1. Monsters in Germany: Pre-WW II silent film
Just how did the Nazi party convince normal Germans that the Jewish population was a threat?
A process called
“othering”
Part of a discipline
called Cultural Studies

2. Cultural Studies
Concerns itself with the meaning and practices of everyday life—the ways people do things and the meanings attached to those things
marriage practices
performances
gatherings
political structure
Draws from the fields of literary theory, anthropology, psychology, sociology, film/video studies to look at specific cultural phenomena
race
social class
gender
identity

3. Here be Monsters Othering
A way of defining and securing one’s own identity by stigmatizing another… an other
Different from self
Depict other people as monsters—to isolate, to hate… to kill
Pre-WW II German silent film used exaggerated Jewish characteristics (caricatures) to depict their monsters.
Same process of othering used today.

4. Here be Monsters Germany pre-WW II country was devasted
hungry for a leader/strength
looking for structure
WW I ended 1918
Along came Hitler
Nazi party formed 1920
“Shake off your Jewish leaders… The Russian government is 9/10 Jewish… Bolshevism is a Jewish swindle.”
Violence ensued – Nazi propaganda offered direction for anger, resentment, need to retaliation.
Nazi propaganda was built on an already strong base of early German film monsters.

5. Here be Monsters The Golem 1920 Paul Wegener & Carl Boese

6. Here be Monsters Nosferatu 1922 F.W. Murnau

7. Here be Monsters What we know: monsters are evil, we must kill them
Equation:
Jews are different than we are…
Jews are monsters
I.e., we must kill them
Easy for Hitler
Easy for everyone
Classic way “othering” works
Otherwise, how do people commit this kind of atrocity?

8. Here be Monsters
Today, othering functions as it always has: to create monsters throughout the world.
Muslims
Arabs
Jews
American
Each group (can) create monsters of the others.
Effect: “we must kill the monster(s)….”
i.e., each culture/country believes it must rid the world of all the monsters = whomever their othering has designated as dangerous.