CIN201Y1 Lecture 17: lecture 17 (2.6)
Lecture 2.6: Fascist Cinema and the Frankfurt School
Lecture Structure:
1) Introduction: Cinema as a Social Force, Cinema as a Political Tool
2) Two Totalitarian Governments, One Goal
3) Nazi Cinema: Fascinating Fascism
4) The Frankfurt School: Adorno and Benjamin
***the film this week is German with an Italian title – during WW2, German films would have been shown in
Italy
- Images look like in the “Wizard of Oz” (some influence from one film to the other)
Introduction: Cinema as a Social Force, Cinema as a Political Tool
The social meanings attributed to films arise in part from the political context in which they are received.
- Politically charged atmosphere
Central topic for the next few weeks: how do different national cinemas engage with their societies and
governments during and after WWII?
Two Totalitarian Governments, One Goal
How did the regimes of Stalin and Hitler conceive of cinema as a tool of persuasion?
Each government put an end to aesthetic experimentation.
Each government exerted ever stricter control over the film industry.
Each government looked to the Hollywood studio system as a model for how to make compelling films that
would convey the appropriate ideological message.
Nazi Cinema: Fascinating Fascism
Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, aimed to control the film
industry to the greatest degree possible without explicitly engaging in nationalization.
The Reich Chamber of Culture became the main power centre for decisions affecting the film industry.
Alfred Hugenberg, a right-wing media mogul, had gained control of Ufa in 1927.
The National Socialists (Hitler’s party) established the Filmkreditbank in 1933; it extended credit to many
productions, but only if those films conformed to the ideals of the government.
Goebbels also took direct control over film censorship with the establishment of the Reich Cinema Law in
1934.
Not all Nazi films were explicitly propagandistic, even if some of the most (in)famous productions of the
period, such as Leni Riefestahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), and Jud Süss (1940), clearly fit that description.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lecture 2. 6: fascist cinema and the frankfurt school. Lecture structure: introduction: cinema as a social force, cinema as a political tool, two totalitarian governments, one goal, nazi cinema: fascinating fascism, the frankfurt school: adorno and benjamin. ***the film this week is german with an italian title during ww2, german films would have been shown in. Images look like in the wizard of oz (some influence from one film to the other) Introduction: cinema as a social force, cinema as a political tool. The social meanings attributed to films arise in part from the political context in which they are received. Each government put an end to aesthetic experimentation. Each government exerted ever stricter control over the film industry. Each government looked to the hollywood studio system as a model for how to make compelling films that would convey the appropriate ideological message.
