expressionist film. The video URL that I shared will show a preview of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari”. You will see in parts of the film that the walls will be broad and narrow down into the darkness. You will also see a lot of deformed shapes and other abnormal scenes. It is a very dark and mysterious film. The music only makes it even more mysterious. The picture that I shared shows Dr. Caligari putting a hypnotized man into a cabinet. The old man in the front looks super suspicious while the man in the back just watches the Dr. putting the man into the cabinet. The film should be added to my culture because this film metaphorically represents the German government and the civilians. I’m sure a lot of people can relate to the metaphor in some sort of way, maybe not necessarily with the government, but maybe with their parents. Their parents might make them feel all kinds of ways when they want to go out but aren't allowed to. Every culture is different, but sometime in your life time you might have experienced or will experience as if you’re trapped in a cabinet by your parents (not literally). Or in any other situation when you're under the control of somebody else.



Comments

  1. Julian WilsonFebruary 17, 2018 at 6:37 PM

    These films in this period of expressionism, were all mysterious and creepy. But the symbolism in these films are actually very deep. The way that the movies were filmed and the directors did to alter the shot or make it more shadowy like you said. What you said about being trapped and there is no way out speaks to me right now. There are many times in life where we can not do things and my reason is my roommates. But that is way less important than a controlling government. Sometimes it feels as if they are the same though.

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