German expressionism is a cultural movement that happened in Germany and is characterized by a revolution in German art as a way of expression. It is challenging to describe German expressionism because it differs from one artist to the other. As well, these ideas had an immense change to how German society thought about their history. German expressionists were particularly the individuals who sought to reveal their thoughts and ideas through work of art, including writing, and drawing, just before the commencement of the Second World War ( Barron, Dube, 1997) . It is a notable time in history because it revolutionized a myriad of sectors of society, like the film industry. The onset of German expressionism can be traced to the young generation's protest about the kind of life that the middle class was influencing Germans to live during that period. It was also at this time that several expressionist films emerged ( Barron, Dube, 1997) . The cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a film that was produced at the time of the German expressionism. The film sought to relive the Second World War by incorporating aspects of horror to give the audience an authentic feel. The paper, therefore, analyzes the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in respect to how it captured the feelings of the German society after the Second World War.
Even though German expressionism was witnessed in the second world, it is correct to mention that it started before World War II. Over time, German expressionism grew out of its original aim of being a movement to impacting mindsets on social, cultural, and political grounds ( Garncarz, 2004) . At the moment, it transcended mere works of art and got ingrained into society. German expressionism brought out people who played out as individuals who wanted to change how society. Besides, expressionism created a lasting picture in terms of the views that everyone in society took regarding important issues. Films that were produced during this time have specific attributes that make them stand out in the world of cinema. Some of the features include asymmetrical camera angles and highlight, atmospheric lighting, and the sharp contrast in the lighting in films ( Garncarz, 2004) . Several of these films were characterized by the theme of madness and a lack of orderliness. The themes generally revolved around the madness of people in society. When these characteristics came brought together, it culminated into a film that was dark and gloomy for most parts. This is one of the features that distinguish these films from those that came after.
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The genre of horror became prominent in the German expressionist films. This can be attributed to the influence of the atrocities and horror that came with the second world war. Most of the films were attempting to relive these moments by espousing a sense of dread and terror in the storylines and various aspects of the film such as lighting and camera angles ( Garncarz, 2004 and Barrett, 2020 ) . Although horror films were indeed produced even before German expressionism, they became even more gruesome during the period. Europe was one of the hardest-hit regions during the second world war. After that, the population was left hopeless and in fear of any eventualities. Germany was particularly devasted because it was the hardest-hit country in Europe. As a result, citizens became resentful and blamed their leaders for causing the untold misery that befell them. It is this fear that made the public seek to relate in the best way they knew how. As discussed before, the cinema was one of the best industries that espoused expressionism best.
Expressionist movies were one of the best received in the film industry. Since the medium was still relatively new, the American movie industry, Hollywood was still finding footing. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is perhaps the most notable film that espoused the Germans' true feelings at the time. It remains a landmark even to date. Aside from being the first movie that brought out the best of art in the industry, the film offered precedence to the mainstream cinema industry. In essence, it was then that several industries came up with cinema houses to launch their works of art on different themes. The films captured the exact feeling of German society at the time especially the discount with the government’s operations that sidelined the views of the public.
The cost of the second world war had immense economic and social impacts in German. It has invested a tremendous amount of wealth in the war and was hoping to win the war. After its defeat, the allied powers demanded reparation from Germany. This further crippled its once-strong economy, thereby bringing grave impacts to the people. Aside from the women and children, the soldiers were the hardest hit demographic as they died in their numbers. Those who survived had either minor or major injuries. These dynamics led to the country falling into malaise, which was perfectly demonstrated in the film ( Cardullo, 1982) . The film revolves around the story of Franzis, who is a student in a German school. Franzis' friend is unlucky and encounters death by a mass murderer Cesare. Cesare committed the murders because he was under the influence of hypnotics by a renowned hypnotist Caligari. The producer of the films has talked of the inspiration behind the film and how it resonates with the atmosphere of the German expressionism. He says, "The mystery and macabre atmosphere of the Grand Guignol were currently in vogue in German films, and this story fitted perfectly" ( Wiene et al., 2000) .
Films such as these often open the wounds of individuals affected by the world war as it displays images of terror that relive the moments. The experience was an already painful one, but it was an essential way of retelling Germany's history. It allowed Germans to see where they had come from and appreciate the peace they enjoy today. The film was highly symbolic. Caligari symbolized the government while Franzis, the mass murderer, symbolized the soldiers. Caligari hypnotizing Franzis was like the government getting into the soldiers' minds to make them engage in killing innocent people across the world ( Wiene, Janowitz & Meyer, 2000) . These killings were majorly for selfish reasons by the government. In this respect, the government could be best described as insensitive in nature. It is true to say that whatever decision made by Germany to start the war, the Germans had nothing to do with it. In fact, if they could, they would do anything to stop the madness that the government was presiding over at the time. This callousness of the government led to the deaths of countless innocent civilians, something that ever German is bitter about to date.
As discussed, the effects of the war were devastating and were best shown in the film through the storyline and aspects such as choreography. By the time it ended, not only were there several deaths, but there were also deformations not only on the soldiers but also on the civilians. These were relived in the crooked backdrops and distortions at various points of the scene ( Schönfeld, 2002) . The images are nightmarish. The visual styles perfectly fitted the moments and achieved the purpose of telling the story with an artistic impression. This corroborates the fact that the film captured the mood of the time. Aside from reliving the tumultuous moments in German history, the story used art to reiterate its central theme. The vision thus was an excellent display of the emotional distress witnessed at the time. The visuals were distant from reality and characterized by sharp jagged edges and concocted angles. The set design was also one of a kind because it brought expressed the views of the Germans in an artistic manner.
At the time of the making of the film, youths had grown tired of the shape Germany was taking after the world war. Since there was nothing much they could do, movements were the best bet to get their ideas out to the public ( Schönfeld, 2002) . As discussed above, their ideas came in several forms but basically expressed the discontent felt after the end of the second world war. The film production team was not sure whether the audience would receive the film, considering it was based on one of the most controversial issues in German society. There had been several attempts to use expressionism in films before Caligari. However, what stood out about Caligari was that the film was produced and encompassed several aspects of expressionism ( Schönfeld, 2002) .
Historians have touted the film as an excellent on in reliving the moments of the second world war. The movie was so successful that it was received more positively than others that had attempted to highlight the same theme. As with the others, it captures the attention of critics. In this sense, some quarters have suggested that it is not best to relive traumatic events such as the second world war through films because it opens painful wounds ( Cardullo, 1982) . These critics reiterate that Germans and any other people across the world who had been affected by the second world war wanted to forget the nasty things that happened to them and carry on with their lives. Even then, those opposing this viewpoint reiterate that it is important for Germans to know their history and learn the ways with which they have lived through different times. Either way, the film impacted not only the German filmmaker but also those across the world. One can recognize that filmmakers in the horror genre emerged after Caligari. It then means that the film's impact transcended the message it had. Most of the filmmakers intrigued by the movie were mostly attracted by the manner in which the choreography performed his duty.
The ambiguity of the structure and the manner in which the setting was done also impacted on the general message sent to the audience. The start of the film reveals the kind of madness that witnessed in the German government and German soldiers ( Wiene, Janowitz & Meyer, 2000) . Franzis is an inmate at an asylum where the lead doctor is Caligari, and he recounts his experiences with regrets. He reflects his inner thoughts and the steps he had taken to reach where he had reached. As well, this plot did not fail to attract criticisms, most of which revolved around the character of Caliban. The film had reduced the offenses of Caliban as merely being delusional. In as much as the film was trying to portray the real happening at the time of the war, the director had forgotten to give critical lessons about the war ( Wiene, Janowitz & Meyer, 2000) . In other instances, in the movie, the plot does not rhyme with the central message of the film. Generally, the movie was trying to expose anti-authoritarianism. However, the fact that it reduced the sins of Caligari to merely being delusional made the film not to feel as much authoritarian. As such, it is difficult for the people of Germans to resonate with this part of the movie because it does not reveal the true situation at the time of the war.
The setting of the film does not represent the real-world in several respects, especially because it was spooky and awkward ( Cardullo, 1982) . As much as it does not seem real, the director of the film reiterated that this incongruousness is what characterized the world at the time. In essence, not only was their madness all over, but there was also no order and misery heightened to unmanageable levels. The contrast seen in human emotions and the real world was evident in the film. The emotions expressed in the film mirror those felt by the soldiers who were lucky to come from the war alive. Many army officers also left service while some were discharged. One of those who were discharged, George Grosz, was among the most notable members of the expressionist movement. George expressed the sadness he felt over the time of the war through paintings. His most famous painting is suicide. The exact feeling, he was trying to express was the despair and disillusionment. George's painting was consistent with some of the images in the Caligari ( Cardullo, 1982) . It then means that the entire society felt the same thing about what was going on in Germany at the time. A look at the movies would grip one with fear and s sense of threat.
Conclusion
The paper has discussed the film, the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and German expressionism a cultural movement that happened in and is characterized by a revolution in the German world of art. It is not easy to describe German expressionism because different artists had their own idea of what made them stand out. German expressionists were particularly the individuals who sought to reveal their thoughts and ideas through art, including writing, drawing, and thinking, just before the beginning of the second world war. It is a notable time in history because it revolutionized numerous sectors of society, most notably of which is the film industry. It is correct to say the film captured the feelings of German society from the discussion of the movie.
References
Barrett, A., (2020). 100 years of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Why we’re still living in its shadows
Barron, S., Dube, W. D. (1997). German expressionism: art and society . Thames and Hudson.
Cardullo, B. (1982). Expressionism and the Real Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Film Criticism , 6 (2).
Garncarz, J. (2004). German cinema of the 1920s. The silent cinema reader
Schönfeld, C. (2002). Modern identities in early German film: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Engaging Film: Geographies of Mobility and Identity .
Wiene, R., Janowitz, H., & Meyer, C. (2000). The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari . Famous Films Productions [empresa de producció].
