Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Faith in the Party

Since The Triumph of the Will relies so heavily on the visual, seeing it without subtitles and without being able to speak any German did not take anything away from the overall message of the film. Riefenstahl carefully spliced together different images of Hitler being taller and bigger than the crowds, the masses in awe looking up to him, and the soldiers in perfectly synchronized lines looking like Hitler and obeying his orders, to show his authority and power over these helpless citizens. The Nazis drew in crowds through propaganda just like this. Showing how positively people were responding to Hitler's ideas for the future of Germany allowed Germans to feel like they were finally being saved. From my interpretation, Hitler and the higher officials were reassuring Germans of the good to come with them in power; with the Nazi party in office Germany will soon see a much brighter day. All they had to do was put their faith in Hitler.

1 comment:

  1. (continued... after thought)

    This was solidified at the end of the "documentary" when the man that was introducing Hitler shouted to the masses (in German), "Hitler is Deutschland!"

    I only understood one word and one phrase that was in German: Jugend (spelling from a translator) and 'Hitler is Deutschland.' I later learned that jugend means youth. I found it interesting that only understanding four German words of the thousands that formed their screaming rants allowed me to see through the fluff to the foundation and core of what the Nazi party was selling through their propaganda.

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