Triumph of the Will

(Triumph of the Will) was made as basically a documentary of Adolf Hitler and his actions during one of Germany's annual Party Days. Taking place in Nuremberg, the film was all about making Hitler look as virtuous and powerful as possible. It's of course a propaganda film, and one shown all over Germany at the time.

A notable characteristic of this film was the cinematography, which was ahead of its time. The staging and numerous camera angles made for a dynamic and well-filmed piece, which only served to further strengthen Hitler's image.

Oddly enough, despite my natural aversion to Nazi Germany, the images used in this film were inspiring and heartening. You really get a feel for how a nation could get behind Hitler when you watch this, which is probably how those who viewed this film during its time felt. It's too bad that the party was so inherently militaristic because the benefits that people seemed to be enjoying as a result of their coming to power were astounding. Of course, I must temper the good images with the knowledge that this is a propaganda film, but not having any specific knowledge of domestic conditions in Germany before the rise of the Nazi party (aside from the general disenfranchisement and poverty that came after WWI), these images are all I really have to go off of.

Still, it's interesting to hear the commentary on this film and see how many of these techniques of cinematography are still used to great effect today.

propaganda parody

This is an interesting trend that becomes much more noticeable when searching for propaganda images online: propaganda parodies. With the prevalence of image manipulation software such as Photoshop and the ready availability of images online, people can easily re-appropriate images for their own purposes. Recently, political commentary is common. The unpopularity of the Bush administration and it's policies have brought about many images like the one above.

An interesting question: do these images constitute propaganda? I would tend to say 'no' because of their satirical nature. These images use classic propaganda for modern commentary, but the goal of persuasion is not evident in this particular vein of parodies. Despite the often subversive nature of propaganda, there's an earnestness in purpose that seems to be missing from these particular images, which only use propagandist imagery to take a stab at particular people or policies.

Image analysis #5

This image is actually a little different than the others because it was mostly unintentional. Taken at a boot camp commencement ceremony in Israel (I'm assuming), the placement and pose was largely happenstance, taken as a helicopter flew overhead. Were this an intentionally composed image, one could point out the appeal to nationalism or common man techniques. The placement of the flag behind the father and his son would likely evoke national pride, while their upturned faces would convey a sense of hope. Interestingly the photographer acknowledged a hint of fear in the child's eyes which would lend a certain postmodern mentality to this image, where a subtle message pervades a more blatant one. That actually leads me to my next post...