No matter how you view "The Emperor of California," the plot stays the same; the message, however, stays the same. As a Nazi film, TEoC portrays an anti-modernist message that reminds the viewer of the importance of homeland Germany. As a Western film, TEoC gives all the elements of action and adventure expected from the genre, while also showing the struggles of tackling the American western frontier. As a Trenker film, TEoC depicts the protagonist eventual understanding of "Heimat" while being set to numerous breathtaking mountain landscapes.
I do not believe that TEoC makes a strong case as a Nazi film. I think the film happened to fit what the Nazi's were looking for in an anti-modernist movie rather than the Nazi Party enforcing the implementation of these aspects in the movie. It depicts NYC as not being as glamorous as legend makes it out to be, but it is not the flag waving, staged parade Nazi propaganda that was typical of the time.
I think that the aspects of both Western and Trenker films run closely together to better describe TEoC. Using the broad shots of mountainous Western landscapes is typical of both genres. Trenker's successes and eventual struggles in conquering the new frontier is expected of Western films, but the use of these Western aspects and the theme of what "home" truly is pulls the film back into the genre of a Trenker film.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment