The Blue Angel

The Blue Angel

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Assignment: Using the two films identify three major themes that you can find through both films. Explain how the films develop these themes and what do they mean. How do these themes relate to the theme of nihilism we have been discussing? Examples of themes could be ‘love’ or ‘madness’. So for example you would explain what are the the themes of love you find in both films how do they relate, how are these themes developed and how does it relate to nihilism.
The relationship between the rational/irrational displayed in the film work hand in hand to give the film the ending that is expected when someone ruins their life without realizing it. Films like this and Caligari seem to show the irrational world as something inherently destructive and dangerous but it really is not. In Caligari, Francis imagination was the one that created this great tale of murder to escape his reality in the asylum and that was his world and he was content with it to a point. In Blue Angel, Professor Rath was not used to the life that Lola was used to and it became his down fall. If he had become used to that life he wouldn't have died of a broken heart. I believe this film is nihilistic because is shows the destruction of an individual that decides to leave his morals and traditional notions behind to be with the woman he believes he is in love with, but in reality is infatuated with lust for her. Caligari on the other hand isn't nihilist because it focuses on traditional notions of morality with Francis wanting to get the killer of his best friend Alan and also letting Jane decide with whom she wants to be with without any pressure. Professor Rath is who he is because of his own pompousness and stuffiness and inner weakness incapable of enjoying and appreciating the pleasures of the world which his lifestyle has habituated him to not enjoy because he is used to a world of rules. He believes that by following the rules you can have a life that is not corrupted by people like Lola until he meets her in person and is mesmerized by her. The world that Lola inhabits is bad in itself and would lead anyone to destruction. She is used to that lifestyle and enjoys it because she doesn't have to follow any rules but her own, Rath is used to following the rules of society in order to be respected.
                 Using both films three major themes that I found were love, love triangle and madness/insanity. The films develop these themes and their meanings in different ways. Lets start first with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, love is developed through this film with the loyalty that Francis has for his friend Alan. He does anything in his power to get the person responsible for his friend's death and even starts neglecting the love Jane has for him in order to achieve his goal. Secondly, the love triangle is seen with Francis and Alan being in love with Jane but she loves Francis. Even though they promise to still be friends no matter her decision you can fell the tension between them when Jane is around.  Lastly, madness/insanity at the end of the film is that we see that the story that Francis has told the old man is all in his imagination and that in reality Cesare, Jane and himself are patients at the asylum and that Dr. Caligari and Alan are taking care of them to make them better. When it comes to The Blue Angel, love is more like lust because Professor Rath becomes infatuated with Lola causing him to leave everything behind for her without thinking about the consequences. Secondly, the love triangle is seen at the end of the film which is Lola's love for attention of men like the Strongman and the fact that she is willing to leave Rath for another suitor that could give her the things she wanted that Rath couldn't anymore. Plus the love triangle was with the lifestyle Lola was used to and enjoy and that was destroying Rath little by little. Lastly, madness/insanity Rath at the end of the film becomes enraged to see Lola with someone else after being humiliated by the people that once had respected him for being a professor. At that moment he snapped and became insane and died of a broken heart.
                 These themes relate to the theme of nihilism we have discussed because they represent the destruction of an individual who stops believing in morality and social norms. After all nihilism is consider at times a state of mind and mood of despair an individual is facing. Both Francis and Professor Rath ended up in a state of despair and perceive their lives as pointless and upon realizing that their existence is pointless they feel is not necessary anymore to follow norms, rules, or laws.

Assignment

We have gone over painting and photography, literature, and now film. What have you enjoyed about the class so far and what have you not liked if anything?

I have enjoyed about the class so far is the fact that we have our own blogs and can be creative and express our thoughts. The only thing I didn't like was with the first film I was lost and didn't understand what was going on. In order to understand it I had to watch the remake. So far I have enjoyed the class very much and have learned things I didn't know about Germany before Hitler since everyone focus on the things that took place during his reign.   

Quiz#1

1. What is nihilism? Is it correct to say it is the belief in nothing?
Nihilism is the philosophical belief that suggest the negation of one or more commonly meaningful aspects of life. Nihilism has different forms such as existential nihilism, moral nihilism, epistemological, metaphysical or ontological. Existential nihilism argues that life is without objective meaning, purpose or intrinsic value. Moral nihilism argues that morality does not inherently exist, and that any moral values a person has are abstractly contrived. The other forms of nihilism argue that knowledge is not possible and that some aspects of reality do not exist as such, contrary to the majority of believes. Sometimes nihilism is used to explain the general mood of despair "perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realizing there are no necessary norms, rules or laws".  It not exactly correct to say that it is the belief in nothing because there are different forms of nihilism and just because you agree with one form it does not mean you agree with the other.

2. What are the differences between Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian values according to Nietzsche? Which values does he believe are better for living a full and healthy life and why?

The difference between Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian values according to Nietzsche is that Roman culture and civilization are built on violence and oppression. While Christian goes against instincts, wants, desires on the side and conscious will and values. The values he believes are better for living a full and healthy life is man nature which enables him to achieve his goals and wants in life.
3. Why is Dada art so pessimistic and bizzare? What groups in Germany society where Dada artists trying to discredit and undermine?
Dada art is so pessimistic and bizzare because the artist involve in this movement shared their dislike of the war with comical art that would offend the parties involve in the war. The groups in Germany society that Dada artists were trying to discredit and undermine were the government officials, "the president" dictator and the military involve in the war.
4. How many jobs does Dr. Caligari have in the film?
Dr. Caligari has two jobs in the film. One is being the head of the institute and the second is sleepwalker.
5. Why does Siddhartha leave his father?
Siddhartha leaves his father after encountering a couple of ill fortune men. He decides to become a Samana and learn the meaning of life. He searches for total spiritual enlightenment.
6. How does Cesare "die" in the film?
Cesare "dies" in the film of a heart attack when he is running away from Francis.
7. Why is the river so important to Siddharta at the end of the novel? 

The river is important to Siddharta at the end of the novel because it represents life itself, time, and the path to enlightenment.

Siddhartha

Once you have chosen a passage please do the following and post it on your blog before next  class. 1) Write out the passage; 2) Explain the meaning of the passage; 3) Explain why you chose this passage.

FIRST PART

THE SON OF THE BRAHMAN

"Siddhartha had started to nurse discontent in himself, he had started to feel that the love of his father and the love of his mother, and also the love of his friend, Govinda, would not bring him joy for ever and ever, would not nurse him, feed him, satisfy him. He had started to suspect that his venerable father and his other teachers, that the wise Brahmans had already revealed to him the most and best of their wisdom, that they had already filled his expecting vessel with their richness, and the vessel was not full, the spirit was not content, the soul was not calm, the heart was not satisfied. The ablutions were good, but they were water, they did not wash off the sin, they did not heal the spirit's thirst, they did not relieve the fear in his heart. The sacrifices and the invocation of the gods were excellent—but was that all? Did the sacrifices give a happy fortune? And what about the gods? Was it really Prajapati who had created the world? Was it not the Atman, He, the only one, the singular one? Were the gods not creations, created like me and you, subject to time, mortal? Was it therefore good, was it right, was it meaningful and the highest occupation to make offerings to the gods? For whom else were offerings to be made, who else was to be worshipped but Him, the only one, the Atman? And where was Atman to be found, where did He reside, where did his eternal heart beat, where else but in one's own self, in its innermost part, in its indestructible part, which everyone had in himself? But where, where was this self, this innermost part, this ultimate part? It was not flesh and bone, it was neither thought nor consciousness, thus the wisest ones taught. So, where, where was it? To reach this place, the self, myself, the Atman, there was another way, which was worthwhile looking for? Alas, and nobody showed this way, nobody knew it, not the father, and not the teachers and wise men, not the holy sacrificial songs! They knew everything, the Brahmans and their holy books, they knew everything, they had taken care of everything and of more than everything, the creation of the world, the origin of speech, of food, of inhaling, of exhaling, the arrangement of the senses, the acts of the gods, they knew infinitely much—but was it valuable to know all of this, not knowing that one and only thing, the most important thing, the solely important thing?".
   This passage can be consider the starting point of Siddhartha's quest for enlightenment. He explains that he has knowledge of the things to do to be in God grace but he wants to know more. Like why is their a God and his origin. His spirit and soul are not content they wish to know more.
   The reason I choose this passage is because Siddhartha is an example of people that are born into wealth and tradition that are not satisfied with what they are given and wish to know more and be more. He was not satisfied with his world, he wanted to know what was out there.  

The Dada Movement

Dada/Dadaism

Is a cultural movement which beginnings correspond to the outbreak of World War I and peaked from 1916 to 1922. This informal international movement had participants in Europe and North America. The movement involved visual arts, literature, poetry, art manifestos, art theory, theater and graphic design which concentrated its anti-war politics through views of the common standards in art through anti-art cultural works. Dada participants main purpose was to ridicule what they considered to be meaninglessness of the modern world.

Sophie Taeuber-Arp (1889-1943)

She was born on January 19, 1889 in Davos, Switzerland from a German father and a Swiss mother. Her real name was Sophie Henriette Gerturd Taeuber and she was a Swiss artist, painter and sculptor. Taeuber became one of the only Swiss participants in Zurich Dada activities with her artist husband Jean Arp/Hans Arp.  Jean Arp was a Alsatian artist and poet with whom Taeuber collaborated on numerous joint projects until her death. Taeuber met Arp in 1915 and married in 1922. Tragically, Taeuber died of an accidental gas poisoning while in Zurich attempting to obtain passage to the United States.

THESE ARE SOME OF HER WORKS:

                              Composition of Circles and Overlapping Angles

                                                           Dada Head