16866

WiSe 19/20: Weimar Cinema

Muriel Ernestus

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Subject: Subject: The Weimar Republic, which was named after the location of its first constitutional assembly, did not last long. The years between its foundation in 1919 – a result of the November Revolution of 1918 – and its end in 1933 were marked by political and economic instability and inner turmoil that finally led to Hitler's designation as Chancellor. Despite its short life, the Weimar Republic was an extremely rich and productive cultural period characterized by a variety of art movements such as post-war expressionism and New Objectivity. Weimar Cinema was particularly successful and was famous for its camera-work, its perfection of lighting and its impressive set designs. For instance, German cameraman Karl Freund was the first to render the camera completely mobile; Fritz Lang and his team created with “Metropolis” the futuristic vision of a city that influenced science fiction classics such as “Blade Runner”, “Star Wars” and “Dark City” to mention only a few. Two other reasons for the lasting popularity and international success of Weimar Cinema are its great actors and its thrilling and moving plots, featuring vampires, somnambulists, femmes fatales, and detectives chasing mad hypnotists and murderers. Apart from its great stylistic and thematic diversity, German films of the era are also precious documents of German history and mentality that can help us understand the reasons for Hitler's rise to power. Program: Based on brief introductions into film analysis and the history of the Weimar Republic we will discuss a representative selection of films released during the Weimar Republic. In addition to the films, we will read academic texts and some programmatic writings from film-makers and critics. Is this course suitable for you? This course is open to students from all academic fields. You should be interested both in analysing films and in reading academic texts about them. You should be prepared to participate in a working group which presents background information about films and texts discussed in class. Workload and Evaluation: In order to obtain 5 ECTS credits, you will have to attend the course regularly (at least 80% of the sessions); watch the films discussed in class; study the weekly course materials (an average of 15 pages of English texts per week); participate in a working group with a presentation in class; pass the written examination (90 minutes). close