. German Cinema

Weimar RepublicGerman Expressionism Nazi GermanyNazi Propaganda 1950sPost-War W. GermanyHeimat East GermanySoviet Social Realism West GermanyNew German Cinema 1980-TodayGermanyX-Filme Revisionist history Postmodernism ` Major Movements of German Cinema

. German Expressionism ( s) SOCIAL-HISTORIC MILEU: n Post WWI Germany n War guilt and frustration with Versailles Treaty n Hyperinflation & social unrest n Decadence (cabarets) n Expressionistic painting n Resurgent nationalism (pre-Hitler) n Germanic romanticism, idealism, myths

. German Expressionism ( s) SOCIAL-HISTORIC MILEU: n Post WWI Germany ( ) n War guilt and frustration with Versailles Treaty n Hyperinflation & social unrest n Decadence (cabarets) n Expressionistic painting n Resurgent nationalism (pre-Hitler) n Germanic romanticism, idealism, myths

. German Expressionism ( s) FILM AESTHETIC: n Intuition over reason n Highly imagistic, non-cognitive n Preoccupation with metaphysical, mystical & grotesque n Bleak view of the modern condition n Alienation; “inner life” in turmoil

. German Heimat Cinema (1950s) n Romanticized German history, rural life, and myths n Morally simplistic tales of love and family n Melodramatic n Rural settings: Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland n The “myth” of what Germany was n Total denial of World War II and Holocaust

. The Oberhausen Manifesto (1962) The collapse of the conventional German film finally removes the economic basis for a mode of filmmaking whose attitude and practice we reject. With it the new film has a chance to come to life. German short films by young authors, directors, and producers have in recent years received a large number of prizes at international festivals and gained the recognition of international critics. These works and these successes show that the future of the German film lies in the hands of those who have proven that they speak a new film language. Just as in other countries, the short film has become in Germany a school and experimental basis for the feature film. We declare our intention to create the new German feature film. This new film needs new freedoms. Freedom from the conventions of the established industry. Freedom from the outside influence of commercial partners. Freedom from the control of special interest groups. We have concrete intellectual, formal, and economic conceptions about the production of the new German film. We are as a collective prepared to take economic risks. The old film is dead. We believe in the new one. Oberhausen, February 28, 1962

. New German Cinema (1960s-70s) n Response to Heimatfilme that romanticized German history, rural life, and myths n Alexander Kluge: Oberhausen Manifesto n Free from the conventions of Heimat and commercial films n Auteurist, modernist, social purpose n Deconstructive, antagonistic realism n Fantasy and ironic realism n Government subsidized

. New German Cinema (1960s-70s) n Wim Wenders n Ranier Fassbinder n Werner Herzog n Margarethe von Trotta n Alexander Kluge

. X-Filme Creative Pool (1994-) n A mutual production company run by directors n Pool talents and resources n Comparable to early days of United Artists n Goal: “Produce films that challenge audiences” n Reestablish Germany as a major player n No uniform aesthetic n Stefan Arndt, Wolfgang Becker, Dani Levy & Tom Tykwer n

. Revisionist History n Attempt to correct distorted views of German history n Second and third- generation directors n Focus on those who fought Nazis n Moral crises of individuals n Sympathy for plight of Jews n “A national confession”

. Postmodern Film (A few characteristics) n Postmodern view of world n Anti-foundational (no overarching mythic framework) n Non-linear narratives n Cut back and force across time & space n Self-reflexive (know it is a film) n Mix of high and low art forms n Doesn’t take itself seriously n Marginal aspects of society n Self/identity “mediated” through media