Weimar Cinema – Berlin: Die Symphonie der Gro ßstadt & Metropolis

1. Weimar Cinema – Berlin: Die Symphonie der Großstadt&Metropolis HONORS 280 – Monday September 8, 2014

2. Final Project • Reminder – Final Projects: Friday, September 12 – Initial indication of your film choice for final project.

3. Schwarzfahrer [Black Rider] • Remnants, traces . . . what image was or still is stuck in your mind following class on Friday? • Jot is down on the paper provided. • How does your image relate to those of the other members of the class? (White Board Collage or Chaos)

4. Finishing the Discussion • What does this reveal about the film’s statement on racism?

5. Berlin:DieSymphonie der Großstadt

6. So . . . What does a film expert have to say about Berlin: Die Symphonie der Großstadt?

7. Film Scholar Sabine hake on German film in the 1920’s . . . • In the work of Walter Ruttmann, the synergies among painting, photography, and film can be traced from the abstract quality of the Opus-films (1918-23) to the celebration of urban life in Berlin, die Symphonie der Grossstadt (Berlin, Symphony of the Big City, 1927), the famous Berlin film that served as inspiration for many later city films. (41) Source: Hake, Sabine. German National Cinema. 2nd Edition. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.

8. What do you have to say about Berlin: Die SinfonieeinerGroßstadt? • “Sound bites” from your Film Response Sheets.

9. “Most of the shots were side views of the people/city which made us feel as though we were there. Then the bird’s eye view would come and let us view the scene differently, almost objectively. A specific instance was when it showed two men getting into an argument and all the people around were getting involved, then it showed the scene from above and it switched from being slightly dramatic, to almost comical. A bunch of heads trying to get a look at the center of the circle.” (Michael Anderson)

10. “All throughout the film there were lots of images of trains and machinery. Some of these shorts were almost hypnotic, especially when they place the hypnotic spiral after some of the shots. To me, this represented how society never stops. Every day and every week and every month, the work must keep going in order to sustain the needs of society.” (Tia Chen)

11. “The movie drew us into “things” of the time – bridges, trains, hats, bicycles, showing us Berlin in the early 1900’s [sic] I think that black and white representation of the objects we see in everyday life has a way of forcing us to notice the way things have changed, and have not changed (like the gear box). Black and white made this movie an elegant time portal rather than just a trip around town.” (Emily Kershaw)

12. “It was also interesting how the director moved from scene to scene depending on the events going on. For example, when the events in the day were full of action and energy, scenes flipped back and forth at a fast pace. Then there were scenes of homeless people or people opening up their stores in the morning that were much slower.” (Minji Lye)

13. Clip with Text • Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt: Krise [crisis] Mord [murder] Börse [stock market] Heirat [marriage] Geld [money] • Akt VI -- Newspapers (00:43:40-00:46:00)

14. Giving Substance to Hake’s Characterization • Brainstorming: • What evidence of the “synergies among painting, photography, and film” did you see in the clip? In the film? • What can be gleaned from the select excerpts from the Film Response Sheets to provide additional evidence of the “synergies”?

15. Die goldenenZwanziger – The Roaring Twenties • You’ve read Brockmann’s brief characterization of this decade in Germany. What was the social tenor of the country at that time? What do you associate with this time period? • What images are used in the following painting by Otto Dix and what message do they seem to be sending about life in the Weimar Republic?

16. Die Großstadt – Otto Dix

17. Metropolis: Beyond Reading in Brockmann • It was made in 1927 and directed by Fritz Lang, one of the major directors of the time. • It is a feature film in the science fiction genre, i.e. not a documentary like Ruttmann’sBerlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt. • It is a black-and-white, silent film. After viewing Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt, what are the implications of this for our viewing experience?

18. Metropolis • Please watch the 148-minute version with the original soundtrack and footage. • Screenings today and tomorrow. • Streaming in the LLRC (Thompson 210): Fall 2014 LLRC Lab Hours Monday-Wednesday8:00 AM to 9:00 PM Thursday-Friday8:00 AM to 7:00 PM Saturday - Closed Sunday 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM

19. KLARTEXT • View the film and complete your Film Response Sheet by class on Wednesday. 

20. Weimar Republic:Establishing the context for the film

21. The Weimar Republic 1918-1933 • November 9, 1918: • It was formally announced that the German Emperor Wilhelm II had fled the country and went into exile in the Netherlands. • Friedrich Ebert, a moderate Social Democrat, was named civilian leader of the new country. • Why is this important? This signals the end of Germany as a monarchy and the establishment of Germany’s first democracy.

22. Treaty of VersaillesSummer 1919 • Provisions of the Treaty for Germany: • Germany lost turf. • Germany lost its colonies. • Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France. • West Prussia, Upper Silesia, and Posen were restored to a newly reconstituted Poland.

23. The Treaty of Versailles continued . . . • Germany was weakened militarily. • The German army was reduced to 100,000 men for guarding borders and domestic purposes. • Submarines were forbidden in the Germany navy and a German air force was not permitted at all.

24. The Treaty of Versailles continued . . . • Germany was weakened economically. • Since Germany and its allies were declared responsible for the war and the damage it caused, the country was required to pay significant reparations = later specified as 226 billion Reichsmark.

25. The Weimar Republic -- Challenges • The Constitution: proportional representation; creation of a powerful president. • Economic Problems: • High reparations taxed the economy

26. Economic Problems continued . . . • Inflation: • Germany had financed WWI with bonds and loans rather than taxation increases. • Germany printed money to pay reparations and finance heavy social expenditures (i.e. pensions, etc.) • The Weimar Republic was heavily reliant on short-term loans from abroad which could be rapidly withdrawn. • Wall Street Crash/October 1929 resulted in the withdrawal of loans and a meteoric rise in bankruptcies and unemployment.

30. TschüßbisMittwoch!