A Nazi Trenker Western

The Emperor of California can be read as a Western, a Trenker film and a Nazi film. The three categories yield three different interpretations of the film, highlighting three different themes. Reading the film as a Western, the theme that is most important is the setting of the American West. With high-speed chase scenes involving cowboys and Indians and stereotypical bar scenes, the film contains many key elements of a typical Western movie. The characters are dirty, rugged and unshaven and display great amounts of courage and bravery. As a Trenker film, the theme that is highlighted is the Heimat. The move to America proves to be a bad one, as Sutter ends up having his sons murdered and leaves the city in ruins. His experiment fails and he yearns to return home. This is a common element in Trenker’s films and is an overarching theme in the movie. Finally, as a Nazi film, The Emperor of California highlights hard work for the whole rather than individual greed. The Nazis wanted the German people to work the land and fight for Germany as a group of people and did not want them to succumb to individual greed. When the society that Sutter creates functions as a group, they succeed, however when they get greedy and only think of themselves, it all falls apart and the city is left in ruins. All three of the readings are important for different reasons and all three interpretations of the film are completely valid.