German Expressionism In Film

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“Man screams from the depths of his soul; the whole era becomes a single, piercing shriek. Art also screams, into the deep darkness, screams for help screams for the spirit. This is Expressionism,” Hermann Bahr. Expressionism was first used by the Germans during and after World War I. “. . . German cinema experienced a defining moment. . . The German government saw the possibility of using film to boost public morale,” (Martha P. Nochimson 113). The cinema was first used to distract the working people from what was happening with the war. When the war ended, “. . . The major German films of the 1920’s were courageous in resorting to aesthetic of Expressionism to aid them in addressing the darker aspects of political and social life,” (Nochimson 115). This was the beginning of showing the heavy lighting, harsh movements, and how the characters of the movie develop an alter ego. This was a revelation for filmmakers in the twentieth century that would then be a template for future filmmakers for the twenty-first century for directors like Tim Burton. Burton uses German expressionism in most of his popular films. For example, some recent films are A Corpse Bride and…show more content…
Nevermore…” (Burton, Stanza 14-15). With the Edgar Allen Poe poem being recited at the end of the stop-motion short film it is to bring the metaphor of the film to a whole. For the shadow is suppose to be represented by the troubled soul of the eight year Vincent; but once his “madness” starts to spread throughout his mind he sees that he can’t live on. That nothing will be able to bring him back to the reality that everyone else is living in that he will be trapped in his own horrible reality

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