The motion picture has undergone various transformations over time with other related factors coming into play to influence the evolution. Early cinema, especially, was expected to adapt to the technological advancement and borrow from other forms of art such as photography and film. More so, various technicalities including form, style, special effects and fictional narrative were developed to enhance the industry. This essay aims at undertaking an analysis of the productions that were considered as alternative movements to American cinema with a focus on German Expressionism. The study will highlight the various developments that differed from the films produced in Hollywood.
German expressionism was opposed to the Hollywood conventions arguing that the Americans tended to misrepresent the reality in order to play with the emotions of the viewer. The style borrowed from Expressionist painting whose pioneers such as Van Gogh saw the perfect picture as the one with color, outlines and brushstrokes that were powerful enough to hypnotize the viewer (Ettlinger, 2008). In this light, films produced by German Expressionists were more concerned with the setting. Technically referred to as mise-en-scène, it involves among others the cast, properties, attire, furnishings and lighting. In contrast with the Hollywood industry, which was only concerned about captivating narrative, Expressionists were neither keen on how the story unfolds nor how the film is edited.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Photography also modified the way Hollywood film used to be shot by using the camera to communicate to the viewer (Kurtz et. al., 2016). Various camera angles and positions, also referred to as the language of the shot, could be decoded such that the viewer would make meaning without necessarily listening to the narrative. The long shot, for example is commonly used as an opening shot while the close up shot zooms at the specific character or object that the producer wished to bring to the viewers attention.
Lighting is another important element that the Expressionists introduced in film to discuss certain effects to the critical viewer (Zimmerman, 1996). The availability if bright light, to the viewer, may be interpreted to mean the known while lack thereof will stand for the unknown or evil. Here again, the producer does not have to incorporate the narrative to communicate to the viewer but will incorporate various complementary elements to present the general idea. The complexity of the productions ensured that the expressionist films were a global success. This prompted the Hollywood producers to adapt the new styles suggested by the Germans.
Expressionism further expressed the ideals that it is the duty of the producer the present a point of view that is subjective (Porfirio, 2006). This is as opposed to the Hollywood conventions whose productions were always objective. The bottom line of this expressionist undertaking is to ensure that the film does not seem to brainwash the viewers and instead provides them with food for thought so that they may make their won interpretations. Mystery was always a recurrent motif and the viewer was always left alienated and in a dreamy state.
In conclusion, the German Expressionists were instrumental in the making of the motion pictures that posed a challenge to the Hollywood industry. To begin with, they shifted the emphasis from the narrative and film editing to the design of the set. They also introduced the language of the shot where varying camera angles were used to communicate different messages tot eh viewers. The lighting was also carefully adjusted to parallel the theme of the film. The purpose of these adjustments was to counter the distortion of reality in Hollywood films. They also ensured that the point of view was subjective leaving the viewer in a dreamy state after the alienation.
References
Ettlinger, L (2008). German Expressionism and Primitive Art. The Burlington Magazine, 110(781), 191-201. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/875584
Kurtz, R., & Benthien, B. (2016).Front Matter. In Kiening C. & Bel U. (Eds.) Expressionism and Film (pp. [i]-[iv]). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1pc5g0d.1
Porfirio, R. (2006). The Philosophy of Film Noir (Conard M., Ed.). University Press of Kentucky. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2jchn4
Zimmermann, P. (1996). The Amateur, the Avant-Garde, and Ideologies of Art. Journal of Film and Video, 38 (3/4), 63-85. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20687738
