Expressionism and the Film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari

Expressionism and the Film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari

Expressionism is an artistic style used by artists to depict an image in reality and express their inner emotions. Accordingly, it began at the beginning of the 20^th century and was illustrated through theater, art, music, and literature. German Expressionism was based on a couple of factors, including universal revolution and representing many Germans’ attitudes. Therefore, Expressionism is constituted of various artists’ expressivity through art. An excellent example is the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari,” directed by Robert Wiene in1919. This film is a silent horror film that expresses Expressionism in the film settings and acting methods. Siegfried Kracauer argued that the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari by Robert Wiene” illustrated Expressionism and politics in the chaotic life led by Caligari. Subsequently, Expressionism is characterized by various factors expressed in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.” Hire our assignment writing services to save yourself tons of time and energy required for your assignment papers.

The characteristics of Expressionism include artistic styles and movements and confusion due to the lack of apparent direction (Ishida and Tamaki, 2018). First, artistic styles and movements are unique and expressive in relaying the artists’ opinions and promoting the expression of their opinions. Subsequently, in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” by Robert Wiene, the characters have a lot of makeup on, with white makeup on the face and black around the eyes, making them stand out from the black and white theme of the film. Subsequently, the makeup allows the audience to understand the characters’ actions since the film is silent. Additionally, the artistic style in which the characters move or rest conveys certain opinions to the audience, such as the rush at the fair to view Dr. Caligari’s performance as he awakes a person who has been asleep for 25 years. Also, after the performance, the town clerk is the first to be murdered due to the rude reaction to Dr. Caligari’s request for a permit. Therefore, the film depicts Expressionism in the artistic styles and movements of the characters.

The second characteristic of Expressionism is the lack of apparent direction. The expressionist artists used their art to convey their opinions; subsequently, an audience would miss the artwork’s message since the message wasn’t straightforward. Accordingly, the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” possesses this characteristic, illustrated in the twist at the end of the film and the use of makeup to help the audience follow the story. The film is silent, and therefore, the audience might not understand the film without the use of artistic styles to convey the message. Also, towards the end of the film, it is evident that the man Caligari exists in fiction and not as a reality as depicted throughout the movie. The film itself is about people losing their minds,  as is the case with the fiction Dr. Caligari, who is instituted in a mental asylum after his search for the truth about the power of control over Cesare. At the end of the film, the narrator of the story is also confined to a mental asylum after an outburst. Therefore, expressionists’ artwork direction is not apparent, as evident in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.”

Another characteristic of expressionism is that it represents the attitudes of many people. The film was released at the beginning of World War 1, and Germany was struggling both politically and economically, creating a period of unrest and uncertainty. These attitudes are also depicted in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.” In the film, the townspeople are frightened by the mysterious murderer killing people in the town. In their fear, they search for the killer until they find him dead after he kidnaps Jane and falls to his death. Accordingly, the uncertainty and fear felt by the Germans at the beginning of World War 1 are represented in the film by the frightened townspeople at the mercy of Caligari and Cesare. Therefore, representing people’s attitudes is a significant factor of Expressionism, as indicated in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.”

Another factor of Expressionism was the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was associated with a change that resulted in development. The Industrial Revolution began in the 1800s and was associated with the Enlightenment. In the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari,” this factor is illustrated in the work by Dr Caligari, who finds a way to control a somnambulist. The Doctor conducts scientific research until he can eventually command Cesare to commit murder. Therefore, the Industrial Revolution was a significant factor in Expressionism and is well illustrated in the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.”

Siegfried Kracauer’s view of the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” is evident as political and representative of German social attitudes after World War 1. He argues it is political because of Dr. Caligari, who is surrounded by social chaos, depicting him as a cruel and harsh person. This statement implies that Dr. Caligari was a sort of dictator, which isn’t illustrated in the film. Social attitudes represented in the film illustrate their attitudes at the beginning of the war and not after the war. Therefore, Siegfried’s view is a film critic that builds on the film’s primary themes.

In conclusion, the film “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari” is an essential piece of historical film that illustrates Germans’ attitudes and circumstances surrounding World War 1. The film expresses all factors of Expressionism and hence its importance in history despite critics.

References

Gutenberg, P., 2021. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari | Project Gutenberg Self-Publishing – eBooks | Read eBooks online. [online] Self.gutenberg.org. Available at: <http://www.self.gutenberg.org/articles/Das_Cabinet_des_Dr._Caligari?View=embedded%27#cite_note-Kracauer-6>

Ishida, K. and Tamaki, Y., 2018. Student Journal of International Liberal Arts. [online] Web.aiu.ac.jp. Available at: <https://web.aiu.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/themes/aiu/doc/press/StudenJournal_vol05.pdf#page=63>

Movies, T., 2014. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) [Silent Movie] [Horror]. [online] Youtube.com. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aimAeeDx2p4>

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750 words long, typed double space with one-inch margins on the sides. According to Siegfried Kracauer, the film The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari by Robert Wiene (1919) was revolutionary not only because of its expressionist form but also because of its political message. In your essay, briefly elaborate on what this expressionist form consists of and how it reflects the movement as a whole. Then, these general characteristics of Expressionism are related to the formal characteristics of Wiene’s film and to the film’s socio-political “message.” This will require you not only to reflect upon the overall situation in Germany at the time but also to comment upon Kracauer’s view that the narrative frame added later to the film completely undermines its revolutionary impulse.