Walter Benjamin- Work of Art in the age of Mechanical Reproduction

Passage:

For the film, what matters primarily is that the actor represents himself to the public before the camera, rather than representing someone else. One of the first sense to the actor's metamorphosis by this form of testing was Pirandello. Through his remarks on the subject in his novel Si Gira were limited to the negative aspects of the question and to the silent film, only this hardly impairs their validity.

Interpretation and Reason:

What this passage is saying that when filming an actor is portraying or symbolizing him/herself before the camera, not necessarily who's watching but who's filming. They must adapt to the camera, and come from themselves to display this new character whom they will be representing to the world. They pretty much go through changes in order to become this brilliant actor or actress. The reason I chose this passage because many characters especially in today's movie must adapt for their roles. When you think of actors and actress, you get some that only plays certain characters or certain types of movies. Then you have some actors and actresses, that can play all types of characters, from comedy, drama, action, and romance. Each one depending on the character may have to step outside themselves and prepare themselves for the world to see.


Charlie Chaplin:

The film overall concept was generally a replica of whats was going on in modern day German. He took the scenario and tried to force humor to it, when overall it was indeed a tragic time for Jews. He generally made a movie that indicated the various economic and social issues that many Jews were faced with. However he tried the fabricate the situation by allowing a Jew to become in control and turning the situation around for all Jews in the country.

Pain

Passage:

Finally, war which has from time immemorial formed a part of apocalyptic visions, also offers imagination a wealth of material. Depictions of future clashes were popular well before the World War; and they again today make up a voluminous literature. The peculiar nature of this literature is rooted in the focus on total destruction; man grows accustomed to the sight of future expanses of ruin, where wholesale slaughter triumphs in endless domination. We are dealing here with something more than literary moods. This can be seen in the actual preventative measures already in full gear. A dark foreboding danger overshadows life, which is reflected in the way all civilized states are currently taking precautionary steps against chemical warfare. In this noteworthy history of the plague in London, Defoe describes how before the actual outbreak of the Black Death, alongside the renowned plague doctors, an army of magicians, quacks sectarians, and statisticians poured into the city as a vanguard of the infernal wind. Situations of this kind repeat themselves over and over again, for the eye of man naturally searches for spaces of shelter and safety at the sight of pain so inescapable and antithetical to his values. In sensing the uncertainty and vulnerability of life as a whole, man increasingly needs to turn his sights to a space removed from the unlimited rule prevailing power of pain.


Interpretation:

War brings a sense of excitement which is brought out if the war is won. They feels a sense of pride because now their possession is going to be expanded because of this outcome. But through this war people are looking for ways to escape the enviable. They now what eventually the outcome of war will lead to. Either death, defeat, or triumph. It speaks of how people prepare themselves mentally in times of distress. How they seek an outlook for what they feel is dooms day, or in this passage Black Death. It speaks of how people searched for an outlet trying to secure there safety. It also states that this mechanism of thinking is a continuing  cycle as to how people think and behave in a time of adversary. I choose this passage because

Nazism

Passage:

I aimed from the first at something a thousand times higher than being a minister. I wanted to become the destroyer of Marxism. I am going to achieve this task and, if I do, the title of minister will be absurdity as far as I am concerned

Interpretation:

Hitler was looking for something different then what Germany was accustomed to or any nation for that matter. He was done with trying to live in a capitalist society, he was done with the bourgeoisie politicians. He wanted change and if people had to die for him to do so then that is what it was going to take. He wanted to be more then a leader but more of an emperor with complete utter control.

Reflection

I found Night and Fog to be very disturbing in comparison to the other films we viewed. It was obscured and unjustifiable for the treatment of the human beings on that concentration camp. The conditions that they went threw and for what? There was no cause or purpose to have so much hate for people just because they are different or do not share the same political views as you do. The main difference between the films is that these were actual people. These were actual lifeless bodies and real life situations. This is history. This is what Germany turned into because of the different political and economic views. It became even more corrupt and more disturbing. As time progress it seems as if the people in Germany got angrier. The earlier films showed ways people reacted to what is going on in Germany. Either through fantasy or having breakdowns. These later films showed the true dysfunction of Germany, and how it really begin to mess with the people mind, in thinking putting up this camp will help Germany become a better place.

Max Weber: Politics as a vocation

Passage:

Well first of all the career of politics grants a feeling of power. The knowledge of influencing men, of participating in power over them and above all, the feeling of holding in one's hands a nerve fiber of historically important events can elevate the professional politician above everyday routine even when he is placed in formally modest positions. But now the question for him is: Through what qualities can I hope to do justice to this power (however narrowly circumscribed it may be in the individual case)? How can he hope to do justice to the responsibility that power imposes upon him? With this we enter the field of ethical questions, for that is where the problem belongs: What kind of a man must one be if he is to be allowed to put his hand on the wheel of history?

Meaning:

The first sentence in this passage sent the tone for everything else. The career of politics grants a feeling of power. This is the essence to most people that run for any form of leadership. Having the sense of power and being in control. It kind of relates back to Feud Ig and ego. Trying not the let the feeling power interfere with their obligations as leaders. This man or leader must be an example and must set a trend as a leader. Not only must he perform his duties as a leader but he must also make a benchmark sort of speak as a leader.

Reason:

The reason I chose this passage because in a sense a role of leadership represents power. It gives man and women a sense of accomplishment, achievement a sense of belonging. This passage speaks volume especially for Germany next leader Hitler. He took his role of leadership to a different level, which he let his authority role get the best of him. Leaders must lead by example and I think this is the importance overall of the passage.


Charles Tilly: State Formation as organized crime:

Tilly's argument relate to the theory of rationalization of the state as defined by Weber because Tilly claims that the leader or ruler or presidents tries to justify a situation whenever its suitable for them. For example he uses that when a country or state goes to war, in order to recruit more a pirate will become a sailor and a bandit will become a trooper. As long as the help is needed, then there original purpose is no longer a bad thing. But once their motive or objective is seen in terms of a war, and their services are no longer needed then they too become what they once were; illegal citizens. One of the main causes that makes a state grow is war. War brings power, which eventually leads to some ones turf being taken over.

Weimar Constitution

Third Chapter: The Reich President and Reich Government

Article 42
The Reich President, when taking his office, swears the following oath:
I swear to devote my energy to the welfare of the German people, to increase its prosperity,
to prevent damage, to hold up the Reich constitution and its laws, to consciously honour my
duties and to exercise justice to every individual.
The addition of a religious formula is acceptable.

The meaning of this passage describes the obligation and the duties that the President and government must perform. He have a duty to protect the citizens of his country as well as make sure that the economy is in a condition as to where the citizens are able to function. He must also uphold the laws that are stated in the constitution, in which everyone is entitled to a fair trial.

I believe that these are important rights and should be upheld in every form of any government. Any person or persons that have the role of a leader whether its of a country or company, their sole duty is to provide a safe environment for there citizens or employees. They should have establish laws or policies in which the citizens or employees should abide by. If these rules or laws are not honored then the proper protocol should be in place to decide which form of corrective action should be implemented.


Article 124

All Germans are entitled for means which do not conflict with penal'laws to form clubs or
societies. This right may not be limited by preventive measures. These regulations also apply
for religious societies.
Every club is free to acquire legal capacity. No club may be denied of it because of it pursuing
political, socio-political or religious goals.

The meaning of this passage basically gives the Germans a right to assemble. They have a right to conduct meetings of the sort in regards to various topics as long as its not interfering with the peace.

This too is an important part of the constitution because it gives people the right to assembly, protest and discuss any type of issues that he or she may feel needs to get dealt with. Also in the modern content this continues to be an important factor because as humans being and citizens we do have a right to assemble together and share commons views. As long as its not inferring with the peace, then there is no problem with it.

The German Revolution of 1918 & Spartacus Uprising 1919

Quote: Chapter 8

But today matters are quite different in the belligerent states. Today war does not function as a dynamic method of procuring for rising young capitalism the preconditions of its “national” development. War has this character only in the isolated and fragmentary case of Serbia. Reduced to its historically objective essence, today’s world war is entirely a competitive struggle amongst fully mature capitalisms for world domination, for the exploitation of the remaining zones of the world not yet capitalistic. That is why this war is totally different in character and effects. The high degree of economic development in the capitalist world is expressed in the extraordinarily advanced technology, that is, in the destructive power of the weaponry which approaches the same level in all the warring nations. The international organization of the murder industry is reflected now in the military balance, the scales of which always right themselves after partial decisions and momentary changes; a general decision is always and again pushed into the future. The indecisiveness of military results leads to ever new reserves from the population masses of warring and hitherto neutral nations being sent into fire. The war finds abundant material to feed imperialist appetites and contradictions, creates its own supplies of these, and spreads like wildfire. But the mightier the masses and the more numerous the nations dragged into the war on all sides, the more drawn out its existence will be.



Meaning and Criticism and how it relates to Nihilism

This passage is explaining the changes that Rosa has seen in regards to the war. She reiterates several times that war now is not what war use to be. Instead she views war a  political fight for fame and acknowledgement. The basis and fundamental meaning of war have become a degree of economic turmoil in which nations or for better word the more advance technological countries or fighting to boost fame. There is no real meaning as to why they fight, there is no real purpose as to why they are at war. She argues that the military itself is indecisive, which therefore hint back to the leadership. It's not under the best circumstances that these wars has taken place but its more under the conditions in which they are taken place. She mentions in the essay that its also because of this appetite and contradictions that makes mayhem in these countries which ultimately leads to war. Her remarks relates to Nihilism because even though war is mostly considered to have a negative impact on an economy, Rosa prospective in regards to capitalism and World War I is more in tune with a dada approach. Even though her work is not in the visual artistic approach in regards to the war. She uses a literary approach and expresses her difference about the issue and what it has become in her eyes which is clearly a negative picture.


         

M

                                                      Now I Lay me Down

     One of the author's argument for films that deals with pedophilia and child murder is that the themes of theses movies are not as successful primarily is for the content. This topic is a very tricky topic to talk about and it generally gives people a sense of uneasiness. No one wants to hear of how a child have been murder or the extent of someone possibly wanting to hurt a child. Its the innocence that presumes the child that makes it such a difficult topic to discuss. The author goes on to briefly discuss how many movies have tried to pursue this area of interest and then how many movies undoubtedly failed to grasp an audience. He speaks of a more current movie The Lovely bones and how the movie was not well received in theaters. On the other hand one child movie that succeeded was Nightmare on Elm Street. The success of this movie had a different perspective than the later primarily because one it dealt with teenagers. Not that it means all teenagers are not innocent but this dealt with promiscuous teens rather than other aspects such as rape and brutal murders.

   Another interesting argument that the author makes regarding the lack of success for child murder films is how the successful films indicated or dictated the death of a child. He uses one film that was successful which is M, and how each murder was place. He goes on to say that the reason behind a successful film such as M and Nightmare on Elm street is how the film did not focus on the murder, but showed symbolic features to indicate that a murder has taken place. With Nightmare on Elm Street it was usually a loud scream or a red scene, where in the movie M he showed the ball that young Elise was playing with on her way home from school rolling from under a bush. These indications allowed the viewers to use a visual sense as to what happen to the characters verses them having to view the gory details of watching an innocent child be murdered.


   The two movies I would like to analyze are Lady in White and the movie IT.  Lady in White murder in the film is based on a young boy who witnesses the murder of a young girl. The young girl ultimately begins to haunt the town and they find out that there is  a series of murders that have taken place. It seems that there is one awful seen in the movie and that is the murder of the young girl, however the rest of the scenes are based on the mood and the atmosphere. Like in the movie M the mood and atmosphere were strong points in the movie which dictated when the killer would strike next. The next movie IT is based on a clown with supernatural powers that terrorized and murdered children. Most of the murders were left to the imagination of the viewers which is similar to the movie M.

                                                          Kracaucer's Central Thesis

   They say that society influences culture. In the case of Dr. Calebri, Blue Angel and M all focuses on authority leadership. During the pre-Nazi period authoritarian was a dominant part of society. The films only reiterated how society was at the time. It we were to break down the analogy of each film during that period it goes to show that this was a very influential aspect during this time. Now taking a look at each movie separately Dr. Calebri, the Professor, and the police force in the movie M  all symbolize the authority leadership. This type of leadership supports the idea because of what was going on in Germany at that time. The writers and producers of these movies basically used the elements of what was taking place at the time and illustrated it in the movies. They used the forces of a controlling doctor, a controlling professor and a dictating police force to enforce the issues of being in control. When you look at it from that perspective each of these figures actually plays a controlling role in real life. A doctor is in control of his patient, a professor is in control of his class, while the police force keeps society under control by helping to enforce the law.

   In the film Dr. Calebri his control was implemented over Cesaer in which he control his mind allowing him to dictate the murders. In Blue angel, the Professor was in control of his class and tried to control Lola who was a liberal so those two opposing forces lead to his demise. In the movie M the police force and the underground group that actually captures the murderer were in control, one was in control of upholding the law, the other was in control of the businesses that were losing money behind this child killer.

   The evidence in the film Blue Angel that dictates democratic values is Lola perspective in the movie. She was not easily moved by the Professor and continue to live life in her own manner. Dr. Calebri was always in control but could not escape the wrath of the community as they figured it was him who dictated Cesear's killing spree. This led to the other doctors coming together as would the political system in a democratic environment to to overthrow the government but in this case they are overthrowing Dr. Calebri. In the film M, when the underground group take the law into their own hands they set up a trial for the killer. The also shows a democratic perspective in how the issue of murder is handled in a democracy.