Dr. Caligari as German Expressionism
The German Expressionist cinema began in 1919 and was itself essentially an opposite of Impressionism. While Impressionism dealt more with giving an outward impression of an object, Expressionism sought to induce the emotional feel an object invokes on itself. Seemingly most often, Expressionist art is more about the artist than the subject. More importantly, however, is the fact that all definitions of "Expressionism" describe it as a theory of art that expresses feelings in an abstract way. The world may still be confusing, but some answers are found. Created by a people in effect displaced within their own country and society, German Expressionist films portray their own sense of displacement. It is not surprising then, that German Expressionism came to dominate horror and artistic cinema in the silent era. German Expressionism was more innovative and influential than any other film genre in the 1920’s. It opened new doors to the possibilities of filmmaking, and the places an audience could be carried by them.German filmmakers began to create sets that personified the inner feelings of the characters set within them. The audience was able to visually identify the essential feelings of the action taking place because the . . .
The Expressionistic influences extended further, into the make-up and some of the acting. The settings served as means to a perfect transformation of material objects into emotional substance. The first was the use of a studio for all aspects of shooting: absolute control was only possible if all sets and action took place within a studio. In fact, most of the film is shot in these medium long shots allowing nearly the entire set to be seen and the entire frame open to be investigated. As can be read in our text, the original story of Dr. Caligari to follow the newly set trend and be a commercial film that answers to desires of the masses. Caligari used startlingly distorted set design and make-up to create a warped reality. The goal of the whole process is to involve the viewer in the landscape of the characters', and indirectly the artists', minds. The style was ground-breaking, taking film from an art form that dealt almost solely in displaying reality to an art form that brings the viewer physical representations of emotion and theme. The other, more commonly seen in modern cinema, was the concept of giving an audience precisely what it wanted. The stylistic features of German Expressionism are fairly specific. He put a framing on the originally story that introduces the hero Francis as a madman. Common features include surrealistic settings, a high contrast between light and dark shading, unconventional set designs, dream-like haziness, and eerie or horrifying characters- all of which are evident constantly throughout Dr.
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