<?page no="0"?> Popular Fiction Studies 7 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina (Ed. / Hrsg.) German Expressionism in the Audiovisual Culture Myths, Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction Der deutsche Expressionismus in den Audiovisuellen Medien Mythen, Fantasy, Horror und Science-Fiction <?page no="1"?> German Expressionism in the Audiovisual Culture / Der deutsche Expressionismus in den Audiovisuellen Medien <?page no="2"?> Popular Fiction Studies edited by Eva Parra-Membrives ( † ) and Albrecht Classen volume 7 <?page no="3"?> Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina (Ed./ Hrsg.) German Expressionism in the Audiovisual Culture Myths, Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction Der deutsche Expressionismus in den Audiovisuellen Medien Mythen, Fantasy, Horror und Science-Fiction <?page no="4"?> Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über http: / / dnb.dnb.de abrufbar. Die Publikation dieses Bandes erfolgte mit Unterstützung des Drittmittelprojekts „ Estrategias de Innovación en Mitocrítica Cultural “ (AGLAYA, H2019/ HUM-5714), gefördert durch die Comunidad de Madrid und den Europäischen Sozialfonds und dank der folgenden Institutionen: Universidad de Alcalá (UAH), Forschungsgruppe der UAH „ Estudios de Recepción “ (RECEPTION, CHH2010/ R24), Ministerio de Universidades (spanische Regierung) und Fonds Next Generation (Europäische Union). DOI: https: / / doi.org/ 10.24053/ 9783823395454 © 2022 · Narr Francke Attempto Verlag GmbH + Co. KG Dischingerweg 5 · D-72070 Tübingen Das Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist ohne Zustimmung des Verlages unzulässig und strafbar. Das gilt insbesondere für Vervielfältigungen, Übersetzungen, Mikroverfilmungen und die Einspeicherung und Verarbeitung in elektronischen Systemen. Alle Informationen in diesem Buch wurden mit großer Sorgfalt erstellt. Fehler können dennoch nicht völlig ausgeschlossen werden. Weder Verlag noch Autor: innen oder Herausgeber: innen übernehmen deshalb eine Gewährleistung für die Korrektheit des Inhaltes und haften nicht für fehlerhafte Angaben und deren Folgen. Diese Publikation enthält gegebenenfalls Links zu externen Inhalten Dritter, auf die weder Verlag noch Autor: innen oder Herausgeber: innen Einfluss haben. 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Internet: www.narr.de eMail: info@narr.de Satz: typoscript GmbH, Walddorfhäslach CPI books GmbH, Leck ISSN 2197-6392 ISBN 978-3-8233-8545-5 (Print) ISBN 978-3-8233-9545-4 (ePDF) ISBN 978-3-8233-0398-5 (ePub) www.fsc.org MIX Papier aus verantwortungsvollen Quellen FSC ® C083411 ® <?page no="5"?> Contents Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina Introduction - The Reception of German Cinematic Expressionism: A Multidisciplinary, International and Contemporary Phenomenon . . . . 13 1 EXPRESSIONISM, CINEMA, AND LITERATURE Carmen Gómez García The debate over cinema in expressionist literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) von Alfred Kubin und Midsommar (2019) von Ari Aster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Cristina Zimbroianu Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 2 EXPRESSIONISM, CINEMA, AND MUSIC Magda Polo Pujadas Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg - Programmatic music conceived as pure music? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Jesús Ferrer Cayón The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun (Krzysztof Penderecki, 1969) in the film-opera for TV, by Joachim Hess and Rolf Liebermann . . 76 3 EXPRESSIONISM IN AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA María Carmen Gómez-Pérez Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal . . . 91 Celia Martínez García The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 101 <?page no="6"?> Manuel Maldonado-Alemán Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität - Die urbane Dystopie in Dark City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 Carlo Avventi Moderne Abgründe - Die dämonische Leinwand des David Lynch . . . . . 127 Luis N. Sanguinet Von Caligari zu Mr. Robot: Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 4 EXPRESSIONIST MYTHS IN THE AUDIOVISUAL CULTURE 4.1 The Myth of the Vampire. The legacy of Murnau ’ s Nosferatu Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir- Serien in Streaming-Diensten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Jorge Marugán Kraus Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films: Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror by Friedrich Wilhem Murnau (1922) and Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola (1992) . . . . . . 165 Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle: feminine vampiric duality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 4.2 The Myth of the Golem and the Artificial Intelligence Roland Innerhofer Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus - Zur Faszination einer Filmfigur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 María Jesús Fernández-Gil Conflicting Narratives - The Otherness within Expressionist Approaches to the Golem vs Cynthia Ozick ’ s Affirmation of the Myth ’ s Jewishness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 6 Contents <?page no="7"?> 4.3 The Myth of Faust Emilio Sierra García Faust in Murnau and Sokurov - From Cinema to the Sense of Myth . . . 217 5 THE EXPRESSIONIST AESTHETIC OUTSIDE EUROPE Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Satoru Yamada The Failure of the Diffusion of German Expressionist Cinema in Japanese Cinema by Benshi through The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Contents 7 <?page no="9"?> This volume is dedicated to our colleague and friend Eva Parra, director, and creator, together with Albert Classen, of the ‘ Popular Fiction Studies ’ series, without whom this book could not see the light of day. Eva was a fighter and a tireless worker, as well as a beautiful person who left us when we least expected it and whom we will always remember and carry in our hearts. <?page no="11"?> Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Prof. José Manuel Losada (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), coordinator of the Research Project AGLAYA “ Estrategias de Innovación en Mitocrítica Cultural ” (H2019/ HUM-5714). The current edition has been made possible thanks to the previous project, funded by the Community of Madrid and the European Social Fund (ESF), and as a result of the activities of the High-Performance Research Group from the University of Alcalá, RECEPTION “ Reception Studies ” (CCHH2010/ R24) which I am honoured to lead. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Scientific Committee that helped me with their recommendations regarding the selection and improvement of articles: Andreas Grünewald (Universität Bremen), Belén Santana (Universidad de Salamanca), Claudia Cabezón Doty (Universität Heidelberg), Georg Pichler (Universidad de Alcalá), Isabel García Adánez (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Javier Albo (Georgia State University), Johnni Langer (Universidade Federal da Paraiba), José Enrique Monterde (Universidad de Barcelona), José Manuel Losada (Universidad Complutense de Madrid), and Susanne Cadera (Universidad Pontificia de Comillas). Finally, I would like to thank Andrea Alfonso González ( “ Beca de Introducción a la Investigación ” of the Universidad de Alcalá) and, especially, Patricia Rojo Lemos ( “ Beca Margarita Salas ” of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid), whose collaboration was made possible thanks to funding from the Ministerio de Universidades (Spanish government) and the Next Generation programme (European Union). Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="13"?> Introduction The Reception of German Cinematic Expressionism: A Multidisciplinary, International and Contemporary Phenomenon Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina Expressionism is a cultural movement that emerged in Germany in the early 20th century and initially manifested itself in painting. In contrast to previous currents, such as Realism (which tried to reflect reality in an objective and imitative way) or Impressionism (which tried to suggest reality), artists such as E. L. Kirchner and Franz Marc proposed a new aesthetic aimed at reflecting the feeling that reality evokes in the painter. With forceful strokes, loud colours and violent forms, expressionist artists reflected anger, bitterness or pleasure from a subjective perspective, managing to express feelings that strongly impact the viewer. Expressionist aesthetics soon manifested themselves in media other than painting, appearing in literature (in works by Strindberg, Werfel, Benn, Heym, Döblin and Kafka) and in music (in pieces by Schönberg, Berg and Webern). Simultaneously to the birth of Expressionism, a new art form that fused images, words, and music was also beginning to emerge. It was an art form which burst onto the scene with such an overwhelming force within the German-speaking realm that its power remains undimmed even to this day. That art form was cinema. Between 1920 and 1927, under the influence of Expressionism, German cinema produced classic films such as Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), Der Golem (Paul Wegener, 1920), Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922), Faust (F. W. Murnau, 1926) and Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927), whose aesthetic legacy endures. Indeed, a century after these productions, there is no escaping the extent to which the expressionist aesthetics of these films has permeated the visual arts of the 21st century. These were the first “ silent ” films, i. e., with sound (live music) but without words (dialogue). Curiously, these silent films without dialogue, despite new <?page no="14"?> technologies that easily integrate all the arts into a single artistic product (or perhaps because of this), have today become what is known as cult films, as they are immensely popular, especially among young people, despite the passage of time. Today ’ s audiovisual media (films, TV series and video games) ooze expressionist motifs: images of vampires identical to Murnau ’ s Nosferatu in horror films, recreations of the expressionist Faust, depictions of Wegener ’ s Golem, replicas of the robot Maria from Fritz Lang ’ s Metropolis, fantasy films recreating the motifs of expressionist films, or science fiction films imbued with the languian metropolis. There is a massive current use of expressionist myths, as well as their use in popular genres such as Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction. To understand how the expressionist aesthetic, born at the beginning of the 20th century, has permeated the visual arts of the 21st century in such an overwhelming way, we will now try to answer the following questions: In which artistic expressions, apart from cinema, can we find traces of this movement? What aspects are noteworthy in this reception? At what historical moment do we observe this influence? And, finally, in which countries do these traces appear? In response to the first question, we will see below how the German Expressionist movement left its mark not only in the visual arts but also in literature, music, graphic novels and, above all, in the audiovisual media, specifically in cinema and television series. As for the second question, this volume analyses the reception of German Expressionism from its appearance at the beginning of the 20th century to the present day in the 21st century. The volume demonstrates that this movement exerts a real fascination on contemporary art that began at the end of the Expressionist movement around 1928 and has continued to grow to the present day. As far as the remarkable aspects of the expressionist reception are concerned, the extensive use of myths in film, which was already characteristic of German expressionist films, is striking. From the earliest film productions to today, myths are included in numerous audiovisual expressions. Three myths, in particular, stand out and will be studied in this volume: Firstly, the myth of the vampire, which already appears in Murnau ’ s Nosferatu from 1922, the first horror film in history, and which has since been found in countless movies and television series today. Secondly, we observe the predominance of the myth of artificial intelligence, the Maschinenmensch or the fear of the creation conscious life already present in German expressionist films such as Der Golem (Paul Wegener 1920) or Metropolis (Fritz Lang 1927) and whose traces can be seen, since then, in a host of audiovisual artistic expressions. Thirdly, the traces of the 14 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="15"?> expressionist Faustian myth can be observed since the release of Faust (F. W. Murnau, 1926) based on the work of Goethe, a clear audiovisual reference for numerous current works of art. To understand these three specific myths (the myth of the vampire, the myth of artificial intelligence and the myth of Faust) and following the study of mythocriticism initiated by José Manuel Losada, this volume analyses the myth from a multidisciplinary point of view. The volume studies the reception of these myths in fields as wide-ranging as literature, graphic novels, cinema and television, theatre, painting and music and also offers interpretative approaches to these myths from disciplines as diverse as literature, audiovisual media, psychoanalysis, politics and sociology. As we will see throughout the volume, the authors also examine the differences and similarities between myths and the popular genres of Fantasy, Horror and Science Fiction. Finally, regarding the geographical location where we can detect the traces of German Expressionism, we will see below how the imprint of this movement extends beyond the most obvious territories. Firstly, Europe stands out, but the Expressionist imprint can be detected not only in German-speaking countries (such as Austria or Germany) but also in countries such as France and Poland. German Expressionism is also clearly reflected in Russia, North America and Australia. Finally, the volume takes a novel approach to analysing the traces of German Expressionism in non-Western countries such as Syria and Japan. The volume is divided into five chapters: the traces of Expressionism in literature; the reception of this movement in music; the imprint of Expressionism in the audiovisual media; Expressionist myths; and the reception of Expressionism outside Europe. The first section of the book, entitled Expressionism, Cinema and Literature , analyses a key aspect in understanding the phenomenon of the reception of Expressionism in the audiovisual media: the emergence of a new art form - cinema - and the problematic relationship between this first silent cinema and literature. European literary art, whose beginnings can be traced back to the fall of the Roman Empire at the end of the 5th century AD, has a long tradition. However, the cinema, as mentioned above, was born 15 centuries later, at the beginning of the 20th century, initially related to the entertainment industry but soon showing a unique and overwhelming artistic personality, capable of bringing together the artistic aesthetics of the time in a very complex and subtle way. Carmen Gómez García introduces us to this artistic tension with an article entitled “ The Debate on Cinema in Expressionist Literature ” . Gómez García explains how the cinema or “ literature without words ” had to compete with drama. Although fascinated by the new medium, authors were torn between a Introduction 15 <?page no="16"?> certain aversion to what they described as trivial and an optical seduction that was impossible to escape. However, as early as 1910, psychiatrist and writer Alfred Döblin recommended novelists adopt a “ cinematic style ” , a style that determined expressionistic prose to an extent they were referred to as “ films of words ” . Gómez García examines how the ambivalent fascination with the cinema, once the logical reservations of the cultural elite had been overcome, would determine the literary work of the period as well -literature of expressionism, which borrows greatly from silent films. Freed from its beginnings as a form of documenting reality, as simply a rapid succession of images or a type of shadow play, its illusory character would eventually prevail. The integration of this new medium into the broader cultural context went through its phases of denial, integration and adaptation, leading to a rich debate about literature and set against the backdrop of the new culture of the masses, proved to be an unstoppable process. Gómez ’ s article reflects how today, a century later, we can see that this fascination has retained all its power. The second article of this chapter, “ Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain ” , written by Cristina Zimbroianu, focuses precisely on the author mentioned above, Alfred Döblin, and analyses his most famous novel, Berlin Alexanderplatz, published in 1929, a work that has been, from the beginning, closely related to cinema. Döblin ’ s novel, inspired by Walter Ruttman ’ s film Berlin: A symphony of a big city, issued in 1927, reached 45 editions within a few years and was translated into several languages. Afterwards, the novel was adapted to cinema in 1930 by director Piel Jutzi in his film Hampa (released the following year in Spain). Much better known was Rainer Werner Fassbinder ’ s fifteen-and-a-half-hour television series made in 1980, later released in cinemas with shorter editing. The relevance of this novel in today ’ s audiovisual media is also evident in the latest film by German-Afghan director Burhan Qurbani in 2020, a free and modern interpretation of the novel. Zimbroianu studies also in her article how this novel was welcomed outside of Germany, precisely in Spain, where Piel Jutzi ’ s 1930 cinematographic version of the novel was released. The paper examines the reception of Berlin Alexanderplatz in Franco ’ s Spain, when all writing had to be approved by the censors, as well as the film adaptation of the novel in 1931, 1980, and 2020. Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra focuses in the last article from this chapter, “ Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) von Alfred Kubin und Midsommar (2019) von Ari Aster ” , on the symbolic conformation of a utopia in novelistic and cinematographic fiction. The paper begins with the work of Alfred Kubin, a very good friend of Franz Kakfa ’ s that, like Döblin, also lived for a time in Berlin. Additionally, he strongly influenced Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau ’ s film work (especially in Nosferatu), which will be discussed later 16 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="17"?> in this volume. Piechocki-Sierra focuses on the utopian/ dystopian imagination that the Austrian novelist Alfred Kubin displays in Die Andere Seite (1909) and the similarities and differences that this novel allows us to establish when comparing it with the recent film Midsommar (2019) helmed by American director Ari Aster. The author pays special attention to how the novel and the film imagine a utopian/ dystopian space in which their respective narratives are located and from which they emanate. Despite the 110-year gap between Kubin ’ s work and Ari Aster ’ s film, fascinating similarities can be observed in both Kubin ’ s and Aster ’ s concept of the city, another relevant topic that will be discussed (by other authors like Manuel Maldonado) in this volume. As Piechocki claims, in both cases, the desire for a better, more modern world leads to an uncompromising tension and indecision between utopia and dystopia that cannot be differentiated in either Kubin ’ s novel or Ari Aster ’ s film. The second section of this volume, Expressionism, Cinema and Music, approaches the phenomenon of expressionist music, so important in film productions. Despite being called “ silent cinema ” , the art of filmmaking was never silent: from its origins, it has been inextricably linked to sound, specifically music. From the earliest productions, films were accompanied either by piano or live orchestra. For this reason, any analysis of film must inevitably include musical analysis. First, Magda Polo Pujadas explains one of the most emblematic works of the most famous expressionist composer in German-speaking countries: the Austrian citizen Arnold Schönberg. The twenties of the last century were decisive years for incorporating sound and music in the cinema. Consumers around the world were looking forward to the possibilities that this artistic language offered, and musicians were also interested to see how music acquired roles that led it to experiment between the emphasis of reality and the manifestation of emotions. Arnold Schönberg was no stranger to all this and composed Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 (1929 - 1930), an experimental work that confirms the evident influence of German expressionist cinema. Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 was a challenge to demonstrate that music contemplates by itself all the expressive possibilities and that it can awaken in us the same sensations that cinematographic images can create. Moreover, Schönberg intended to demonstrate the pre-eminence of music over other artistic languages - among them the cinematographic language - by containing in itself and in the compositional rules that governed it the possibility of expressing the inner world of the individual, of his pain, of his fear and his anguish. In this chapter, Polo analyses the score from a musicological point of view. She describes the score and the way Schönberg conveys the expressionist anguish and believes that it is pure music Introduction 17 <?page no="18"?> (autonomous or abstract) that has emotional content that appears and refers to the same music. Indeed, it is music that follows the parameters of music resulting from the acceptance of artistic expressionism and, especially, the cinematographic one. The programmatic aspect, then, becomes pure. For his part, Jesús Ferrer Cayón focuses his research on the opera Die Teufel von Loudun, impregnated with expressionist aesthetics, by Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki, that was filmed as a television movie one month after its premiere in June 1969 at the Hamburg State Opera, thanks to the vision of Rolf Liebermann and the talent of Joachim Hess, an expert director in television adaptations who German expressionist filmmakers heavily influenced. Ferrer entitles his paper “ The expressionist impact of Die Teufel von Loudun (Krzysztof Penderecki, 1969) in the film-opera for TV, by Joachim Hess and Rolf Liebermann ” . As the author puts it, Penderecki conceived atmospheric expressionism to give a dramatic effect to this allegory of violence and of neurotic societies and promoters of political and religious fanaticism. To achieve this impact in music, he played with the effect produced by the contrasts between different types of instrumental writing and antagonistic vocal styles. Thus, from the tragic event that took place in France in 1634 (the death at the stake of Urbain Grandier, a parish priest with whom the mother superior of the Ursuline convent in Loudun was in love), Penderecki freed himself of the oppression exerted on Poland by the Soviet communist regime and the Catholic Church, by reflecting the different mental states that the unstable psyche of the characters experience when operating in different oppressive social environments. Going deeper in this same line, Hess, through an imaginative use of the visual effects, managed to capture more dramatically the tension, terror and truculence contained in this singular opera. The volume ’ s third section is the most extensive, as it deals with the central and most relevant aspect of the volume: the reception of German Expressionism in the Audiovisual Media . Thus, this part comprises four chapters focusing on feature films and one chapter on television art. As mentioned above, the beginning of cinematic Expressionism is usually dated to the inaugural film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Wiene, 1920). Usually, it ends with the spectacular Metropolis (Lang, 1927), which shows clear traces of the Neue Sachlichkeit movement. However, as we will observe throughout this section, expressionist traces can be seen in the audiovisual media from 1929 to the present day. Carmen Gómez Pérez starts this part of the book with his chapter entitled “ Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal ” and analyses the legacy of Expressionism in the first sound movie in German cinematography, Der blaue Engel released in 1929 after the UFA Studios ’ proposal to The American film director Josef von Sternberg. To succeed in his creative 18 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="19"?> vision for this film, Von Sternberg had to overcome the challenges inherent in the switching of modes in communication. He made a film that would later be considered pioneering in many aspects, both technical and artistic, by scholars from different disciplines. In this chapter, Gómez-Pérez highlights Von Sternberg ’ s ability to adapt to the new mode of communication in the transition from silent movies to talkies, basing his proposal on the inheritance of Expressionism handed down from the golden age of Weimar cinema. After this first homage to Expressionism in cinema, the second chapter of this section, “ The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns ” , by Celia Martínez García, examines the traces of this movement in Wolfgang Staudte ’ s 1946 film. This production, the first one after the Second World War (1945) in Germany, and the paradigm of the so-called rubble films (Trümmerfilme) sets the beginning of a new film era born amid another postwar, another defeat and in an unprecedented context of emotional ruins. The film references Fritz Lang ’ s M, the recurring use of shadows, and Italian Neorealism, which, by definition, can involve a contradiction concerning the Expressionist concept. In the third chapter, Manuel Maldonado focuses on the analysis of the concept of the city, so characteristic of expressionist films such as Metropolis (Fritz Lang 1927), which influences the picture of the city in this science fiction film and examines the representation of urban dystopia in Australian film director Alex Proyas ’ Dark City (1998). Under the title of “ Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität. Die urbane Dystopie in Dark City ” , Maldonado starts his articles from the background of Georg Simmel ’ s reflections on the devaluation of the personal idiosyncrasy of the individual in modern metropolises, which constitutes the metropolitan form of alienation. By staging a dystopian future world and its adverse effects on the individual, the film warns of social aberrations and their impending consequences. The mixing of simulation and reality or the externally controlled construction of identity raises questions about the blurred demarcation line between virtual and nonvirtual worlds and the dissolution of the self in contemporary society. Dark City exemplifies how the simulation of society and the unreal perception of reality lead to the alienation and denaturalisation of the individual. As a result of the absolute hypertrophy of an environment dominated by machines and technological surveillance, the real disappears into the simulation, behind which the relations of domination, social reality and the dissolution of the self-remain hidden. In its cinematic representation of the omnipotence of the city and the machine, Maldonado demonstrates how Dark City refers to films of German Expressionism, especially Metropolis (1927) by Fritz Lang, which provides models for the design and architecture of the dark city. Introduction 19 <?page no="20"?> Carlo Avventi continues the analysis of expressionist traces in cinema, studying the work of American director David Lynch, in his chapter “ Moderne Abgründe. Die dämonische Leinwand des David Lynch. ” As explained by Avventi, from his first feature-length film Eraserhead (1977) to his more recent productions (Twin Peaks. Season 3 (2017)), the influence of the visual arts in David Lynch ’ s filmography is unmistakable. Alongside Edward Hopper, Henri Rousseau and Francis Bacon, German Expressionism also proves to be a model and source of inspiration for the US-American director. The author refers to how the caricature-like, grimacing portrayal of many of his figures, the distortion of spaces, the breaking up of linear narrative structures, the autonomy of shadows, the heightened colour palette and the alienation of the sound backdrop bear witness to this. Lynch ’ s films tear down the boundaries of the visible in order to reveal the background or abyss of reality. Yet this expressionist gesture not only serves Lynch to deconstruct conventional modes of representation in the sign of a crisis-like experience of reality but also increasingly reveals itself as media iconoclasm throughout his artistic career. Lynch thus emerges as a modern expressionist. In the following chapter, Luis N. Sanguinet analyses the cinematographic legacy of the film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1919) in current films and series. As the author states, in the many fantasy and horror films of the Expressionist time, camera tricks and special effects that were still in the experimental stage were used to depict miraculous events. In Caligari, the distortion of reality created a visual form for the protagonist ’ s delusions. The film reflected the distrust of authority and psychiatric methods of the time, which gained prominence in the Weimar Republic due to the psychological aftermath of the First World War. Caligari used cinematographic techniques to depict states of mind at a social moment when the concept of identity was in deep crisis. Nowadays, but already in the last decades, self-questioning and narrative instability have gained importance as elements of the plot core in popular films and series. Meta-discursive frames and the decline of identity are current themes that serve to structure mental situations narratively and cinematographically in the so-called psychological thrillers. Sanguinet ’ s essay examines one such series, Mr. Robot (Sam Esmail, 2014 - 2019), and considers its parallels and convergences with Caligari, delving into the protagonist ’ s mental state. Mr. Robot updates cinematographic devices that are over a hundred years old and whose origins lie in Caligari. The fourth block, devoted to the study of myths, entitled Expressionist Myths in the Audiovisual Culture , begins with an analysis of the legacy of the first horror movie in the history of film: Friedrich Murnau ’ s Nosferatu, which focuses on the myth of the vampire. 20 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="21"?> Jorge Marugán Kraus begins this section with an essay that examines the psychological transcendence of the vampire myth comparing Murnau ’ s Nosferatu of 1922 and Coppola ’ s version of 1992 and is entitled “ The Vampire, the Oral Fixation and its Connection with the Sexual through Two Cinematographic Works: Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror by Friedrich Wilhem Murnau (1922) and Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola (1992) ” . According to psychoanalyst Marugán Kraus, expert in Jacques Lacan, the myth of the vampire gives expression to two fundamental drives: the oral drive on which Murnau ’ s version focuses and the sexual drive that manifests itself in Coppola ’ s version. While in the oral drive the baby ’ s anguish manifests itself in the possibility of the food provider remaining empty, Murnau ’ s vampire reverses the roles and it is the subject himself who surrenders his vital essence, avoiding this anguish at the cost of himself. As Marugan Kraus explains, it is a monstrous vampire because it retains and imprisons the subject in the primitive time of the oral. Coppola, on the contrary, humanises the vampire who manifests himself as a seductive and desiring gentleman; he thus transcends the monstrosity and the oral fixation of Nosferatu, renouncing, like a romantic hero, his object of desire for love. For his part, Francisco Javier Sánchez Verdejo, also examines the myth of the vampire in Coppola ’ s film but focuses on the representation of the visual archetype of the vampire in “ The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-desiècle: feminine vampiric duality ” . As the author states, if an idea has terrified humankind, it is that of a being that has crossed the threshold of life but is able to return “ from the other side ” to suck the energy of those who stayed behind. Even worse than the fact that the vampire is dead is his responsibility for taking life to satisfy his insatiable thirst and fulfil his diabolical curse. Sánchez Verdejo examines also in his paper how, if there has been something that has been able to intimidate the patriarchal society it is the idea that death has been traditionally typified as a female being. Finally, Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig ends this section with an essay entitled “ Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien in Streaming-Diensten ” , which examines the influence of Murnau ’ s Nosferatu in present-day television series. As the author states, due to its novelty and originality, the expressionist-style image of Murnau ’ s Nosferatu (1922) has become a collective imagotype, nurturing the popular imaginary of cinema. The proliferation of digital content platforms such as Netflix, HBO and Prime Video has transferred an important part of the audio-visual narrative to this new environment, where the vampire genre, in all its variants such as fantasy, horror or tragicomedy, plays a central role. Cáceres-Würsig analyses how Murnau ’ s aesthetic-narrative model is still present in television series. On the one hand, Introduction 21 <?page no="22"?> Cáceres-Würsig ’ s article suggests that the visual stereotype of the character of Nosferatu continues to inspire the demonic vampires that fill the screens and, on the other hand, that the narrative refers to the archaic vision of cosmic regeneration present in many mythologies. In the following, the myth of the Golem and the artificial intelligence is examined through two different lenss. First, Roland Innerhofer, in his essay “ Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus. Zur Faszination einer Filmfigur ” examines how the cinematic figurations of the artificial human in Paul Wegener ’ s Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920) and Fritz Lang ’ s Metropolis (1927) have a lasting appeal to this day. The artificial human as an alien, threatening and seductive life form awakens felings and emotions, fantasies and imaginative potentials that are mobilised more directly and effectively in the medium of the expressionist silent film than in the novel genre, whose media and aesthetic prerequisites cannot erase distancing and reflexive effects. For her part, María Jesús Fernández Gil, in her article “ Conflicting Narratives. The Otherness within Expressionist Approaches to the Golem vs Cynthia Ozick ’ s Affirmation of the Myth ’ s Jewishness ” studies the use of the golem myth in Cynthia Ozick ’ s work. As is known, Gustav Meyrink ’ s novel Der Golem (1915) and Paul Wegener ’ s film (1920) garnered so much critical and audience attention for their treatment of the golem that they soon became a paradigm for future versions of the legendary Jewish clay man. Fernández Gil states that Cynthia Ozick can be counted among the group of writers that have participated in the recent cultural resurgence of this figure and it is possible to argue that the golemic creature fashioned by this Jewish-American writer offers a counternarrative to works where the golem ’ s clearly demarcated cultural and ethnic origins were subverted. As Fernández Gil refers, Ozick goal is to restore the myth ’ s Jewishness. The conclusion of the author ’ s research is that the original myth is selectively transformed in all cases to make it fit a specific historical and sociocultural framework. To conclude the section dedicated to Expressionist myths, Emilio Sierra examines the Faust myth in F. W. Murnau, with his film Faust (1926) and Sokurov ’ s Faust (2011), in his chapter “ Faust in Murnau and Sokurov. From cinema to the sense of myth. ” Sierra exposes the parallels and the differences between the myth of Faust in the German and Russian expressionist cinema. If Murnau ’ s Faust has its roots in the personal version of the director, very marked by Goethe ’ s version, highlighting disconcerting and innovative elements in silent cinema, it is, as the author states, light and chiaroscuro that leads us to meditate on the meaning and preponderance of “ love and beauty before knowledge and immortality ” . In the case of Sokurov, the reflection is marked 22 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="23"?> by his characteristic photography that focuses on the Faustian myth around the role of power as apogee and absence. Emilio Siera reflects on how the myth of Faust in these films will lead the spectator to think about beauty, death, the value of the present, power and love as questions that clarify not only the artistic realization of the myth but also the meaning of existence itself. The book ends with a section devoted to the reception of German cinematic Expressionism outside Western borders, dealing with two examples focused on Syria and Japan. The first paper of this section, by Lorena Silos and Montserrat Bascoy, is an essay entitled “ Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory ” which analyses the role of fantasy in the graphic novel Persepolis (2000) that was brought to life in Vincent Paronnaud ’ s acclaimed animated adaptation of the same name in 2007. Both novel and film narrate Satrapi ’ s childhood in Iran during the Islamic revolution as well as her experiences as a teenager and an adult woman in Europe, all the while exploring the struggles of a female individual to find her place in a hostile environment. The authors claim that, in order to convey the anxiety triggered by totalitarianism and displacement, but, at the same time, to grant her narrative a patina of unreality or fantasy to alleviate the harshness of her memories, Satrapi resorts to the aesthetic tools of Expressionist cinema. Thus, their paper examines the influence of Expressionism on Persepolis and shows how expressionist techniques remain appropriate tools for capturing the fear and alienation suffered by an individual. Finally, Yamada Satoru offers an innovative insight into the reception of German Expressionism in Japan. As the author states, Robert Wiene ’ s Caligari, released in 1921, had a great impact on Japanese society. The metaphors contained in this film stimulated the minds of great cinematic personalities such as Tanizaki Junichir ō (1886 - 1965), Kinugasa T ē nosuke (1896 - 1982) and Mizoguchi Kenji (1898 - 1956) to face the challenge of shooting an expressionist film. In this article, Satoru focus on benshi, the peculiar Japanese system of explaining the film with words to the audience. The volume thus traces the reception of German Expressionism from its beginnings in the early 20th century to the present day in the 21st century and demonstrates how pictorial expressionism immediately caught up with the then nascent film industry and art. The tensions and relationships of film with other, much more established arts, such as literature and music, are shown. The prevalence of the cinematic element and its relevance today is also demonstrated. It shows how the influence of German Expressionism is not only widespread and observable in literature and music, but also how these two arts feed off each other. In addition, three myths are analysed which prove to be Introduction 23 <?page no="24"?> characteristic in the study of the reception of German Expressionism in cinema: the myth of the vampire, the myth of the artificial man/ woman and the myth of Faust. In addition, the book attempts to shed light on the differences between the concept of myth and the genres of fantasy, horror and science fiction, concerning the reception of German cinematic Expressionism in the world, from its appearance in 1920 to the present day. Finally, it is shown how German expressionist work has an impact on European or Western art, and even on Persian or Asian culture, as in the case of Japan. 24 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina <?page no="25"?> 1 Expressionism, Cinema, and Literature <?page no="27"?> The debate over cinema in expressionist literature Carmen Gómez García Es gibt kein anderes Mittel, als das Kino. Was ist daneben das Buch? Was ist daneben das Theater? [ … ] Sie [Die Welt] stünde still, nähme man das Kino heraus. [ … ] Wer das Kino hat, wird die Welt aushebeln. 1 The origins In 1920, when Carlo Mierendorff wrote these lines in his essay Hätte ich das Kino! , barely 25 years had passed since, according to the most accepted conventions, the history of cinema had begun (on 28 December, 1895). 2 Quite contrary to the fervour they express, the integration of the silent film into the first wave of expressionism would be marked by a debate that fluctuated between the rejection of its trivial content and a fascination with its visual appeal. While that projection by the Lumiere brothers is generally considered to be the first in history, earlier, on 1 November 1895, the brothers Max and Emil Skladonowsky, the inventors of the bioscope, had exhibited their own moving images for the first time (and to a paying public) at Berlin ’ s Wintergarten Theatre. Eight films (at the time referred to “ living photographs ” ), each only a few seconds in duration, showed a series of acrobatic feats, circus stunts, displays of boxing and other technical wonders. 3 1 Mierendorff, Carlo. Hätte ich das Kino! . In: Die Weißen Blätter 7 (1920), 86 - 92, here according to Anz, Thomas/ Stark, Michael (eds.) (1982). Manifeste und Dokumente zur deutschen Literatur (1910 - 1920). Stuttgart: Metzler, 488, 492. 2 As Béla Balázs well noted, cinema is the only form of artistic expression for which we have a date of birth (in: Paech, Joachim [1988]: Literatur und Film. Stuttgart: Metzler, 1.) 3 The Skladanowsky brothers enjoyed little recognition for their invention, so little in fact that they would falsify the date of their first film (1892) so as to place it even before that of Edison. Even so, they would be consigned to oblivion until the Nazis attempted to revive their version of the events for obviously nationalistic ends. <?page no="28"?> It is true, however, that the early cinema cannot be disassociated, on the one hand, from other turn-of-the-century institutions of entertainment: cabaret, vaudeville, musicals, magic shows, circuses … those expressions of Schaulust and Unterhaltungslust that the public demanded and which were being shaped by the times. As Mierendorff would formulate it in the text already cited: “ In einer Zeit, die alle in Beziehung setzt mit allen, konnte das starre Bild nicht mehr genügen ” 4 . On the other hand, cinematography was a product of 19th-century industrialization, combining, accumulating and perfecting techniques that were already known and practiced in fairs, variety theatres and travelling cinemas, at the same time that it embodied the premises of 20th-century aesthetics. On this point, one might include Albert Einstein ’ s theory of relativity, Ernst Mach ’ s loss of rationality in human thought, or Georg Simmel ’ s “ intensification of the nervous life ” 5 , concepts in which, as in the cinema, there is a splitting apart of unitary images into diverse perspectives of varying duration and focus. To direct one ’ s attention rapidly for very brief instants to ever-different locations is to discover the principles of the cinematographic being, a term used by the “ cinesceptic ” Henri Bergson in L ’ évolution créatrice (1907). This influence of the cinema on the viewer ’ s psyche was duly noted in what the journalist Hermann Keizl would refer to as “ Großstadt-Psychologie ” . 6 The cinema, then, answered to the new emotional needs of a primarily urban public, the same that attended cabaret performances and on which the cinema depended economically. For this, in 1913 two extremely important Lichtspiel- Paläste were inaugurated: Berlin ’ s Marmorhaus and, in Leipzig, Europe ’ s first open-air cinema, with capacity for 1,000 spectators. 7 Cinema spread in direct competition with conventional theatre, in 1909 sparking the inevitable debate over its value, and stimulating a fruitful aesthetic and sociological reflection on literature as well. 4 Anz (1982: 487). 5 In Die Großstadt und das Geistesleben (1903). 6 Kienzl, Hermann (1911). Theater und Kinematograph. Strom 1: 7, 219 - 221, here according to Schweinitz, Jörg (ed.) (1992). Prolog vor dem Film. Nachdenken über ein neues Medium. 1909 - 1914. Leipzig: Reclam, 231. 7 Pinthus, Kurt (ed.) (1963). Das Kinobuch. Kinostücke von Berman, Hasenclever, Langer, Lasker-Schüler, Keller, Asenijeff, Brod, Pinthus, Jolowicz, Ehrenstein, Pick, Rubiner, Zech, Höllriegel, Lautensack, und ein Brief von Franz Blei. Dokumentarische Neu- Ausgabe des Kinobuchs von 1912/ 1914. Zürich: Verlag der Arche, 10. 28 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="29"?> The debate The opinions of the expressionists themselves ranged from antipathy toward the new medium to the greatest of enthusiasm. Indeed, the first cinematic programs repeated and expanded upon the themes of established popular entertainment. Logically, gehobene Literatur was excluded from this: Und wie sich die Welle der Schundliteratur über die Massen ergoß, so entstanden von hunderten kleiner Filmfirmen gedreht die Unsummen von Schundfilmen: in 250 derartiger Streifen stellte man 1910 97 Morde, 45 Selbstmorde, 51 Ehebrüche, 19 Verführungsszenen, 22 Entführungen, 35 Betrunkene und 25 Dirnen fest. 8 It is thus to Schundliteratur (pulp literature) that we owe the “ autonomous ” beginnings of cinematic narrative. Nevertheless, as the cinema industry also hoped to win over the bourgeoisie - who had shown themselves to be adamantly in opposition - , more appropriate venues were sought (hence the so-called Lichtspiel-Paläste), as well as more sophisticated subject matter. The reaction of the intellectuals was immediate: the harsher critics (such as Franz Pfemfert or Alfred Lichtenstein) 9 railed against the damage that cinematic adaptations would do to the literary and theatrical industry, extending to the work of actors and the development of audiences. Other authors, meanwhile, such as Ferdinand Hardekopf and Walter Hasenclever, 10 praised the visual power, immediacy and concentration of cinematic storytelling. Indeed, a good number of expressionists were fascinated by this new world of fleeting, strident and penetrating impressions, of images never seen before, of stories told with such ingenuity that they seemed to function as “ extracts ” of the powerful emotions generated by industrial mass-production. Thus, these living or animated photographs stimulated a new perception and, from this, a new aesthetic. Jakob van Hoddis would employ the Reihungsstil to convey this rapid succession of images in verse, as can be observed in his poem Schluß: Kinematograph from the cycle Varieté (1911): 8 Panofsky, Walter (1940). Die Geburt des Films. Ein Stück Kulturgeschichte. Würzburg: Trittsch, here according to Paech (1988: 89). 9 Pfemfert, Franz (1911). Kino als Erzieher. Die Aktion 1: 18 (1911), cols. 560 - 563; and Lichtenstein, Alfred (1913). Retter des Theaters. Die Aktion 3: 48, cols. 1107 - 1109. 10 Hardekopf, Ferdinand (1910). Der Kinematograph (under the pseudonym Stefan Wronski). Nord und Süd 34: 412 pp. 326 - 328, here according to Schweinitz (1992: 155 - 159). Hardekopf was one of the first to promote film criticism beyond the specialist journals. Walter Hasenclever was the creator of the film Die pest (Berlin: Cassirer, 1920); he left behind a considerable number of scripts and sketches written specifically for the cinema. Pinthus (1963: 17). The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 29 <?page no="30"?> Der Saal wird dunkel. Und wir sehn die Schellen Der Ganga, Palmen, Tempel auch des Brahma, Ein lautlos tobendes Familiendrama Mit Lebemännern dann und Maskenbällen. Man zückt Revolver, Eifersucht wird rege, Herr Piefke duelliert sich ohne Kopf. Dann zeigt man uns mit Kiepe und mit Kropf Die Älplerin auf mächtig steilem Wege. Mit Lebemännern dann und Maskenbällen. Man zückt Revolver, Eifersucht wird rege, Herr Piefke duelliert sich ohne Kopf. Dann zeigt man uns mit Kiepe und mit Kropf Die Älplerin auf mächtig steilem Wege. Es zieht ihr Pfad sich bald durch Lärchenwälder, Bald krümmt er sich und dräuend steigt die schiefe Felswand empor. Die Aussicht in der Tiefe Beleben Kühe und Kartoffelfelder. Und in den dunklen Raum - mir ins Gesicht! - Flirrt das hinein, entsetzlich! nach der Reihe! Die Bogenlampe zischt zum Schluss nach Licht - Wir schieben geil und gähnend uns ins Freie. 11 Essential to this, in any case, was the fact that the viewer, as Walter Benjamin observed years later, 12 would wonder whether there were something “ optically unconscious ” hidden in the images he has seen, and which therefore transcended his understanding of the cinematic form. This question would be addressed by Alfred Döblin, psychiatrist and dedicated cinema-goer, in his Berliner Programm (1913), in which he also proposed the Produktivkraft of the word, in a Kinostil or Döblinism, that is to say: a paratactic style built upon suggestive terms, neologisms, sparse vocabulary, and the use of rapid shifts that suggest to the reader the speed, complexity and disconcerting novelty of modern life. Little value is given to the action itself, and psychological characterization is rejected, as well as all description, explanation and com- 11 In 1911, in Sturm, Jacob van Hoddis would publish his poem cycle Variété: “ Der Athlet ” , “ Die Inderin ” , “ Die Soubrette ” , etc. “ Schluß: Kinematograph ” closed the cycle. See Greve, Ludwig/ Pehle, Margot/ Westhoff, Heidi (eds.) (1976). Hätte ich das Kino! Die Schriftsteller und der Stummfilm. Eine Ausstellung des deutschen Literaturarchivs im Schillernationalmuseum Marbach a. N. Katalog Nr. 27. München: Kosel, 15. 12 Benjamin, Walter (1974). Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit. 2 nd ed. Gesammelte Schriften. Tiedemann, Rolf/ Schweppenhäuser Hermann (eds.), Bd. I,2. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1974, 500. 30 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="31"?> mentary. 13 In 1910, Döblin had recommended to dramatists: “ Lernen Sie die Kürze und Gedrängtheit vom Kinema ” and advocated the Kinostil: “ höchste Gedrängtheit und Präzision ” , as well as Plastik und Lebendigkeit in prose. 14 Precepts like these, combined with montage and the use of terse telegrammatic language, can be observed paradigmatically in Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz and in his novel Die drei Sprünge des Wang-lung. Chinesischer Roman (1915), a clear example of the Döblinist style. The narrator of that work lives in a big city, which he observes through an open window. This allows him to explore the ambivalent relationships of gestural-visual language, employing a collage technique and the Reihungsstil: Daß ich nicht vergesse - . Ein sanfter Pfiff von der Straße herauf. Metallisches Anlaufen, Schnurren, Knistern. Ein Schlag gegen meinen knöchernen Federhalter. Daß ich nicht vergesse - . Was denn? Ich will das Fenster schließen. Die Straßen haben sonderbare Stimmen in den letzten Jahren bekommen. Ein Rost ist unter die Steine gespannt; an jeder Stange baumeln meterdicke Glasscherben, grollende Eisenplatten, echokäuende Mannesmannröhren. Ein Bummern, Durcheinanderpoltern aus Holz, Mammutschlünden, gepreßter Luft, Geröll. Ein elektrisches Flöten schienenentlang. Motokeuchende Wagen segeln auf die Seite gelegt über das Asphalt; meine Türen schüttern. [ … ] Ich tadle das verwirrende Vibrieren nicht. Nur finde ich mich nicht zurecht. 15 Without question, the representatives of the literary avant-garde understood that, thanks to these new forms of optical narration, more could be transmitted than before. Characters could be described by their gestures, by mimickry; that is, not from within, but from without. The intention here was to emphasize the rigidness of the marionette, characteristic of modern types, and its “ Gefühlsmechanik ” , in the words of Alfred Polgar; 16 one sought the fecundation of all the senses through the organ of sight, in an individual who was continually excited 13 Gómez García, Carmen (2019). “ Futurismo en Alemania. Acción y reacción ” . In: Teixeira de Faria, Sandra (ed.) El Futurismo en Europa y Latinoamérica: orígenes y evolución. Madrid: Ediciones Complutense, 45 - 59, 48. 14 Döblin, Alfred (1913). “ An Romanautoren und ihre Kritiker. Berliner Programm ” . Der Sturm 4: 158/ 159, 15 - 18, here according to Anz, Thomas/ Stark, Michael (eds.) (1982). Expressionismus. Manifeste und Dokumente zur deutschen Literatur 1910 - 1920. Stuttgart: Metzler, 659 - 661, 660. 15 Döblin, Alfred (1917). Die drei Sprünge des Wang-Lung. Chinesischer Roman. Berlin: Fischer, 7 - 8. 16 Polgar, Alfred (1911). Das Drama im Kinematographen. Der Strom 1: 2, 45 - 48, here according to Schweinitz (1992: 159 - 164, 162). The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 31 <?page no="32"?> and incited by external stimuli. As Emilie Altenloh would write in Theater und Kino, 17 one characteristic of cinematography was the rapid development of the action, which corresponded to the needs of the big-city dweller, an individual habituated to the urban landscape rushing past him and to a generalized sensation of isolated moments, of a world condensed, seen in extracts. It was a world he was technically familiar with, which demanded his interaction and which had its repercussions on his physical and mental capacity for leisure. This was what had been denominated “ trivialer Erholungstrieb ” . 18 It was, in any case, an ambiguous fascination. In 1910, Georg Lukács spoke of a soul-less medium, of a beauty that could not be subsumed into older categories, but which distanced itself from the metaphysical sphere of true art. 19 The expressionist writers, influenced by values and concepts such as the soul or fate, made similar pronouncements. They saw the cinema as a medium of dynamic, superficial perception, a space of pleasurable regression in which the reigning artistic premises remained suspended. In their own endeavours, it would inspire a return to the Ur-Emotionen, to the realm of primordial, puerile sensations, to a narrative archaism based on the perceptive, the visual. 20 The new medium became an exotic zone, one contrary to their own intellectual desires, but which nevertheless exuded an ingenuous, naïve attraction. This ambivalent reaction of fascination and scepticism was in any case inevitable, due to the threat of change that the cinema posed to established culture, a change that would require the corresponding phases of integration and adaptation. This meant assuring a social hegemony, given that, at the dawn of the 20 th century, art was still situated in a sphere that was only accessible through culture and training, still understood as a space of higher spirituality, a distillation of all that was noble, valuable, unique and ideal. Modernity, die Moderne, had disrupted this relationship definitively, and the consequences of capitalist industrialization, especially in cultural pursuits, which relied on the modern techniques of reproduction (Benjamin), were in effect a threat to the dominant cultural elite. Of this, cinema was the most visible exponent. 17 Altenloh, Emilie (1912/ 1913). Theater und Kino. Bild und Film 2: 11/ 12, 264 - 265, here according to Schweinitz (1992: 248 - 252, 251). Altenloh was the first to write a study on the sociology of cinema. It was in fact her doctoral thesis, submitted in 1913 under the title Zur Soziologie des Kino. Die Kino-Unternehmung und die sozialen Schichten ihrer Besucher and published in 1914. 18 Kienzl, in Schweinitz (1992: 231). 19 Lukács, Georg (1911). Gedanken zu einerÄsthetik des “ Kino ” . Pester Lloyd 90: 45 - 46, here according to Schweinitz (1992: 300 - 305, 300). 20 “ Kindliche Freude ” , in the words of Victor Klemperer, which functions in the cinema as a type of “ Zurück zur Natur ” . Klemperer, Victor (1911/ 1912). Das Lichtspiel. Verlhagen & Klasings Monatshefte 26: 8, 613 - 617, here according to Schweinitz (1992: 170 - 182, 180). 32 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="33"?> As Schweinitz would affirm, 21 the reasons that most intellectuals had for rejecting the cinema can be distilled into three: 1. The cinema industry prioritized the value of a work of art as merchandise; that is, its material interest took precedence over its presumed ideal, mythified character. 2. Cinema was aimed at the masses, at the very lowest layers of society; it articulated and gave voice to their aesthetic preferences in a way that denied the concept of culture and training, and thereby emphasized a plebeian, antiauthoritarian perspective. Art, then, was transformed into a populist institution. 3. This new, dynamic, visual medium demanded a new type of aesthetic perception. In consonance with the period, the visualization of communication assumed an unprecedented value, as something whose impact was sensorial rather than intellectual, with no time required for reflection. The cinema implied the simplification of artistic endeavour. What was the path of acceptance like? The change that would define the expansion of Kintöppe arrived in 1913. First, the most renowned actor of the time, Albert Bassermann, a self-declared enemy of the cameras (up to then he had refused even to be photographed), appeared for the first time in a motion picture, Paul Lindau ’ s Der Andere. 22 Second, another star of the stage, Paul Wegener, not only acted in but co-directed Germany ’ s first hugely successful film, The Student of Prague (with a screenplay by Hanns Heinz Ewers). Third, the great dramatist Max Reinhardt used his own actors to make his first film, Venetianische Nacht. 23 After the examples of Bassermann, Wegener and Reinhardt, the most important artists of the day felt pressured to attend the cinema themselves and to participate in adaptations of works by established authors - names such as Gerhart Hauptmann, Hermann Sudermann, Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Arthur Schnitzler - who wilfully “ consented ” to the industrialization of their creations, giving further fuel to the debate. 24 To this must be added the decision of the Verband deutscher Bühnenschriftsteller (1912) to cooperate with the emerging industry, which was becoming 21 Schweinitz (1992: 6 - 9). 22 Pinthus (1963: 14). 23 Pinthus (1963: 14 - 15). 24 Schweinitz (1992: 10). The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 33 <?page no="34"?> more and more powerful. 25 For the literary elite, this offered a new -and lucrativepossibility for re-valuing their texts; for the cinema industry, it was a way of appropriating the established forms of cultural discourse, with the aim of winning acceptance from a public oriented toward a traditional idea of culture as belonging only to them, as well as from the wider circles of workers. Thus, for the screening of modern productions that would be highbrow as well as lowbrow, Kinopaläste began appearing everywhere, designed by respected architects and artists. The new cinematic adaptations, which for the most part were highly pretentious works featuring theatrical stars, would constitute a groundbreaking cultural phenomenon. 26 Finally, with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and the development of the sound film, writers would lay aside all reservations about collaborating in the cinematic versions of their works and even participated in set design, as in the case of Georg Kaiser or Hugo von Hofmannstahl. 27 What repercussions did the cinema have on literature? There were basically three ways that literature related to the new medium: 1. Differentiation. Literature and cinema were viewed as two different media that needed to pursue their respective developments in parallel. 28 2. Integration. Literature made use of the cinematic form as a mode of conventional narrative or theatrical language to adapt an originally literary work. On this point it will be useful to mention the Kinobuch published by Kurt Pinthus in 1913, of which I will have more to say later on. 3. Appropriation. The written work would draw upon the new forms of perception and reproduction characteristic of the cinema, as in the poetic cycle Varieté (already cited) by Jakob van Hoddis, or the anthology Der Selige Kintopp (1913/ 1914). Das Kinobuch (1913) This small volume was published by the prestigious Kurt Wolff Verlag, in the same year that the debate over the cinema began. With the exception of Heinrich 25 Schweinitz, Jörg (1994). “ Der Selige Kintopp (1913/ 14). Eine Fundsache zum Verhältnis von literarischem Expressionismus und Kino ” . In: Paech, Joachim (ed.) Film, Fernsehen, Video und die Künste: Strategien der Intermedialität. Stuttgart: Metzler, 72 - 88, 74. 26 Schweinitz (1994: 75). 27 Pinthus (1963: 17). 28 Segeberg, Harro (2000). “ Technische Konkurrenzen. Film und Tele-Medien im Blick der Literatur ” . In: York-Gothart Mix (ed.) Naturalismus, Fin de siècle, Expressionismus 1890 - 1918. München, Wien: dtv, 422 - 436, 427 ff. 34 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="35"?> Lautensack ’ s essay Zwischen Himmel und Erde, 29 Das Kinobuch had arisen from the desire to stimulate a generation of young authors and to react assertively to the attacks of the critics. 30 The texts themselves, somewhat overly narrative, focused on psychological details; they decried the type of cinema writing that resembled a literary draft and did not take into account the peculiarities of the genre; at the same time, they playfully speculated about its forms, transformed and parodied its clichés, poked fun at the naivete mentioned earlier and the Schaulust of the public. The contributors shared an attitude of detachment toward what was narrated, an ironic tone and an imaginative point of view. They were playing a kind of literary game with the cinematic form, not for creating cinema but based on the cinema that was popular at the time, which Kurt Pinthus analyzed in his prologue to the collection: in effect, the viewer wanted to see anything that would elevate him to the realm of the ideal, the fantastic, exaggerated and extraordinary, extending even to the grotesque and the kitsch; he wanted to be shaken to the very depths of his being. 31 With this in mind, the texts in Das Kinobuch were aimed at “ elevating ” life, no longer opposing cinema (which they did not consider artistic), but seeking to create a better, more wonderful form of cinema, one that appealed to the senses and “ awakened hearts ” . 32 The book, whose texts display a language and a freedom unheard of up to that time, went largely unnoticed; indeed, most of its readers and critics saw it as a joke. Even so, Pinthus would manage to define the three characteristics of cinema that fell within the essence of expressionist creation, both in film and in literature: - A limitlessness of context and setting; - Movement; the rapidness of gesture and rhythm; - Artifice; the tension created by the astonishing and unexpected. All of this was entangled with the human being and his fate, as we know was the focus of all expressionist creation. Thus, claimed Pinthus, the works he was introducing were “ Kino der Seele ” , 33 and so he was indifferent to whether they would ever actually be translated to the big screen. 29 Lautensack in Pinthus (133 - 148). 30 Pinthus (1963: 12). 31 Pinthus (1963: 22 - 23). 32 Pinthus (1963: 25). 33 Pinthus (1963: 28). The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 35 <?page no="36"?> Der selige Kintopp (1913/ 1914) In late 1913/ early 1914, the Munich publisher Heinrich F. S. Bachmair would bring out a small book dedicated to the cinema, containing six poems by Johannes R. Becher, Emmy Hennings, Karl Otten and Sebastian Scharnagl (the pseudonym used by the publisher for his own literary works). Only 100 copies were printed, hand-numbered and intended to be gifts for the publisher ’ s friends. 34 It is striking that most of these poems were not “ Kino-Gedichte ” strictly speaking; in fact, only the first of Otten ’ s two poems (Asta Nielsen) dealt with the cinema, along with Scharnagl/ Bachmair ’ s own contribution: Sebastian Scharnagl, Der Selige Kintopp Wir starren unentwegt hin auf die Leinwand, wo blasse Schatten ineinander schweben erheben gar nicht den geringsten Einwand betreffs des Schundprogramms, das sie hier geben. Und unsere Lippen zucken jäh im Krampfe, wenn sich Rivalen mit Pistolen schießen. Doch endet tödlich dieser Liebeskampfe, dann müssen unsre heißen Tränen fließen. So lindern tröstlich wir die Feuerwunden, die uns ein hartes Leben lächelnd schlug: Was wir empfinden, das wird dort empfunden. Wir grüßen Dich, Du heiliger Betrug Der Leinwand mit den magren Schattenhunden, die uns ein guter Gott ins Dasein trug. 35 It should be noted, however, that the reader here encounters the same ambiguous perspective, against the common backdrop of the cinema as a refuge of pleasurable psychic regression. 36 The “ I ” of the author becomes diffused in the “ we ” of the masses who flock to the cinema and undauntedly fix their gaze to the screen. The poem is linked with the idea then in vogue that the cinema possessed hypnotic powers, that it connected with obsessive moments that reduced one ’ s personality to “ a sort of collective soul of the masses ” . 37 Indeed, the concealment of a higher state of socialization built on reason and culture was felt to carry with it a reduction to a lower, unsocialized layer that 34 Schweinitz (1994: 72). 35 Schweinitz (1994: 88). 36 Schweinitz (1994: 78). 37 Duenschmann, Hermann (1992). Kinematograph und Psychologie der Volksmenge. Konservative Monatsschrift 69: 122, here according to Schweinitz (1994: 79). 36 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="37"?> was primitive in its instincts due to the contagious emotional effect it had on the mass audience. Bachmair, for his part, would take special note of these indissoluble moments of regression and obsession; indeed, the regressive nature of the cinematic experience was thought to require a suspension of cultural norms to make way for the obsessive pleasures produced by archetypal images and emotions. Be that as it may, the Schaulust expressed by this impulse, this obsession, was being rekindled by the new medium. In 1913, the dadaist Walter Serner spoke frankly on this shameful and terrible question, which brought to mind a Troy in flames. “ A morbid fascination with death and with pleasure, ” said Serner, “ is what brings people en masse to the cinema ” . 38 To delve deeper into some specific aspects of the era, in Der selige Kintopp the image of Asta Nielssen, the Danish actress and great diva of the expressionist decade, particularly in Germany, is particularly memorable: Karl Otten, Asta Nielsen Deine Hände sind ein Monogramm in ein Schicksal eingedeutet das am Boden kriecht und frißt, sich häutet heimtückisch giftig wie ein Telegramm. In ein Schicksal eingedeutet wirst du wild von Leid verzehrt - Ach dein Antlitz ist ein Flammenschwert deiner Haare Glocke Unglück läutet. Wild wirst du von Leid verzehrt und du rückst die Glieder unbeholfen Mädchen der Fabrik das eines Mannes Wege quert und in Liebe sich aufbläht wie ein Schiff auf Felsengolfen. Mädchen der Fabrik das eines Mannes Wege quert und sich gierend auflöst in der Augen Strahl das hypnotisch eingewiegt astral seines Leibes schmales Brot verzehrt. Gierend lösest du dich in der Augen Strahl 38 “ Nicht die harmlose [Schaulust], sondern die, welche eine furchtbare Lust ist [ … ] die im Blut fiebert und es brausen macht, bis jene unergründbar machtvolle Erregung durch das Fleisch rast, die aller Lust gemeinsam ist. Jene Schaulust, die leuchtenden Auges vor dem flammenübergossenen Troja stand und [ … ] dem brennenden Rom das rote Lied von Blut und Feuer sang [ … ] diese schaurige Lust am Schauen von Greuel, Kampf und Tod. [ … ] sie ist es, die das Volk wie besessen in die Kino reißt ” , Serner, Walter (1913) Kino und Schaulust. Die Schaubühne 9: 34/ 35, 807 - 811, 807. The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 37 <?page no="38"?> weich gespreitet wie ein lichter Schein kläglich schwindend fort wie einer Narbe Mal du enttanzest den Statisten in ein Schicksal ein - - Weich gespreitet wie ein lichter Schein alle Menschen haben sich an dir geweidet alle haben überall dich ausgekleidet und versinken starr, so dein Lächeln scheidet und du kamst und warst wie immer: rein! 39 Otten stresses her state of being “ rein ” while repeating that this represents the relationship of the expressionists to the cinema. On the one hand, as cultural figures they felt threatened by Sinnlichkeit, by the atmosphere of game-playing and anti-patriarchal conflict they found in film, by the spell cast over the female audience by the screen, by her “ weibliche Schaulust ” ; 40 at the same time, they were captivated by the provocative, confident, self-aware aura of femininity transmitted by Asta Nielsen, the first media star to become an icon of the avantgarde, and who came to their own attention through the press. Even Pfemfert, who was so adamantly opposed to the cinema, would devote an entire page to her in Die Aktion. Another ostensible particularity of Otten ’ s poem with regard to the cinema concerns its sense of widened perspective (in this case, of Nielsen ’ s hands): “ Deine Hände sind ein Monogramm in ein Schicksal eingedeutet ” . At the same time, the actress is presented as a kind of luminous, unreal and volatile being, recalling the illusory nature of Nielsen ’ s chimerical characters. With this we come to a second recurring aspect of these texts, and this is the relationship of cinema and its images to shadow, which arises inevitably from the twodimensionality of the filmed image, the result of its homogeneous blackwhite-grey tonalities, and carries it into the realm of the extraordinary, the fictitious, the merely apparent, which, once it has been seen, is only barely comprehensible. What is real vanishes, but the shadow is eternal because it lacks reality. 41 In a similar vein, Victor Klemperer would argue in 1912 that the cinema offered a life which was free, “ otherworldly ” 42 , or rather, “ an earthly life exempt from gravity ” , one of “ joyful purity ” , inasmuch as the idea was liberated from the heaviness of things (ibidem). This led to the same intellectual posture 39 Schweinitz (1994: 87). 40 See note 37, by Heide Schlüpmann (Schweinitz 1994: 81 ff.). 41 Baeumler, Alfred A. (1912). Die Wirkungen der Lichtbildbühne. Versuch einer Apologie des Kinematographentheaters. März 6. 2 Bd. (1.6.1912), here in Schweinitz (1994: 186 - 194, 190). 42 Klemperer in Schweinitz (1992: 182). 38 Carmen Gómez García <?page no="39"?> defended by Bachmair and Otten, namely, that the cinema provided a sensorial representation of the vacuity and fugacity of earthly existence. To this was added the aesthetic pleasure that arises from the combination of Schattenbild (characteristic of primitive peoples, and in India and the Far East) and Lichtspiel (cinema), which grew steadily in proportion to the avant-garde ’ s increasing interest in the original and the primitive, in the archaic exoticism of stories told through very simple images. Put another way, in the visual separation and isolation of cinematography, the observer finds no perceptual limits; much to the contrary, from this privileged position of the visual, he enjoys an illusory effect that is so intense and concentrated that it seems to extend to the other senses as well. The techniques of the early silent film, therefore, would provide an enhancement of the visual that created the illusory effect of synaesthesia. All of this: the illusion of synaesthesia, the technical enhancement of the visual sense, the game, the appeal to the naïf and to the innermost soul of the human being, the suggestive, contradictory play of light and shade … are characteristics not only of the early silent film, but of German literary expressionism as well. By way of conclusion Cinema was the medium best adapted to the need and desire for change felt by young people; in addition, it gave expression to a new idiosyncrasy that was urban and cosmopolitan. The integration of this new medium into the wider cultural context went through its phases of denial, integration and adaptation, leading to a rich debate on literature and set against the backdrop of the new culture of the masses, proved to be an unstoppable process. In effect, the reception of a work of cinematic art was one of distance, with a high degree of cold, detached observation. The repetitive, photomechanical reproduction of that work and its delivery to the public, i. e., to the masses, entailed a secularization, a demystification of art; indeed, the ideas that Walter Benjamin would propose years later in Das Kunstwerk im Zeitalter seiner technischen Reproduzierbarkeit were then already in evidence. Thus, this ambivalent fascination with the cinema, once the logical reservations of the cultural elite had been overcome, would determine the literary work of the period as well -a literature of expressionism, which reveals an enormous debt to the silent film. Freed from its beginnings as a form of documenting reality, as simply a rapid succession of images or a type of shadow play, its illusory character would eventually prevail. Today, a century later, we can see that this fascination has lost none of its power. The debate over cinema in expressionist literature 39 <?page no="40"?> Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) von Alfred Kubin und Midsommar (2019) von Ari Aster Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra Geschwindigkeit und die Utopie der modernen Stadt 1909 ist nicht irgendein Jahr der europäischen Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte. Im Mittelpunkt steht Paris, das u. a. Walter Benjamin in seinem bekannten Werk zur Hauptstadt des 19. Jahrhunderts ernannt hatte. Von hier aus werden sowohl symbolische Formen, als auch ästhetische Werte ausgestrahlt und verbreitet. Somit gilt diese Stadt zu diesem Zeitpunkt als größte Zusammenfügung der sogenannten ‚ zwei Modernen ’ : einerseits die technisch-wissenschaftliche und sozialpolitische, andererseits die künstlerisch-ästhetische Modernität. Zeitgleich empfängt man von der Hauptstadt der ‚ grand monde ’ aus mit Wucht und Präzision ein Manifest, das sich im Laufe der Zeit letztendlich wie ein Knall des neuen Jahrhunderts durchsetzen wird. Darin wird die Ankunft einer fortgeschrittenen Kunst verkündet, die in Einklang und Abstimmung mit dem materiellen und sozialen Progress steht. Diese unaufhaltsame Kunst scheint von der Zukunft angespornt bzw. hypnotisiert zu sein, indem ein nachdrückliches Vertrauen in die Macht der (technischen) Wissenschaft eine wesentliche Rolle spielt. Ziel dieser Kunst ist es, den individuellen und gemeinschaftlichen Wunsch nach irdischem Glück der Gesellschaft des 19. Jahrhunderts zu erfüllen. Selbstverständlich beziehe ich mich hierbei auf das Futuristische Manifest Marinettis, das am 20. Februar 1909 in der Tageszeitung Le Figaro veröffentlicht wurde und dessen unmittelbare Wirkung deutlich macht, wie sehr das ‚ Revolutionäre ’ der historischen Avantgarden sowohl von technologischen als auch von Revolutionen der Medien oder materiellen Trägern der symbolischen Formen abhängig war. Ebenso von ausschlaggebender Bedeutung waren die Werte, denen letztere zugrunde lagen, worauf Lev Manovich in seinem Essay ‚ Avantgard as software ’ aufmerksam macht: The reader may wonder if it is legitimate to compare the revolution in technology with the revolution of art. Looking back on the 1920s from the viewpoint of today, we realize that the key artistic innovations of the 1920s were all made in relation to what <?page no="41"?> was then new media: photography, film, new architectural and new printing technologies. New vision was the new language for photo media; the Soviet montage school and classical film language were the new languages for film media; new typography (Tschichold) was the new language for print media, new architecture (Le Courbusier) was the new language for spatial media (i. e. architecture). 1 Marinetti beschreibt eine neue Zeit, die von Geschwindigkeit geprägt ist, und spielt als Analogie auf das Auto an: [4.] Wir erklären, dass sich die Herrlichkeit der Welt um eine neue Schönheit bereichert hat: die Schönheit der Geschwindigkeit. Ein Rennwagen, dessen Karosserie große Rohre schmücken, die Schlangen mit explosivem Atem gleichen … ein aufheulendes Auto, das auf Kartätschen zu laufen scheint, ist schöner als die Nike von Samothrake. [5.] Wir wollen den Mann besingen, der das Steuer hält, dessen Idealachse die Erde durchquert, die selbst auf ihrer Bahn dahinjagt. 2 Dennoch besteht die ‚ Schönheit der Geschwindigkeit ’ im eigentlichen Sinne in der elektrischen Energie, d. h. dem Strom, der wortwörtlich und auf metaphorische Art und Weise die Städte der Erdkugel zum Erleuchten bringt. In den Städten verstreuen und wiederholen sich demnach mehrere ‚ elektrische Monde ’ . Was die ‚ moderne Stadt ’ betrifft, so liefert Marinetti folgende Beschreibung: [11.] Wir werden die Menschenaufläufe besingen, welche die Arbeit, das Vergnügen oder der Aufruhr in Erregung versetzt; besingen werden wir die vielfarbige, vielstimmige Flut der Revolutionen in den modernen Hauptstädten; besingen werden wir die nächtliche, vibrierende Glut der von grellen elektrischen Monden erleuchteten Arsenale und Werfen; die gefräßigen, rauchende Schlangen verschlingenden Bahnhöfe; die an den Wolken hängenden Fabriken mit ihren sich in die Höhe windenden Rauchfäden; die in der Sonne wie Messer aufblitzenden Brücken, die wie gigantische Athleten Flüsse überspannen; die abenteuerlustigen Dampfer, die den Horizont wittern; die breitbrüstigen Lokomotiven, die auf den Schienen wie riesige, mit Rohren gezäumte Stahlrosse stampfen, und den gleitenden Flug der Flugzeuge, deren Propeller wie eine Fahne im Winde knattert und dabei zusammen mit der begeisterten Menge Beifall zu klatschen scheint. 3 Demnach repräsentiert die ‚ moderne Stadt ‘ eine Stadt als polychromer und polyphonischer Ort einer erstaunlichen neuen Welt, in der die Stadt als Emblem des Utopischen fungiert. 1909 kann als Gipfel einer Zeit angesehen werden, die von Brüchen gekennzeichnet ist; eine Zeit, die den tiefen Wunsch nach einem neuen Menschen, einer neuen Menschlichkeit, verkörpert. Es handelt sich dabei 1 Manovich, Lev (2002). Avant-garde as Software. Artnodes, issue 2, 1 f. 2 Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso (2018). Manifeste des Futurismus. Matthes & Seitz Berlin Verlag. 6. 3 Marinetti (2018: 6). Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) 41 <?page no="42"?> um ein Chronotopos der Rhetorik der Vergänglichkeit der Avantgarden, des Neuen, das vom Alten zugewiesen wurde, das sich wettkämpferisch durch die Bewegung in Richtung Zukunft entfaltet hat. Es ist ein Impuls des Lebendigen, die Vergangenheit hinter sich zu lassen und sich dessen abzuwenden, was verwelkt, was stirbt und was sich der Topologie des Friedhofs fügt. Ein Chronotopos der sogenannten ‚ historischen Avantgarden ’ hob sich dadurch hervor, dass es eine gewisse utopische Erschütterung voraussetzte. Es folgte ein Höhepunkt der Veranschaulichung des ‚ Traumes von Vernunft ’ und dessen Entfaltung des 19. Jahrhunderts. Ein Jahrhundertwechsel, der eigentlich eine Inflation einer utopischen Moderne voraussetzte, jedoch neben mehreren Verweigerungen auf verschiedene Beunruhigungen, Alpträume, Blockaden und Störungen stieß. Nicht zu vergessen sind jene zeitgleichen Strömungen, die sich gegen die Moderne und deren schwindelerregenden Fortschritt in Richtung zeitlicher und räumlicher Verwirklichung des utopischen Geistes aussprachen. Es war, wie bereits erwähnt, die emblematische Hauptstadt Paris, die als Summe einer urbanen Topologie des positiven Triebes der Moderne gleichzeitig auch Ort der ‚ ungesunden und Ekel erregenden ’ Gegenströmungen zur Moderne verkörperte. Die chronologische Begründung ist in vielerlei Hinsicht nicht der beste Leitfaden, da es sich dabei nur um eine der möglichen Erzählweisen handelt, um das Problem der Anpassung und der Modellierung des utopischen Impulses in der Gegenwart, den man heutzutage ‚ modern ‘ oder der Moderne angehörig nennt, zu veranschaulichen. Tatsache ist jedoch, dass der Zufall, der als Grundlage der rätselhaften griechischen Göttin Tyche gilt, in vielen Städten des antiken Griechenlands durch die Figur der Göttin an den Stadtmauern repräsentiert und sichtbar gemacht wurde. Der Zufall wollte es auch, dass ausgerechnet im Jahre 1909 auf eine weniger skandalöse Art und Weise als das Futuristische Manifest der v. a. durch seine expressionistischen Zeichnungen bekannte Grafiker und Schriftsteller Alfred Kubin seine einzige fiktive Erzählung ‚ Die andere Seite - ein phantastischer Roman ‘ veröffentlichte. Utopischer/ dystopischer Raum Die außerordentliche Vorstellungskraft, die sowohl durch ihre Form bzw. den Inhalt, als auch durch ihre Atmosphäre in diesem Werk enthalten ist, bildet ein schwarzes Archiv an Dystopien, die letztendlich ein höchst produktives Corpus der Literatur des 20. Jahrhunderts darstellen. In diesem Zusammenhang sollen u. a. folgende Werke hervorgehoben werden: Schöne neue Welt (1932) von Aldous Huxley, 1984 (1948) von George Orwell, Der Verwaiser (1971) von Samuel 42 Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra <?page no="43"?> Beckett und Farenheit 451 (1951) von Ray Bradbury. Obwohl die genannten Werke unterschiedliche Themen anschneiden, ist das Dystopische in ihnen der fiktive Inbegriff mit einer allegorischen Ladung: Sie bilden eine weitläufige Schilderung der menschlichen Geschichte, ohne jegliche Befreiung der Individuen aus den kollabierten Gesellschaften, in die sie integriert sind. Kubin malt sich diese auf eine gewisse Art aus und nimmt sie vorweg. Gleichzeitig stützt sich die abgeschlossene und eingerichtete Vorstellung dystopischer Form auf die Utopie, welche die menschliche Existenz von der Unterordnung des Grotesken trennt. Sie gestalten auf unterschiedliche Weise das Binom erhaben/ grotesk, das, streng genommen, durch Abdriften beide Pole zunehmend gleichgültig macht. In diesem Sinne soll diese kurze Einführung die symbolische Gestaltung und die medialen bzw. intermedialen Bestimmungen einer Utopie, die in einen Zusammenhang mit der Dystopie gestellt wird, sowohl in der fiktiven Erzählung als auch in der filmischen Fiktion, hervorheben. Anknüpfend an das vorher Geschriebene konzentriere ich mich nun auf die Ähnlichkeiten und Unterschiede zwischen der Utopie/ Dystopie des österreichischen Schriftstellers Alfred Kubin in Die andere Seite und des Films Midsommar (2019) des amerikanischen Regisseurs Ari Aster. Das Augenmerk gilt besonders der Art, wie der Roman und der Film, trotz unterschiedlicher Formen und Medien, einen utopischen bzw. dystopischen Raum zeigen, in dem das Geschehen eingebettet ist und aus welchem die jeweilige Erzählung hervorgeht. In beiden Fällen - als Utopien/ Dystopien - wird der allegorische Wert angesprochen, indem ein Vergleich der unterschiedlichen historischsozialen Realitäten vorgeschlagen wird, deren fiktionale Brechung Alfred Kubin und Ari Aster darzustellen versuchen. Hierzu beschränke ich mich auf die Figur des Mediums, oder besser gesagt des Meta-Mediums der utopischen Vorstellung: die Stadt als Standort der Utopie und ihre dystopische Umkehrung, wobei nach Friedrich Kittler die Stadt selbst ein Medium ist. Kittler bezieht sich dabei insbesondere auf die Hauptstadt, auf die Stadt als ein ‚ Haupt ’ . Laut Kittler fügt sich die moderne und zeitgenössische Hauptstadt nicht mehr einem baumähnlichen Modell, sondern einem Paradigma, das aus einem Netz des Energie- und Informationsflusses besteht. Kittler erläutert diesbezüglich folgendermaßen: Capitals expand upon this rule exponentially. It is not alone the state with its limes or system of borders, its self-induced ‘ resonance ’ (MP 540), which defines the city. Rather in capitals, networks between cities overlap upon other networks between other cities. Beneath, upon, and above the ground, the overloaded nodes make a mockery of every conflation. Time in the city is a function of transfers, turn-ons and turn-offs. Jacques Offenbach ’ s ‘ Paris Life ’ (1866) is the first play to be set in a train station. In Vienna, Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) 43 <?page no="44"?> imperial Austria connected the intersection of its four European railways and their terminals with an internal rail ring, which at the time was connected to the outlying regions by a light railroad. The sheer frequency of actual intersections in the capitals and metropoles is Tyche, that is, Fortuna or Chance, whom Valéry envisioned upon first awakening in Paris to the endless rush of traffic and then went on to celebrate as the prerequisite for all fortuitous conjunctions. 4 Um dies in Zusammenhang mit Kubins Die andere Seite zu veranschaulichen, möchte ich auf die Beschreibung, Atmosphäre und Gestaltung der ‚ Traumstadt ‘ Perle eingehen. Perle ist der utopische Ort, den der Protagonist des Romans in Begleitung seiner Ehefrau von München aus aufsucht, und der sich im Nachhinein als existenzieller Alptraum herausstellt. Durch einen Boten wird der Ich- Erzähler, der mit autobiographischen Details Kubins beschrieben wird, von einem alten Schulfreund dazu eingeladen, in das Traumland, dessen Herrscher er mittlerweile geworden war, zu kommen. Der Roman konzentriert sich hauptsächlich auf eine getreue räumliche Darstellung des Traumlandes, in welchem die Hauptfigur drei Jahre lang verbringt und den Akzent auf das Groteske und Düstere des Erlebten, das sich zunehmend zwischen Realität und Traum bewegt, legt. In der Hauptstadt Perle und auf dem Land des Traumreichs verteilt befindet sich eine rätselhafte Aufstellung von Türmen, die zusätzlich eine eingebaute Uhr in sich tragen. Die in seinen Bann gezogenen BürgerInnen gehen in den Turm hinein und wieder heraus, um einem Ritual ohne ersichtlichen Grund zu folgen. Der Protagonist beschreibt die Begebenheit wie folgt: Es ist der ‚ große Uhrbann ‘ , so ist hier sein Name. Also höre einmal: Auf unserm Hauptplatze steht stämmig und massiv ein grauer Turm, so eine Art untersetzter Campanile. Er ist das Wohnhaus einer alten Uhr, deren Ziffernblatt das obere Drittel einnimmt. Von dieser bei Nacht transparenten Scheibe lesen wir unsere Normalzeit ab, und alle übrigen Uhren in Stadt und Land werden nach ihr reguliert. Das wäre nichts Besonderes, wenn nicht dieser Turm eine ganz seltsame Eigenschaft noch nebenbei hätte. Er übt nämlich auf sämtliche Bewohner eine mysteriöse, unglaubliche Anziehungskraft aus. [ … ] Nach dem Hauptmuster sind in der ganzen Stadt kleinere Türme verteilt. Auf dem Lande soll jeder Bauernhof sein Uhrwinkel haben. 5 Dieser Ausführung nach entspricht diese Figur nicht mehr dem baumähnlichen Paradigma des Urbanen, das man mit der klassischen Antike mit ihren Foren und Agorai und später mit Kathedralen oder Plätzen der Renaissance in Verbindung bringt. Vielmehr trägt sie die Vorstellung eines Netzes in sich, 4 Kittler, Friedrich (1996). The city is a medium. In: Griffin, Matthew (Hrsg.) New Literary History. Johns Hopkins University Press, 720. 5 Kubin, Alfred (2012). Die andere Seite - Ein phantastischer Roman. Berlin: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, 70 ff. 44 Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra <?page no="45"?> das die Zeit räumlich einnimmt, d. h., dass es die Zeit in ein Schicksal von absoluter Gegenwart umsetzt. Die Campanile mit den integrierten Uhren sind seine Figur. Kubin, der den Großteil seines Lebens in Wien verbrachte, stellt auf ausgeklügelte Art und Weise eine Umkehrung der großen urbanen Utopie des Anfangs des 20. Jahrhunderts auf, indem das Pariser Modell zunehmend auf die urbane Logik der Megalopole von New York umgeschaltet wurde. Letztere steht als größtes Sinnbild dessen, was als ‚ Demokratie in Amerika ’ (ein von Alexis Tocqueville geprägter Begriff bzw. Konzept) bezeichnet wurde: Rationalität des radikalen Individualismus, der ‚ überragenden ’ Urbanistik, dieser großen nordamerikanischen Erfindung der Wolkenkratzer, die sich auf dem ganzen Globus verbreiteten, und mit der bekannten Architekturkunst des International Style einhergingen. Perle kann in diesem Zusammenhang als Gegenbild bzw. als Negativ dessen verstanden werden. Folgender Ausschnitt soll dies verdeutlichen: Hier war Perle, die Hauptstadt des Traumreiches, errichtet. Schwermütig düster wuchs sie aus dem kargen Boden in farbloser Einförmigkeit. Viele Jahrhunderte, meinte man, müsse sie schon so dastehen. Tatsächlich stand sie kaum ein Dutzend Jahre. Der Gründer dieser Stadt wollte den Ernst der Gegend nicht stören. Keine schreienden Neubauten waren hier errichtet worden; er gab viel auf Harmonie und ließ sich seine alten Häuser aus allen Teilen Europas senden. Es waren nur Gebäude, welche hierher paßten; nach einer Idee, mit sicherem Instinkt ausgewählt, fügten sie sich ins Ganze ein. Die Stadt zählte, als ich hinkam, gegen 22 000 Einwohner. 6 Mehr als hundert Jahre nach Kubins Dystopie und nach der Erschöpfung zweier großer nordamerikanischer Stadtutopien, - Las Vegas und Los Angeles - , die im Anschluss an New York entstanden sind, kristallisiert sich ein neues Bild einer Traumstadt heraus: Eine Idealstadt der Mittelschicht, die sich vorstädtisch wie ein Fleck ohne Zentrum verbreitet und sich dem Rhythmus der Unterhaltungs - und Konsumgesellschaft beugt. Eingebettet in diesen Kontext entstand 2019 der Horrorfilm Midsommar von Ari Aster, der sich zusätzlich durch eine ökologische und feministische Kollektivvorstellung auszeichnet: Nachdem Danis Schwester und ihre Eltern durch einen tragischen Tod ums Leben kamen, beschließt die junge, amerikanische Doktorandin, sich mit ihrem Freund Christian und dessen Freunden auf eine Reise nach Schweden zu begeben, obwohl die Beziehung der beiden Hauptfiguren in die Brüche zu gehen scheint. Aus einer Art Stadtflucht geleitet, die neben Neugierde und Hoffnung auf Veränderung ebenso zu den Beweggründen in Die andere Seite zu erkennen sind, reist die Gruppe in eine kleine Siedlung im Norden Schwedens, da Einer aus dem Freundeskreis dort auf- 6 Kubin (2012: 50 f ). Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) 45 <?page no="46"?> gewachsen war. Die jungen Leute werden Opfer mysteriöser Riten der dort ansässigen Kommune und erleiden größtenteils groteske und makabre Ermordungen, während Dani, die sich immer mehr von Christian und seinen Freunden entfernt, eine Art Familienersatz einerseits und Sororität andererseits von Seiten der Gemeinschaft erlebt. Um eine Verbindung zum bereits Erwähnten herzustellen, soll der Fokus auf den Anfang des Drehbuchs von Midsommar gelegt werden, das von Ari Aster nach einem Originalkonzept von Patrick Andersson und Martin Karlqvist geschrieben wurde. Die Durchfahrt geschieht darin zwischen der Zweideutigkeit des Binoms Utopie/ Dystopie der ‚ neuen Welt ‘ in Richtung ‚ alten Kontinent ‘ . Dabei gilt jedoch zu beachten, dass es sich nicht um irgendein Europa, sondern um ein nördliches, abgelegenes Europa handelt, das ein scheinbares Abseits der städtischen Metamorphosen, die dem bereits angedeuteten Netzmodells entsprechen, darstellt. Die Rede ist an dieser Stelle von einem primitiven bzw. mythischen Schweden, das weit von Zeit und Raum der ‚ Ultramodernität ‘ entfernt ist. Die Erzählung des Films beginnt genau damit, zwei Orte im Freien gegenüberzustellen, während einer am Tag und der andere nachts gezeigt wird: EXT. WOODS - HÄLSINGLAND - DAY Hälsingland, North Sweden. We cycle through a series of beautifully composed midday landscapes. None of them feature people or human habitation. A spare Swedish lullaby plays over this quiet montage. This is the song of the Hårgas. When it concludes, we CUT HARD TO: EXT. HOUSE - MINNESOTA - NIGHT A beautiful suburban home, bathed in vivid moonlight. The neighborhood is very quiet. 7 Die Protagonisten erleben ihre schlimmsten Alpträume in Hälsingland, einem paradoxerweise absolut hellen und sonnendurchfluteten Ort. Entscheidend ist hierbei, dass es sich um einen Ort handelt, der jenseits der sozialen und materiellen Zwänge, die wesentlich für Gesellschaften der Energie (Autos und Asphalt) und der Information (Handys und technologische Medien) ist. Der Betrachter vernimmt eine Kritik an den materiellen und symbolischen Bestimmungen, die unsere Gegenwart prägen. Abschließend kann gesagt werden, dass in beiden Werken das Streben nach Geschwindigkeit und technologischem Fortschritt der gemeinsame Ausgangspunkt zweier modellhafter Metropolen sind, obwohl diese in der Ausführung urbane Unterschiede aufweisen. In beiden Fällen führt der Wunsch nach einer 7 Aster, Ari (2017). Midsommar. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.docdroid.net/ 39EggEN/ midsommar-pdf#page=17 (Stand 20/ 12/ 2021). 46 Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra <?page no="47"?> besseren, moderneren Welt zu einer kompromisslosen Spannung und Unentschlossenheit zwischen Utopie und Dystopie, die sowohl in Kubins Roman, als auch in Ari Asters Film nicht eindeutig differenziert werden kann. Utopie und Dystopie in Die andere Seite (1909) 47 <?page no="48"?> Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain Cristina Zimbroianu Introduction Alfred Döblin (1878 - 1957) was a prolific novelist who belonged to a generation of prose writers of extraordinary distinction, such as Heinrich and Thomas Mann, Robert Musil, Franz Kafka, Hermann Broch, Franz Werfel, Erich Maria Remarque, Lion Feuchtwanger or Hermann Kesten 1 . Döblin is considered an important modernist writer and is best known for novels such as Berlin Alexanderplatz (1929) 2 , which has been compared to James Joyce ’ s Ulysses 3 and John Dos Passos ’ s Manhattan Transfer 4 . Berlin Alexanderplatz became known to the public primarily through the 1980 television series issued by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. 5 Döblin ’ s work 6 is not limited to novels, but in this genre he offered a variety of narrative techniques, structures and themes introduced in works such as Die drei Sprünge des Wang-Lun (1916), Wallenstein (1920), Berge Meere und Giganten (1924), Amazonas (1938), November 1918 (1950) and Hamlet oder Die lange Nacht nimmt ein Ende (1956) 7 . In addition to novels, 1 Dollinger, Roland/ Koepke, Wulf/ Tewarson Thomann, Heidi (2004). A Companion to the works of Alfred Döblin. New York: Camdem House. 2 Döblin, Alfred (1929). Berlin Alexanderplatz. Zurich: Werner Stauffacher. Walter. 3 Joyce, James (1922). Ulysses. Paris: Shakespeare and Company. 4 Dos Passos, John (1925). Manhattan Transfer. New York: Harper & Brothers. 5 Keopke (2003: 10). 6 Other Works of Döblin mentioned in this paragraph are: Wallenstein. (First edition: 1920). Ed. Erwin Kobel. Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 2001. Berge Meere und Giganten. (First edition: 1924). Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1977. Die drei Sprünge des Wang-Lun (First edition: 1915 - 16). Ed. Walter Muschg. Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1960. Reise in Polen. (First edition: 1925). Ed. Heinz Graber. Olten/ Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1968. Amazonas. (First edition: 1938). Ed. Werner Stauffacher, Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1988. November 1918. (First edition: 1950). Ed. Werner Stauffacher, Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1991. 7 Hamlet oder Die lange Nacht nimmt ein Ende. (First edition: 1956). Ed. Walter Muschg. Olten, Freiburg i. Br.: Walter, 1966. <?page no="49"?> Döblin wrote autobiographical texts, short stories, plays, essays, political commentaries, and scientific treatises in the field of medicine, since he was a medical doctor. The reception of Döblin ’ s work is a paradox as he was considered an innovative writer and genius, but he remained largely unknown 8 . Some of his books were praised as valuable, but only Berlin Alexanderplatz was included in the canon of twentieth century German literature. The fact that his work is still unknown could be due to the difficulty of translating it because of his idiomatic language full of allusions and quotations. Thus, although Döblin was a writer of international stature, the reception of his works was and still is limited to the German readership 9 . The plot in Berlin Alexanderplatz develops in the east of Berlin, more precisely in the Frankfurter Allee and the Landsberger Allee. Here Döblin had his medical practises from which he drew his poor clientele. Dr. Döblin ’ s contact with the residents of Alexanderplatz and the adjacent areas - the Rosenthaler Platz and the Scheunviertel to the north - enriched his understanding of Berlin argot 10 , which complicated the translation of his work into Spanish. The novel follows the adventures of Franz Biberkopf who “ sways between respectability and criminality, self-employment and wilful unemployment, leftism and Nazi jargon, heterosexuality and bisexuality ” 11 . In Spain, one of the first references to the novel dates from 1935, when the newspaper La Tierra 12 commented on the 1931 film based on the novel and directed by Phil Jutzi, starring Heinrich George, Maria Bard, Margarete Schlegel, Bernhard Minetti, Gerhard Bienert, Albert Florath and Paul Westermeier. The censorship board in Spain revised the novel on two occasions, in 1949 and 1968, but due to the political, religious and sexual discourses that dominate the novel, the censors did not initially approve it. The theoretical framework that guides this research is given by the reception theories such as the pragmatic text theory introduced by Martyn P. Thompson in Reception Theory and The Interpretation of Historical Meaning. Thus, the aim of this study is to analyse the reaction of the Spanish censors during the Francoist dictatorship in order to determine whether or not the reception of the novel was influenced by the censorship authority, and to discuss the film adaptation of the novel and its reception in Spain. To carry out this research, the censorship archives located in the Archivo General de la Administración (AGA) in Alcalá de Henares were consulted. 8 Dollinger et. al (2004: 22). 9 Dollinger et. al (2004: 22 - 23). 10 Jelavich, Peter (2009). Berlin Alexanderplatz. Radio, Film, and the Death of Weimar Culture. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 9. 11 Jelavich (2009: xiv). 12 Estudio nuestro cinema (1935). La tierra, January 1, 4. Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 49 <?page no="50"?> Theoretical Framework Martyn P. Thompson 13 explores the limitations of literary historical theories of reception and introduces the concept of “ pragmatic text theory ” , which is applicable to the reception of Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz. Thompson following Gunter Grimm, introduces two different perspectives on “ the character of literary texts ” 14 : the one derived from “ the substantialist text theory ” and the one derived from “ a pragmatic text theory ” 15 . On the one hand, the substantialist theory focuses on the author ’ s intended meaning of the text. This means that the text means what the author intended it to mean. Texts are constructed by particular authors at a particular time and carry a limited “ range of meanings ” 16 that the authors might have intended and “ that were in principle open to the first readers or audiences ” 17 . The theory is substantialist because it claims that texts have a specific meaning that can be recovered and that their subsequent interpretations should be evaluated in terms of their adequacy in reflecting the author ’ s intentions. On the other hand, Thompson explains that pragmatic text theory focuses on the text as it is read by different readers and the meaning of the text is created in the act of reading. Thus, “ different readers at the same time, the same reader at different times, and different readers at different times will understand the same text differently ” 18 . Hence “ the meaning will vary according to who does the reading, at what time, where, with what expectations and with what purposes ” 19 . The limits to what are considered appropriate interpretations arise from the questions that readers address to the texts and the availability of what those readers “ consider appropriate evidence for answering them ” 20 . Therefore, pragmatic text theory is applicable to the study of the reception of Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain, as the meaning perceived by the Spanish censors met or failed to meet their expectations and determined whether Spanish readers would ever have access to the novel during Franco ’ s regime. Thus, the reading was carried out by the censors during the Francoist 13 Thompson, Martyn (1993). Reception Theory and the Interpretation of Historical Meaning. In: History and Theory, Studies in the Philosophy of History. Middletown: Wesleyan University, 248 - 272. Available under: www.jstor.org/ stable/ 2505525. 14 Thompson (2009: 252). 15 Thompson (2009: 252). 16 Thompson (2009: 252). 17 Thompson (2009: 252). 18 Thompson (2009: 251). 19 Thompson (2009: 251). 20 Thompson (2009: 259). 50 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="51"?> dictatorship in Spain with the expectation of identifying paragraphs that could be censored and with the aim of approving or not approving the novel. However, before presenting the censors ’ interpretations of the novel, the historical context in which the novel was received will first be introduced. Censorship in Francoist Spain Censorship in Spain began with the end of the Civil War and the beginning of the regime in 1936, when Francisco Franco was appointed head of the Spanish Government and supreme general of the Spanish Armed Forces by the National Defence Board. The Spanish Civil War claimed thousands of lives, both in combat and through government-sponsored mass executions of opponents of the military rebellion. In the case of the mass executions, the motive for censorship was that the government clearly wanted the ordered executions to remain covered up, and the best way to ensure this was to censor the media against reporting the tragic facts 21 . Once in power, Franco imposed an authoritarian rather than a totalitarian regime, as he did not seek totalitarian domination of the economy or of cultural, social, and religious institutions, and he lacked “ the ideological impetus characteristic of totalitarian governments ” 22 . It should also be mentioned that his regime was not fascist either, as General Franco ’ s connexions with the Roman Catholic Church and the course of the international panorama mitigated the fascist component, leading most analysts to call it semi-fascist. In order to support the regime, censorship functioned since 1938 through the Junta de Censura or Censorship Board, which censored all cultural production, i. e. the press, the book and film industries, and all printed material that entered the market 23 . The Censorship Board was represented by “ representatives of the Catholic Church, government officials and loyalist scholars ” 24 . Thus, the Board ’ s activities were governed by two important laws, the Press Law of 1938 and the Press and Printing Law of 1966. The Press Law of 1938, as Professor Marta Rioja Barrocal points out, was designed to control freedom of the press, but it was applied to all forms of 21 Hennessey, Darby (2017). Oprimido, Censurado, Controlado: Authoritarian Censorship of the Media in Spain Under Franco ’ s Dictatorship. (Thesis). Mississippi: University of Mississippi. 22 Solsten, Eric/ Meditz, Sandra editors (1988). Spain: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 87. 23 Solsten and Meditz (1988: 86). 24 Lea, Kathryn (2013). “ Speaking Franco: Francisco Franco and the Evolution of the Spanish Artistic Voice ” . The Corinthian. n.pag. Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 51 <?page no="52"?> written and artistic production 25 . The submission of any work, national or international, had to pass through the Book Censorship Board and go through a preliminary censorship. The censors decided whether or not to approve the book, to approve it with certain restrictions (deletions or changes), or simply to reject it 26 . The criteria used by the censors to decide what to censor were arbitrary in the sense that the categories of forbidden content were too broad and not specific: sexual immorality (by Catholic standards), political opinions that did not conform to the regime, improper use of language (also known as “ linguistic purity ” ), and religious topics that were not strictly Catholic 27 . This arbitrariness provided more flexibility in deciding which aspects should or should not be censored 28 . When reviewing a piece of literature, censors had to fill out a report which, in the early years of the regime, included a number of sections in which they evaluated the works they read. Thus, they had to mention whether the book had literary and artistic value, documentary value, contained any political references, whether there were deletions in case of approval, and other remarks 29 . These sections were changed around 1944 into three questions: “ 1. does it attack dogma or morality? 2. does it attack the institutions of the regime? 3. does it have literary or documentary value? ” 30 . From about 1945 onwards, the censors ’ reports on the books included further questions, such as “ Does it attack dogma? The morals? The church and its clergy? The regime and its institutions? The persons who collaborate or have collaborated with the regime? Do the passages objected to qualify the entire content of the work? ” 31 . Basically, this is the moment when the pragmatic text theory introduced by Thompson begins to work, because these are the questions asked by the readers, in this case the censors, and the answers to these questions meet or fail to meet their expectations in accordance with the criteria they followed. These questions were asked even after 1966, when the Press and Printing Law was released. In 1966, the Minister of Tourism and Information Manuel Fraga Iribarne replaced the 1938 Press Law with the Press and Printing Law la Ley de Prensa e 25 Rioja Barrocal, Marta (2010). “ English-Spanish Translations and Censorship in Spain ” . Intralinea. Available under: <inTRAlinea. online translation journal > Archive >Vol. 12. 26 Rioja Berrocal (2010: n. pag.). 27 Quoted in Hennessey (2017: 25). 28 Hennessey (2017: 25). 29 Archivo General de la Administración. Un puñado de polvo. Expediente 1641/ 43. Signatura 21/ 6848. 30 Archivo General de la Administración. Fechoría negra. Expediente 5554/ 44. Signatura 21/ 07495. 31 Abellán, Manuel (1980). Censura y creación literaria en España (1939 - 1976). Ediciones Península.Abellán, 19. 52 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="53"?> Imprenta, which embodied the reformist attitude of the government in the 1960s. This law eliminated prior censorship, which had been compulsory until 1966, and introduced consulta voluntaria, or voluntary submission, and depósito, or deposit 32 . An important aspect of this law was that it allowed publishers to negotiate directly with the censorship authorities. This sped up book production, as prior to 1966 there were no deadlines for censorship authorities to respond to publishers, resulting in costly delays in production and publication 33 . Thus, under the 1966 law, publishers were not forced to seek explicit permission to print their material. They could “ deposit ” either the texts or the galley proofs (galeradas) of the book for “ final review ” by government officials or “ submit voluntarily, ” after which a negotiation could take place 34 . Most publishers preferred voluntary submission, as it was the surest way to obtain the censors ’ approval. Therefore, this is the context in which Berlin Alexanderplatz was reviewed by the censors under both the 1938 Press Law and the 1966 Press and Printing Law. The Censors ’ Reception of Berlin Alexanderplatz Berlin Alexanderplatz tells the story of Franz Biberkopf, who was released from Tegel prison, where he had been imprisoned for four years for the murder of his girlfriend Ida. Biberkopf is portrayed as a man who is good-natured and naive, but also compulsive and prone to excess, violence and alcohol, although he always has the idea in his mind to change, to become a new man, to leave behind the old Biberkopf who was in prison. Berlin Alexanderplatz was first reviewed by the censors in 1949, when the publisher José Janés submitted the book to the prior censorship for permission to translate and publish three thousand copies. The censors answered the typical questions that accompanied the censorship file. Thus, the answer to the first question, whether the book attacked dogma, the censors answered, “ see below, ” and the answer as to whether it attacked morality was the same as the previous one. They concluded that the Church, the State and its institutions were not attacked in the book 35 . “ See below ” referred to a short report they issued on the novel: The famous novel about Berlin, which has already reached a circulation of 15,000 copies, is one of the most uncouth, not to say pornographic, ever published in the 32 Herrero-Olaizola, Alejandro (2007). The Censorship Files: Latin American Writers and Franco ’ s Spain. Albany: State U of New York. Herrero-Olaizola (2007: 9). 33 Herrero-Olaizola (2007: 9). 34 Herrero-Olaizola (2007: 9). 35 Archivo General de la Administración. Berlín Plaza Alejandro. Expediente 3643/ 49. Signatura 21/ 8797. Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 53 <?page no="54"?> German language. Its background is antisocial and atheistic. We have marked a large selection of paragraphs. Their authorization is, in our opinion, quite impossible. 36 Box 21/ 8797, kept at theAGA in Alcalá de Henares, contains the original version of the novel in German, which was reviewed by the censors. Essentially, they deleted paragraphs on all pages, and mentioned that pages 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 166, 215, 295, 320, 321, 336, 397, 417, and 487 must be completely removed. As can be seen from the report, the censors realised that it was a famous novel, which was already on the market in an edition of fifteen thousand copies. They were referring to the German market, as the novel was not licenced in Spain, although a translation by Manuel Gutiérrez Marín was published in 1932 37 . Nevertheless, this translation was probably banned from libraries, for a year after Franco came to power, the military junta decreed on September 16, 1937, that lists of books in all public libraries should be delivered to the Commission for Culture and Education. Pegenaute 38 mentions that these lists would be classified according to the following criteria: (1) pornographic works without literary value; (2) publications intended for revolutionary propaganda or for the dissemination of subversive ideas, which had no substantial ideological content; (3) books of literary or scientific value whose ideological content might prove pernicious to uninformed or insufficiently prepared readers 39 . According to the junta ’ s 1937 decree, books belonging to the first two groups had to be destroyed, while those belonging to the third group had to be kept in a library where no one had access to them, except for people who received special permission from the commission after the commission had carefully analysed their intentions 40 . Thus, considering the censors ’ report of 1949, which mentions that the novel is unacceptable for moral and dogmatic reasons, one could conclude that Gutiérrez Marín ’ s translation, published in 1932, was probably placed in the first category and removed from the market. Therefore, it is not surprising that the edition José Janés wanted to translate and publish in 1949 was rejected as immoral, antisocial, and atheistic. In the 1940s, morality was seriously evaluated by the censors, and any hint of eroticism was not publishable 41 . As Manuel 36 Own translation, File (3643/ 1949). 37 Döblin, Alfred (1932). Berlín, Plaza de Alejandro. Translator: Manuel Gutiérrez Marín. Madrid: Dédalo. 38 Pegenaute Rodríguez, Luis (1999). Censoring translation and Translation as Censorship: Spain under Franco. Translation and the (RE)Location of Meaning: Selected Papers of the CETRA Chair Seminars in Translation Studies, 1994 - 96, Lovaina: Universidad Católica de Lovaina. 39 Pegenaute (1999: 87). 40 Pegenaute (1999: 87). 41 Pegenaute (1999: 89). 54 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="55"?> Abellán 42 explains, the government recognised the supremacy of the Church in matters of morality and dogma, a supremacy established by the Catholic doctrine in force, on which the new regime built much of its political ideology and its social and economic order. Thus, the criteria applied by the censors initially tended to protect both institutions from the common enemy defeated during the civil war. The novel was submitted again to censorship in 1968. The publisher Edisven presented to voluntary submission, regulated this time by the law of 1966, a translation of Berlin Alexanderplatz by Rosa Moreno with the intention to publish seven thousand copies. The censor provides a summary of the novel, focusing mainly on Franz Biberkopf, and concludes that the novel can be authorised, if several deletions will be made: This is the story of Franz Biberkopf. He is coming out of prison where he was locked up for the murder of his girlfriend. He is back in Berlin and wants to become an honest man. At first everything develops normally, but at some point he has to fight with doom. He tries several times, but always fails. The city mistreats him. Just when he is able to stand up, he is struck down by a brutal force. He is defeated, but before a total breakdown, he regains clarity and discovers where the fault lies, within himself. He recovers and begins a new life as a caretaker substitute. Around Franz, the author places men and women from popular Berlin. It can be authorized with deletions on the pages: 42, 43, 46, 50, 51, 72, 92, 93, 94, 96, 97, 99, 342, 343, 365, 366, 456 43 . One important aspect that some of these deletions show is how the Press and Printing Law of 1966 functioned. It is clear that there was a process of negotiation between the publisher and the censor, for the censor proposed the deletion of several paragraphs. After negotiations with the publishers, it appears that the paragraphs were not deleted in their entirety, but only in part, as on page 42, where only the last three sentences were deleted. Here Döblin explains how sexual potential arises in men: Sexual potency is the result of various systems which are interrelated: 1. the internal secretory system, 2. the nervous system, 3. the genital apparatus. The glands that work together in this process are: the pituitary gland, the thyroid gland, the adrenal capsule, the prostate gland, the seminal vesicles, the genital gland, and the epididymis. In this whole series of systems, the function of the genital gland is predominant 44 . 42 Abellán (1980: 112). 43 Archivo General de la Administración. Berlín Alexanderplatz. Expediente 9668/ 68. Signatura 21/ 19381. Own translation. 44 Döblin, Alfred (1969) Berlín Alexanderplatz. Translator: Rosa Moreno. Barcelona: Edisven. Own translation Döblin, 42. Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 55 <?page no="56"?> Incidentally, this explanation of the workings of sexual potential in men continues in another paragraph on page 43, and on page 46, Döblin discusses the main causes of sexual impotence in men, so all those lines have been deleted as well. Presumably the censor deleted these descriptions because they imply that men can be impotent. That is, Döblin gives details of how the male sexual apparatus functions, and that men can be impotent if any link in that functional process fails. Such hints would not be allowed by the censors because they could negatively affect the image of men who were raised to be strong and masculine and had to suppress their feelings 45 . Men were associated with qualities such as bravery, strength, initiative, and the active subject in a sexual relationship 46 . Several references to lesbianism on pages 92 and 365 have also been deleted. It seems that these lines were not removed because they imply homosexual relations between women, but because such relations did not exist for the regime. As professor Gema Pérez-Sánchez 47 explains, on the one hand, lesbianism was considered an object of special concern and was listed under the general category of “ homosexual ” in the Ley de peligrosidad y rehabilitación social (Social Rehabilitation Law) of August 4, 1970. On the other hand, lesbianism in Spain in the 1960s and 1970s, although of particular interest, was elusive to homophobes. Unable to think of female sexual desire independently of male heterosexual desire, the lesbian was erased from the sexual horizon of late Francoism. Practically, “ this sexual option did not exist ” 48 . In his work Gamberos, homosexuals, vagos y maleantes: studio juridico-sociologico, the Francoist judge Antonio Sabater describes lesbians as women who wear male clothes and shoes and display male behaviour 49 . Sabater mentions 50 that they are easily identified because they are female employees or women in management positions who are rude to male employees. Accordingly, independent and economically self-sufficient women were equated with lesbians. This was a way to control women who were considered intellectually inferior and whose goal was to procreate and submit to men, as Pilar Primo de Rivera, the sister of the founder of Falangist Party, mentioned: 45 La voz del muro (2017). Siete claves sobre la sexualidad durante el franquismo para entender el machismo de hoy. December. Available under: 7 claves sobre la sexualidad durante el franquismo para entender el machismo de hoy (lavozdelmuro.net) 46 Franco ’ s Spain and the Self-Loathing Homosexual Model (2007). New York: State University of New York Press. 47 Pérez-Sánchez, Gema (2000). Franco ’ s Spain, Queer Nation? University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform. Michigan: University of Michigan, 386. 48 Pérez-Sánchez (2000: 386). 49 Sabater, Antonio (1962). Gamberos, homosexuals, vagos y maleantes: studio juridicosociologico. Hispano Europea: Barcelona, 209. 50 Sabater (1962: 209). 56 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="57"?> Women never discover anything, they lack the creative talent that God reserved for male intelligences, we can only interpret better or worse what men put in front of us … that is why we must teach women to dedicate themselves to the daily work, to the child, to the kitchen, to the dishes, to the garden, we must make sure that the woman finds all her life there and the man finds all his rest 51 . Therefore, lesbians who associated with independent free women posed a threat to the regime. For this reason, some of them were imprisoned in a kind of concentration camp precisely managed by Pilar Primo de Rivera and run by nuns. There they were shaved and given castor oil to purify their bodies and souls. They were then subjected to a “ re-feminised ” 52 process based on tasks considered feminine, which included prayer. In addition, pages 94 and 95, which describe homosexual relations between a married man and a young man, and page 96, which refers to a medical clinic that helps travesties become women, have also been deleted. Both homosexual and lesbian relationships were forbidden in Franco ’ s time. According to Sabater 53 , homosexuality is a “ psychopathology ” characterized by a deviation, an abnormality of the sex drive. Homosexuals, he argues, are primitive beings living instinctual lives that have no place in civilization and must be tamed because they pose a grave danger to the ethical, cultural, and legal boundaries and progress of humanity. Sabater points out that gay men possess a “ feminoid nature ” and have a “ strong connection to their mother. ” They often work as “ dancers, ” “ wear women ’ s clothes, ” and “ imitate women ” 54 . Pérez-Sánchez 55 highlights that the Francoist regime did not pay much attention to homosexuality in the early years after the Civil War, but did later in the 1950s, when the regime “ developed an inexplicable interest in codifying, pathologizing, and containing the activities of homosexuals ” . As a result, the 1933 Ley de Vagos y Maleantes (Vagrants and Thugs Law), which originally considered “ homosexuality not a dangerous condition, ” was amended by the law passed on July 14, 1954, which “ declared homosexuals subjected to security measures ” 56 . This law thus provided several measures against homosexuals, such as their placement in 51 La voz del muro (2017). 52 Lesbianas bajo el franquismo (2015). September 17. Available under: Lesbianas bajo el franquismo -Gayles.tv Televisión LGTB+ 53 Sabater (1962: 176). 54 Sabater (1962: 195 - 204). 55 Pérez-Sánchez (2000: 375). 56 Pérez -Sánchez (2000: 376). For more details see article 6 from the Vagrants and Thugs Law. Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 57 <?page no="58"?> labour establishments or agricultural colonies 57 . Considering that the censors reviewed the novel in 1969, this law was still in force. Therefore, the censors would not approve the relationship between the married man and the young man, as this would threaten the institution of marriage and the image of men, who had to be masculine, as they were considered “ the driving force of history ” and one of the major symbols of the strength and harmony of the nation 58 . Furthermore, pages 456, 457, and 458 were also removed because they describe the murder of Mieze, the young prostitute who worked for Franz Biberkopf. In the eyes of the censors, this scene has several implications. One is the fact that Mieze is a prostitute, and the other is the fact that she was killed by Reinhold, a pimp. During Francoism, the practice of prostitution was protected by law until 1956, after which it was considered illegal. Prostitution was divided into “ legal ” and “ clandestine ” . In the 1940s, there were more than 1,100 brothels in Spain, known as casas de tolerancia (houses of tolerance), which paid their taxes and were regularly inspected 59 . The regime created institutions for prostitutes, such as the so-called special prisons for women, which were recognised by a decree of 20 November 1941. Only the mujeres caídas (fallen women) who offered their services in clandestine prostitution and were treated as descarriadas (strays) were admitted to this institution 60 . In March 1942, under the presidency of Carmen Polo de Franco, the Patronato de Protección a la Mujer (Patronage of Women) was established to take care of prostitutes in order to “ prevent their exploitation, keep them away from vice, and educate them in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic religion ” 61 . Thus, before 1956, prostitution was considered a necessary evil that helped preserve the integrity of respectable women 62 . These were women who had no hopes for a better future, and the regime perceived them as women whose role was to prevent men from being “ tempted to seduce decent young women ” 63 . They were seen as misguided women who needed to be re-educated, and many of them ended up in mental institutions or even prisons 64 . On the other hand, the 57 El obrero (2020). Textos históricos sobre la persecución de los homosexuales: La modificación de 1954 de la Ley de Vagos y Maleantes de 1933. July 31. Available under: https: / / elobrero.es/ cultura/ cine/ 54379-textos-historicos-sobre-la-persecucion-de-loshomosexuales-la-modificacion-de-1954-de-la-ley-de-vagos-y-maleantes-de-1933.html 58 Franco ’ s Spain and the Self-Loathing Homosexual Model (2007: 2). 59 Ortiz-Heraz, Manuel (2006). Mujer y dictadura franquista. Aposta Revista de Ciencias Sociales. Castilla -La Mancha: Universidad de Castilla- La Mancha. Ortiz Heraz, 4. 60 Ortiz Heraz (2006: 4). 61 Ortiz Heraz (2006: 4). 62 La voz del muro (2017). 63 La voz del muro (2017). 64 La voz del muro (2017). 58 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="59"?> fact that Mieze was murdered by a pimp is another reason to delete the previously mentioned pages. The law enacted in 1954 classified pimps as “ dangerous subjects ” who were sentenced to hard labour to dissuade them from their bad habits 65 . Film Adaptation of Berlin Alexanderplatz The novel raised the interest of film directors in three occasions, 1931, 1980 and 2020. Thus, the first time when it was adapted to a film was in 1931 directed by Phil Jutzi. Döblin also participated, as he cowrote the screenplay with Hans Wilhelm. Jutzi was inspired by Walter Ruttman ’ s film entitled Berlin: A symphony of a big city issued in 1927, which portrayed a variety of social classes such as desperately poor beggars, industrial workers, shopkeepers, secretaries, managers, and people like Franz Biberkopf who tried to sell all types of products on the streets of Berlin 66 . Both the film ’ s producer, Arnold Pressburger, and Alfred Döblin were aware of the censorship the script would face. For this reason, the film avoided many of the novel ’ s most notable and polemical scenes, such as Biberkopf ’ s sale of Nazi newspapers, his discussions with his Communist friends, and the anarchist slogans presented to the Social Democratic workers 67 . Any mention of Jews was also left aside, not because the censorship board would edit out such a scene, but because of the threat of “ censorship of the street ” 68 . The growing hostility of anti-Semitism through violent Nazi demonstrations suggested that the Jewish theme was more likely to be avoided (212). For example, at the very beginning of the novel, when Biberkopf gets out of prison, he is cheered up by a Jewish narrator. In the film, however, he meets a homeless man who advises him to drink a shot of liquor 69 . Also, the scene in the book where Biberkopf tries to buy a tie and is advised to go to a Jewish store was not included in the film. There were other scenes that were not included in the film, partly because of their homosexual innuendo and partly because of their sombreness. Therefore, no reference to homosexuality was introduced, although there was a nuance between Biberkopf and his friend and enemy Reinhold 70 . When George Heinrich was confirmed for the role of Franz Biberkopf in October 1930, he actually asked 65 Pérez- Sánchez (2000: 380). 66 Jelavich (2009: 208). 67 Jelavich (2009: 212). 68 Jelavich (2009: 212). 69 Jelavich (2009: 212). 70 Jelavich (2009: 213). Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 59 <?page no="60"?> if Conrad Veidt was signed on to play Reinhold, Franz ’ s friend, because Conrad was the screen ’ s most important gay icon, although he rarely played gay roles. Casting him as Reinhold would have automatically added a homosexual theme to his relationship with Franz in the eyes of the audience. However, the role of Reinhold was eventually given to Bernhard Minetti, an actor who had just begun his career on screen 71 . Furthermore, other scenes that were initially included in the screenplay, but were never shot, not for fear of censorship, but because they would demoralize an already deflated audience that went to the movies to escape the misery of everyday life, an audience so impoverished that it could barely afford to go to the movies at all, were the scenes of prisoners and the building of the jail in Tegel as well as the images of the unemployed, the homeless and the prostitutes and the images of the cattle been driven to slaughter, one of the most representative scenes in the book 72 . So many scenes were avoided that the censors did not have to cut anything out when the script passed the censorship committee in Berlin 73 . The aim of the film was to portray Berlin through both visual images and dialog. However, the local dialect and Berlin argot used by Döblin were not included in the film, mainly for technical and commercial reasons. The still relatively poor sound quality in 1931 required clear pronunciation 74 . Most importantly, actors lacked experience with this new technology, i. e. sound film, as they had only recorded silent films and were not used to doing short verbal takes. For this reason, dialog coaches were hired to control the actors ’ pronunciation and “ ensure consistency and continuity from shot to shot ” 75 . As for the music, Jutzi uses the scene in which he introduces Mieze, the young woman who falls in love with Franz. She is introduced as a street singer in the courtyard of a worker ’ s apartment building. This way of introducing Mieze provides an opportunity to also introduce the title song of the film. However, this also serves to characterize Mieze as a more innocent character than she is portrayed as in the book, where she is a prostitute. In the film, however, singing on the street, which was a form of begging, is coded as a respectful occupation. The microphones played also an important role as they preceded the visual action: Mieze starts singing, for example, before the audience can see her on screen. In this way, the director tested the relationship between sound and image, and such acoustic and visual bridges were meant to 71 Jelavich (2009: 213). 72 Jelavich (2009: 216). 73 Jelavich (2009: 213). 74 Jelavich (2009: 218). 75 Jelavich (2009: 218). 60 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="61"?> smooth the transitions and cover the silences in the narrative 76 . The film culminates in a happy ending where Biberkopf selling figurines, which illustrates the maxim that if you are an inherently good person, you will always bounce back no matter how hard the beating. As for the reception of this first film adaptation in Spain, it is worth noting that before the Franco regime it was apparently successfully released in 1932 under the title Hampa 77 . However, the General Archive of the Administration in Alcalá de Henares, where the censorship files are kept, has no censorship files on this film, nor does the National Cinematheque in Madrid. Therefore, it is difficult to find out what happened to this film during Francoism. It is likely that the film was not even reviewed by the censors precisely because the director Phil Jutzi was a communist and the regime was against any cultural representation coming from communists. In addition to the 1931 film adaptation, the novel was adapted into a fourteenpart 1980 television production directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The main feature of this series is that it faithfully followed the novel. Unlike the 1931 film, this series included all the scenes that were originally considered polemical. Fassbinder turned the novel into a series not necessarily because Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the major works of modern German literature, but because this novel influenced his life as it helped him to develop: “ a theoretical point without becoming theoretical ” and forced him “ to take a moral stand without being moralizing, to accept the commonplace as the essential and the holy, without being either common or sanctimontous ” 78 . One of the central themes of the novel is Biberkopf ’ s relationship with Reinhold, which Fassbinder describes as pure love. Thus, “ it by no means concerns a sexual relation between two people of the same sex. [ … ] No, what goes on between Franz and Reinhold is no more no less than pure love, unendangered by anything social. ” 79 . Reinhold is presented as “ a caricature of paranoid masculinity ” who suppresses his homosexuality through the fact that he can only be with a man if a woman is traded, and he can be with a woman if a man is available to relieve him of her 80 . So, Reinhold murders Mieze because she rejected him and he wanted her so he could give her back to Franz. Reinhold 76 Jelavich (2009: 228). 77 Alfonso, Ramón (2019). Berlin Alexanderplatz: Revista de cine dirigido. Abril. Available under: Berlin Alexanderplatz - Dirigido por. 78 Elsaesser, Thomas (1996). Fassbinder ’ s Germany. History Identity Subject. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. 79 Elsaesser (1996: 218). 80 Elsaesser (1996: 228). Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 61 <?page no="62"?> then, kills her because since he could not give her away, he “ throws her away ” 81 . Elsaesser explains that Fassbinder makes use of Hollywood storytelling by relating the characters to each other in terms of “ impotent/ barren/ potent/ fertile ” 82 . Thus, the couple Mieze/ Franz are barren and impotent, their friends Eva/ Herbert are fertile and impotent, while the couple Reinhold/ Franz are repressed homosexuals 83 . The series had great success in Germany and also in New York, where it was issued in a shorter version. In Spain, it was broadcast by national television on October 17, 1987 84 . Recently, in 2020 the novel was adapted again to a film directed by Burhan Qurbani. It is a modern adaptation, as it tells the story of an immigrant from West Africa who, like Franz Biberkopf, has to face the big, strange and unknown city of Berlin. Dechand Anton provides an insightful review of the film published in the Berlin Film Journal. The film presents the Hasenheide park where young, jobless and undocumented black men are dealing with drugs and other illegal activities 85 . In this park, Franz Biberkopf is reborn in Francis B. played by Welket Bungué, a young refugee from Guinea-Bissau. Francis is “ a tainted man, a thief and a pimp in his past life ” , who decides to change his life: “ From now on, I will be good ” 86 . Francis ’ story begins in an immigration camp where he and other Africans work on a construction site until middle-class gangster Reinhold (Albrecht Schuch) shows up looking for men who want to improve their situation. Francis initially refuses, but when he is fired, he has no choice but to turn to Reinhold. His intrepidity and intelligence help him rise in the criminal world where he meets the gangster boss Pums ( Joachim Król), the nightclub owner Eva (Annabelle Mandeng) and falls in love with the sex worker Mieze ( Jella Haase) 87 . Qurbani deals with several issues, although according to Dechant they are not properly elaborated. For example, hypermasculinity is treated only superficially. On the one hand, Francis ’ s recurring erection problems are not properly explained or placed in the plot, and on the other hand, Reinhold ’ s hypersexuality, a trait Qurbani took from the novel, is never properly explored. As for 81 Elsaesser (1996: 229). 82 Elsaesser (1996: 229). 83 Elsaesser (1996: 229). 84 Álvarez Berciano, Rosa (1987). TVE emite ‘ Berlin Alexanderplatz ’ , una serie dirigida por Rainer W. Fassbinder. October. Available under: https: / / elpais.com/ diario/ 1987/ 10/ 17/ radiotv/ 561423603_850215.html. 85 Dechand, Anton (2020). Berlin Film Journal. Berlinale, 2020 Review: Berlin Alexanderplatz. Available under: http: / / berlinfilmjournal.com/ 2020/ 02/ berlinale-2020-review-berlin-alexanderplatz/ 86 Dechand (2020). 87 Dechand (2020). 62 Cristina Zimbroianu <?page no="63"?> homosexuality, there is only one scene that would add an interesting nuance to Franz and Reinhold ’ s friendship. Regarding the immigration theme, Dechant regrets that Qurbani does not expand on it, especially given his own background as an Afghan German. Dechant notes that the film contradicts itself when it talks about the status of an immigrant in Germany, as Franz eventually returns to the same immigrant home to call himself German: “ I am Germany ” 88 . But he is not the German dream, as he mistakenly believes. He is merely Reinhold ’ s tool, his “ gorilla ” . In Dechant ’ s words, he is one of the hundreds of pillars on which the achievements of white Germany rest 89 . Spanish viewers have access to a translated version available on cinemas and on the Internet. It seems that the themes of the novel are applicable to twenty-first century society, for there are still people like Franz who struggle to improve their lives, and there are still people like Reinhold who corrupt those who seek change. In conclusion, Berlin Alexanderplatz was more successful in Spain before the Franco regime because readers had access to Gutierrez Marin ’ s 1932 translation and also to the film, which was released in Spain that same year under the title Hampa. On the other hand, the novel was harshly judged by the censors during the Franco era, who in 1949 rejected the translation and publication as immoral and pornographic. In 1969, publication was approved, but with numerous deletions that rendered the content meaningless. Not even the film shot by Jutzi and released in 1931 was approved, as the General Archive of the Administration has no censorship files on this film. It was only after the Francoist regime that Spanish viewers could see the series released in 1980 and 2020. Thus, if we consider the Franco period, we could conclude that the reception of censorship contributed negatively to the success of Döblin ’ s novel and film in Spain. 88 Dechand (2020). 89 Dechand (2020). Alfred Döblin ’ s Berlin Alexanderplatz in Francoist Spain 63 <?page no="65"?> 2 Expressionism, Cinema, and Music <?page no="67"?> Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg Programmatic music conceived as pure music? Magda Polo Pujadas “ If it is art, it is not for all, and if it is for all, it is not art. ” Arnold Schönberg Introduction The 1920s was a decisive decade for the incorporation of sound and music in the cinema. 1 The Jazz singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland and Gordon Hollingshead, was the first commercial film with synchronized sound 2 , despite the fact that there were many detractors of the incorporation of sound in feature films in a period where silent films were slowly fading 3 . [3] However, this feature film, actually considered a semi-silent film, cannot in the field of music be considered a characteristic sample as the music is not integrated significantly enough into the cinematographic 4 . The first fully sound film was Harry 1 The first score to be composed for the cinema was that of Camille Saint-Säens for L'Assassinat du Duc de Guise (1908), a small film made in France by André Calmettes and Charly LeBargy. 2 This work had been conceived by Samson Raphaelson as a musical for the stage, which premiered in 1925 and was a hit on Broadway. When it was released as a movie, starring Al Jolson (a white actor painted with shoe polish to appear black), it sparked an avalanche of musical comedies. 3 Like Hitchkock himself, who considered silent films pure cinema. 4 From the projections of the Lumière brothers in 1895 onward, music accompanied images in one way or another, either to hide the noise of the projector or to add something else to the narrative, as had happened previously in theatre, opera and dance. Normally, and depending on the budget, it was a piano, an organ or an orchestra that accompanied the projection. The publishers even produced scores that, with the indications of dramatic scenes, tension or mystery helped the musicians to interpret them during the projection <?page no="68"?> Beaumont ’ s The Broadway Melody (1929), which won the Oscar for best picture. At that time, Hollywood was producing a lot of films and consumers around the world were looking forward to the possibilities that this artistic language offered. Musicians were also interested to see how music acquired functions that led it to experiment between the emphasis on reality and the manifestation of emotions. Arnold Schönberg was no stranger to all this, even writing an article in 1940 entitled “ Art and the Moving Pictures ” . In her article “ Arnold Schoenberg and the Cinematic Art ” , Sabine M. Feisst tells us: In the late 1920s and early 1930s Schoenberg enjoyed going to the cinema and appreciated the high entertainment value of American films. He looked forward to the development of the sound film and expected a “ renaissance of the arts. ” He compared feature films to opera and theater performances and demanded from them the highest possible standard. [ … ] In the 1930s and 1940s the American film industry produced over 500 feature films yearly. Because of this, Schoenberg wrote a critical essay in 1940 titled “ Art and the Moving Pictures. ” And despite the different production conditions and the different goal of the motion pictures of that era, he criticized their vulgar and sentimental character, their naive and simplistic screenplays, their realistic backdrops, and their lack of classical music, as well as the uncritical and undemanding attitude of movie audiences. 5 According to Schönberg, 6 hopes that cinema would incorporate music, as if it were an opera-like work of art, were totally dashed by the film industry, this kept him from wanting to compose music for it. It was increasingly conditioned, both by the aformentioned film industry and by an audience thirsty for a show with happy ends and not for a work of art that would renew the meaning of the word, of music, etc 7 .Proposals that Schönberg received to compose for cinema were truncated projects and included that of Irving Thalberg in 1935, after he heard Verklärte Nacht op. 4, Else Lasker-Schüler, Charlotte and William Dieterle, and even Boris Morros, manager of the Paramount Pictures music department. of a film that contained such scenes. The Central European symphonic model prevailed well into the 1950s. 5 Feisst, Sabine M. (1999) “ Arnold Schoenberg and the Cinematic Art ” , The Musical Quarterly, vol. 83, n. 1, 93 - 113, 102. 6 Apparently the composer viewed the film industry -like many of his contemporariesas a means of expression full of possibilities, especially after the birth of sound. Despite considering a large part of the films of the moment as vulgar, conserved a utopian and contradictory idea of cinema, as can be seen in his indications for the projected filming of La mano feliz …” (De Arcos, María (2006). Experimentalism in cinematographic music. Economic Culture Fund: Madrid, 146). 7 Schönberg, Arnold (1984). “ Art and the Moving Pictures ” , in Style and Idea. London: Faber & Faber Limited, 153. 68 Magda Polo Pujadas <?page no="69"?> One of the causes of their frustration was that Schönberg wanted to have maximum control not only of the music he composed but also of the text and the scene in which his music would intervene. Taking all this into account, at the dawn of talkies, Schönberg composed Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 (1929 - 1930). 8 He was commissioned by F. Charles Adler, who was then the director of the Düsseldorf Municipal Opera and who represented the Heinrichshofen publishing house in Magdeburg. This work of an experimental nature, as María de Arcos tells us, had to be composed as if it were intended for the cinema. 9 Schönberg ’ s influence at the time of composing the work was German expressionist cinema. With this in mind, it was no accident that, when Lucas Foss conducted Begleitungsmusik in California in 1979, he projected behind the orchestra a scene from Nosferatu (1922) by FW Murnau and that David Neumeyer did the same by projecting scenes from the Frankenstein films (1931). Der blaue Engel (1930) and The Public Enemy (1931) 10 . Feelings, or the “ inner world ” , are reflected in cinema that forgets the outer and that strives to express the anguish of a society (the German, in the case of German expressionism) 11 that suffered through the First World War. The refuge in remote pasts or in non-existent future realities, the proliferation of extravagant angles and unreal decorations that try to make the viewer feel totally transported to that world of pain, fear, coldness through characters that are half human, half automaton and that move as if they were deformed beings, with large hands and elongated fingers, provoke submission on the part of the viewer in worlds full of shadows and violence. Begleitungsmusik as an experiment For Schönberg, the commission of Begleitungsmusik was, more than anything, a challenge, to demonstrate that music by itself contemplates all expressive possibilities and that it can awaken in us the same sensations that cinemato- 8 This play premiered on November 6, 1930 at the Kroll Oper in Berlin under the direction of Otto Klemperer. Later, it was Nicolas Slonimsky who conducted it at the United States ’ Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl. 9 De Arcos, María (2006). Experimentalism in film music. Economic Culture Fund: Madrid, 145. 10 Neumeyer, David (1993) “ Schoenberg at the Movies: Dodecaphony and Film ” , MTO. Journal of the Society for Music Theory, vol. 0, n. 1. Available under: https: / / mtosmt.org/ issues/ mto.93.0.1/ mto.93.0.1.neumeyer.php (Stand: 11/ 10/ 2021). 11 German Expressionism, the French avant-garde, Soviet schools, Nordic cinema, and critical realism gave cinema value as an artistic expression. The music of the cinema accompanied a period of notable changes in modern and contemporary art. Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg 69 <?page no="70"?> graphic images can. Moreover, Schönberg intended to demonstrate the preeminence of music over other artistic languages - cinematographic being among them - by showing that it contained in it and in the compositional rules that governed it the possibility of manifesting the inner world of the individual, of their pain, their fear and their anguish. Music had to be heard and heard in purely musical terms. In Dahlhaus ’ s words: The title suggests thoughts of film music illustrating situation or series of events. But the “ Film Scene ” to wich it refers to a fiction; the “ Accompaniment ” , which accompanies nothing, is really an autonomous ochestral piece. 12 In fact, Schönberg wanted to relegate plot and images in the production of talkies and to prioritise music, with images painting what the music conveyed. In this regard, we fully understand Dika Newlin ’ s statement that op. 34 “ was not really for the movies, but only symbolically. ” 13 Furthermore, we can appreciate Schönberg ’ s surprise to learn that his music, a few years later, would be brought to the screen, inspiring the films of Jean Marie Straub and Danielle Huillet (Introduction to Arnold Schoenberg ’ s Accompaniament to a Cinematic Scene, a 15-minute short film from 1972) and Axel EA Fuhrmann (Im Traum-verfilmung der Begleitmusik für eine Lichtspielszene op. 34, a 9-minute 30-second short film from 1999). In 1930, when Schönberg composed Begleitungsmusik, the twelve-tone composition method had already been consolidated, having originated in 1914, during World War I. This method verified for him the existence of the crisis that had occurred in tonality and the emancipation of dissonance. It is important to realize that he had long since moved on from the musical expressionism of his early years influenced by the imprint of post-romanticism - and had embraced the path that atonalism had presented to him. Despite going through different compositional stages, pure (or autonomous) music always played a significant role. In fact, it is logical to believe that what motivated Schönberg to compose a sound piece (musical) for silent films was the opportunity to accentuate the pre-eminent role of music, to illustrate that it alone was sufficient to express a whole inner world of emotions and feelings. Moreover, the experiment was offered to filmmakers so that from the music they could conceive a film (although this was not its purpose). The order of the components did not alter the final result, but the work methodology and the leads that guided the production of the film did. What came first: the image or the music? For Schönberg, there was a huge opportunity for his music to inspire 12 Dahlhaus, Carl (1987). Schoenberg and the new music. New York: Cambridge University Press, 102. 13 Newlin, Dika (1980). Schoenberg Remembered. New York: Pendragon, 206. 70 Magda Polo Pujadas <?page no="71"?> the cinematographic language that could in turn inspire cinematographic content. His biggest challenge was to take the music in directions opposite to those that were usual, to show how music could lead the viewer to experience moods and psychological changes that were normally caused by scenes (in their global sense) in films. In this scenario, the experiment consisted of keeping the music in its inner world, despite being associated with psychological states that were outside the music itself. Thus, the most common tactic was to create music to describe, to represent. A motive had to be found in it to reflect the emotions that the music itself had conceived in the score. Atonalism, as pure music, unquestionably sought this effect and fed not on extra-musical elements but rather on itself, while leading to the experience of a whole series of sensations and emotions clearly palpable in the body of the listener. Atonal music allowed an abstract element by lacking fixed tonal centres, creating a feeling of instability and discomfort, which functioned in two dimensions, as pure music and as programmatic music. The abstract character was common in music and the cinema found in the musical codes the best ally for moments of terror, anguish or fear. In the words of Ruyman Martín Quintanal: Being atonalism a compositional model with a great load of abstraction, during the Viennese period it functioned as absolute music and also as programmatic music, that is, it was used in the composition of works that did not allude to external realities, as well as for works that did. They accompanied ideas beyond music. When applied as programmatic music in the cinema, it focused especially on terror and suspense, constituting around it a cinematographic cliché, that is, a predictable code due to its repetition in different feature films. 14 Programmatic music, born in 1848 with the composition of the first symphonic poem by Franz Liszt entitled Ce qu ’ on entend sur la montagne, inspired by a poem by Victor Hugo, represents music that is based on extra-musical elements, be they pictorial, literary, historical, etc. This type of music, developed so that a wider audience could understand the “ content ” of the music, takes on a more visual existence by sticking to and being guided by the narrative or iconic element external to the music itself. For Eisler and Adorno, the music that Schönberg composed and, in general, atonal and dodecatonic music, created the basis for cinema to incorporate new musical resources that had not previously been introduced, as well as giving cinema the artistic merit it deserved. One of the issues discussed in the book that Eisler and Adorno wrote, entitled Composing for the films, is that modern music 14 Martín Quintanal, Ruymán (2020). Hollywood and Vienna: functions and connotations of atonalism in cinema and opera, Communication Magazine, vol.1, n. 18, 85 - 98, 86. Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg 71 <?page no="72"?> was difficult to understand and that this meant that it was considered distant and strange to the ears of the listeners. However, this type of music was very appropriate for the cinema. The traditional music written for such scenes has never been remotely adequate to them, whereas the shocks of modern music, by no means an accidental consequence of its technological rationalization - still unassimilated after thirty years - could meet their requirements. Schönberg ’ s music for an imaginary film, Belgleitmusik zu einer Lichtpielzene, op. 34, full of a sense of fear, of looming danger and catastrophe, is a landmark pointing the way for the full an accurate use of the new musical resources. Naturally the extension of their expressive potentialities is applicable not only to the realm of fear and horror; in the opposite direction, too, that of extreme tenderness, ironic detachment, empty waiting, and unfettered power, the new musical resources can explore themselves as something that has always been known, and therefore are deprived in advance of the power to express the unfamiliar and unexplored 15 . The most difficult music to understand, twelve-tone music, by moving away from the traditional rules of composition, was easier for the listener to engage with if it was music that accompanied the image as opposed to being the centre of the artistic event itself. In the case of Schönberg it is also important to highlight the fact that he was a painter 16 and that the unreal, abstract and colourful flooded his music. Begleitungsmusik was conceived as a psychological film that gradually penetrates the anguish generated by a danger that stalks us more and more intensely and then reaches a sinister calm. What is more, that anguish cannot be represented in a better way than through atonalism and twelve-tone, due to its compositional richness. In Alban Berg ’ s text Why Is Schönberg ’ s Music So Difficult To Understand? , which appeared in the Musikblätter des Anbruch on September 13, 1924, we can see how the great richness of Schönberg ’ s language is the reason for this misunderstanding: Indeed, it will then become apparent that the difficulty of understanding is not caused so much by the so-called “ atonality ” , which has meanwhile become the mode of expression of so many contemporaries, but here too by the other aspects of the structure of Schönberg ’ s music, by the plenitude of artistic means applied here and everywhere in this harmonic style too, by the application of all the compositional possibilities provided by centuries of music, to put it briefly: by its immeasurable richness. 17 15 Adorno, Theodor W. and Eisler, Hanns (1994). Composing for the films. Continuum: London / New York, 24. 16 Schönberg began to paint around 1906 with his well-known “ glances ” , which are used primarily to paint moods. 17 Available under: https: / / kupdf.net/ download/ alban-berg-why-is-schoenbergs-music-sodifficult-to-understand_5 b38 d767 e2b6 f5dc6369dba7_pdf (Stand: 11/ 25/ 2021), 10. 72 Magda Polo Pujadas <?page no="73"?> The richness of Begleitungsmusik music provokes an experience rarely achieved in music which accompanied cinema of the 1920s and 1930s. This experience can be summarized as follows: whoever listens to the work does not feel like a spectator, but rather a protagonist and they feel in their body, in a psychological way, the anguish that danger, fear and catastrophe cause, without having images that condition it but only an ear that is sharpened and that helps to create the images for themselves. Towards an analysis of Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 Begleitungsmusik is a work that is specified, from the outset, as a companion to scenes. It is instrumented by a small orchestral formation very similar to the one that accompanied silent films, with a flute, an oboe, two clarinets, a bassoon, two horns, two trumpets, a trombone, a piano, percussion and strings. The fact that it is a single movement made up of three parts suggests that it is similar to what is understood as a symphonic poem. If we take into account that the symphonic poem is the form par excellence of programmatic music, we can, as aforementioned, conclude that this work is programmatic. However, although it is true that most of Schönberg ’ s works are instrumental music not inspired by external motives, we maintain that, despite having two programmatic works in Verklärte Nacht and Pelleas und Melisande, most of Schönberg's musical works are pure music. The first reason for this is that it was conceived to be interpreted as a concert and the second is that there are no extra-musical factors that condition it; on the contrary, it would respond as an extra-musical factor for a film. It is its own content and it, in fact, could be responsible for inspiring the creation of the scenes with all the elements that are required. If we start from these premises, we must recognize that the main objective of the work is to create extreme anguish in the viewer over something that has no perceptual sources other than the music itself. Therefore, we are talking about an abstract emotion that has materialized in music but that remains without external references that condition it. In other words, the music of Begleitungsmusik invites us to look with our ears to perceive the very same music. This looking with the ears is achieved by Schönberg using a vertebral axis that does not obey any particular emotion but responds to the composition with twelve sounds from a series. This series is based on the twelve-tone series played on the oboe and of which different melodic and harmonic transformations are carried out throughout the piece. Thus, if we can think of something preconceived, we will think of an idea or thought (Gedanke), not a story or a motive external to music. Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg 73 <?page no="74"?> Below we have reproduced the basic oboe set: Fig. 1. Basic oboe set This is the series that provokes anguish in the listener, which develops musically from changes in tempi, from the use of different textures and from creating a similarity between pitches, timbres and rhythms that penetrate throughout the more than eight minutes of its duration. Starting from a dark calm to a dark end, passing through the anxiety of the midpoint, where the climax reflects and transmits a state of extreme emotional instability. The three parts that make up Begleitungsmusik - of which, incidentally, there is no indication of how to go from one part to another - are: “ Threatening danger ” (Drohende Gefähr, bars 1 - 43), “ Fear ” (Angst, measures 44 - 155) and “ Catastrophe ” (Katastrophe, measures 156 - 219). “ Danger threatening ” , with the string tremolos and the beginning of the bassoon, the horn … until we reach the oboe, transports us to a sinister setting using a time that gradually accelerates until ending with sharp, metallic, thunderous chords. This is followed by a waltz, with a clear and continuous melody, which degenerates into a heavy and slow tension. “ Fear ” starts quickly and ends quickly, although it uses a slow time in the middle part, bringing us to a climactic moment in which the anguish is unmistakably perceptible. “ Catastrophe ” causes a strong and dynamic state of anxiety that relaxes at the end, when everything returns to its normal course with as at the beginning of the piece, a slow time. Despite ending like this, it does not provide us with any peace, on the contrary, it keeps us in a state of darkness and disquiet. According to Orit Hilewicz, to achieve these effects, Schönberg uses a whole range of resources that go through structural and textural changes to take us to a world of contrasts and drama. The work itself is the sum of experiments that are utilised in traditional musical resources and forms such as the waltz or the military air, but that Schönberg uses for an uncommon musical purpose, that being to help him enter the world of the sinister, of anguish and fear. Schoenberg approached Begleitungsmusik similarly to his programmatic concert works in thesense that contrasts - both structural and textural - express the program ’ s dramatic elements. Begleitungsmusik ’ s form projects a trajectory from an initial calm state, through a graduallyescalating sense of urgency, to a dynamic and textural climax that is followed by a modified returnto the beginning. However, other features suggest that Schoenberg experimented with expressivestrategies for film music, including 74 Magda Polo Pujadas <?page no="75"?> stinger chords and sudden tempo changes that express fear andalarm, as well as the work ’ s “ popular ” theme and variation form, which allows easy division intocues and allows repeating themes as well as a sense of dramatic development. In addition, thepiece evokes musical topics - particularly the military and the waltz - albeit for a dark andominous effect. 18 By way of conclusion, we would dare to say that Begleitungsmusik is pure music (autonomous or abstract) that has emotional content that appears and refers to the same music. Indeed, it is music that follows the parameters of a music resulting from the acceptance of artistic expressionism and, especially, of the cinematographic one. The programmatic aspect, then, becomes pure. Fig. 2. Begleitungsmusik zur eine Lichtspielscene Score 18 Hilewicz, Orit (2021). “ Schoenberg ’ s Cinematographic Blueprint: A Programmatic Analysis of Begleitungsmusik zueiner Lichtspielscene (1929 - 1930) ” , MTO. Journal of the Society for Music Theory, vol. 27, n. 1. Available under: https: / / mtosmt.org/ issues/ mto.21.27.1/ mto.21.27.1.hilewicz.html (Stand: 11/ 10/ 2021). Begleitungsmusik zu einer Lichtspielscene op. 34 by Arnold Schönberg 75 <?page no="76"?> The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun (Krzysztof Penderecki, 1969) in the film-opera for TV, by Joachim Hess and Rolf Liebermann Jesús Ferrer Cayón Introduction Although the First World War marked the end of the Symbolist and Expressionist styles, it is evident that their resources in no way fell into immediate disuse, as can be seen from the “ expressionist impact ” contained in Bomarzo (1966), by Argentine Alberto Ginastera, and Die Teufel von Loudun (1969), by Polish Krzysztof Penderecki (1933 - 2020); operas whose dramatic forms, on the other hand, are completely conventional 1 . The Devils of Loudun had its world premiere on June 20, 1969 at the Hamburg State Opera, as the opening of the 43rd music festival of the International Society for New Music. Penderecki had received the commission and financial support from the general manager of the Hamburg Opera, the Swiss Rolf Liebermann (1910 - 1999). Just a few weeks after the premiere and “ with a cast lists almost identical to that of the opening night ” , Liebermann also promoted the production of the opera as a television film by the German director Joachim Hess (1925 - 1992), “ a highly experienced producer both of live opera and recordings for television ” 2 . But this expressionism-influenced operatic film, the subject of our analysis, was no exception. 1 Latham, Alison. (2010). Diccionario Enciclopédico de la Música (p. 1109). Fondo de Cultura Económica. 2 Gräve, Kristof D. (2007). Krzysztof Penderecki: The Devils of Loudun, 12 - 13, 17. In J. Hess (Dir.). (1969). Penderecki - The Devils of Loudun. Arthaus Musik. <?page no="77"?> Die Teufel von Loudun (1969), the television and expressionism in the German context During the “ golden age ” of the versatile Liebermann (conductor, composer and music producer) at the head of the Hamburg Opera, that is, between 1959 and 1973, thirteen of his operatic productions were taken to the studios of the NDR (public radio and TV). And there, Hess directed a series of adaptations that, despite being filmed on film, were originally conceived for television. An unusual circumstance, since this type of “ opera filming as a document ” (they took advantage of a production mounted in Theaters) used to have little distribution due to the fact that they were intended to be broadcast in cinemas as “ testimonial documentaries ” . However, after the boom in television opera productions in the preceding decade of the 1950s, the producers of the operatic companies were convinced that, “ with its due transformations, the opera could already begin to break into homes without agitation, but also without showing absolute servility towards television ” 3 . In fact, in 1968, a year before Die Teufel von Loudun, the Hamburg Opera had programmed a double session dedicated to the Italian-American composer Gian-Carlo Menotti: the premiere of Help, Help, the Globolinks! , a lighthearted sci-fi children ’ s opera, and its famous Amahl and the Night Visitors, the first opera composed specifically for television in the United States, where its broadcast, on December 24, 1951 on NBC Studio 8H, it had been a historic success with the public and critics 4 . On the other hand, Hess was convinced that “ his role not as being to faithfully document the individual imprints left by the original directors, but instead to translate them for use in the still relatively unexplored medium of television ” . Indeed, in the specific case of Die Teufel von Loudun, just two days after its disappointing world premiere in Hamburg, an alternative premiere had taken place at the State Theater in Stuttgart. Günther Rennert, “ a director of immense operatic experience and dramatic virtuosity ” , opted for a more stylized and naturalistic staging in order “ to suggest the timeless and universal nature of events arising out of historical conflict ” , as reflected in Penderecki ’ s unique opera; thus managing to play “ a crucial part in rapidly swinging public opinion behind the work and drawing in the audience irresistibly into the action ” . Undoubtedly, a very different approach from the realist-historicist chosen by Konrad Swinarski, stage director in Hamburg, who “ had tried to focus on 3 Radigales, Jaume/ Villanueva Benito, Isabel (2019). Ópera en pantalla. Del cine al streaming. Cátedra, 153. 4 Radigales/ Villanueva (2019: 197 - 198). The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 77 <?page no="78"?> historical accuracy, documentary truth, period authenticity and atmospheric intensity ” , wasting with it “ the very effects Penderecki had sought to put across in his music ” 5 . In this way, Swinarski also ignored the more allegorical than historical purpose with which the composer himself conceived Die Teufel von Loudun: an opera in which the denunciation of political and religious fanaticism stands out above the historical events that occurred in the French provincial town, of the satanic panic unleashed there in those terrible days of 1634 6 . However, the version filmed by Hess was the Swinarski ’ s staging, as stated in its 2007 DVD release: “ This historical studio production (1969) was filmed after the world premiere from the Hamburg State Opera in 1969 ” 7 . At that time, Penderecki was living and working as a renowned contemporary music composer in West Berlin. In that Germanic world, Expressionism was very strong as a sequel to the theater and cinema of the 1920s, and had its most immediate operatic core in the symbolic and allegorical stagings of the Bayreuth of the 50s and 60s. However, the two extremes were also present: neoclassicism and avant-garde languages 8 . These were the two poles between which Penderecki ’ s compositional career would oscillate. In fact, in his first compositions of international projection, Penderecki used experimental textures (superposition of electronic sound volumes, orchestral clusters, etc.) after assimilating in 1960 in Darmstadt the Gruppen-Technik of Karlheinz Stockhausen, especially, “ in the elements that were furthest removed from post- Weberian structural rigor ” 9 . However, the expressionist legacy had already been retaken in the Interwar period through the “ revival of naturalism ” present in Wozzeck (1925) 10 . It was precisely this masterpiece by Alban Berg that was performed at the XVII Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1964) along with other examples of expressionist operas and ballet such as: Richard Strauss ’ Salome (1905); Ferruccio Busoni ’ s Doktor Faust (1924); Bela Bartók ’ s The Miraculous Mandarin (1926); Dmitry Shostakovich ’ s The Nose (1928); Erwartung (1909) and Die glückliche Hand (1913), by Arnold Schoenberg, of whom only the character 5 Gräve (2007: 12 - 13, 17). 6 Boniecki, Edward. (1999). Penderecki ’ s The Devils of Loudun and the Case of Urbain Grandier. In: T. Ma ł ecka (Ed.), Krzysztof Penderecki ’ s Music in the Context of the 20th- Century Theatre. Akademia Muzyczna, 78. 7 Gräve (2007: 5). 8 Fraga, Fernando/ Matamoro, Blas. (1997). La ópera. Acento, 94 - 99. 9 Lanza, Andrea. (1986). El siglo XX. Vol. III. Turner, 132. 10 Paradigmatic avant-garde opera with a “ shocking unison on the note B which is probably the most famous expressionist crescendo in the history of music ” . Latham (2010: 1109). 78 Jesús Ferrer Cayón <?page no="79"?> of his preserial or atonal period can be strictly qualified as expressionist, as Luigi Rognoni points out in Espressionismo e dodecafonia (Einaudi, 1954) 11 . Due to the affinity with the truculent themes that had characterized Expressionism, it is also worth noting the extraordinary attention given in the 1960s to the phenomenon of demonic possessions in Loudun. Not surprisingly, two works saw the light with great success in 1961: Matka Joanna od Anio ł ów (better known as Mother Joan of the Angels or The Devil and the Nun), the horror film by Polish director Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on the novel Matk ę Joann ę od Anio ł ów (1943), by Jaros ł aw Iwaszkiewicz, and awarded the Special Prize of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival; and The Devils, the theatrical adaptation made by John Whiting and based on the non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun (1952), by Aldous Huxley, which had been performed in many countries after its premiere at the Aldwych Theater in London. A cycle of adaptations to various genres that would be completed in 1969 with the premieres of Penderecki ’ s opera and of Hess ’ version filmed for television, as well as by The Devils (1971), Ken Russell ’ s highly controversial film melodrama. Without forgetting the publication in 1970 of The possession at Loudun, Michel de Certeau ’ s psychiatric study-essay, a renowned Jesuit historian, follower of Jacques Lacan and co-founder of the Freudian School of Paris. Finally, it is very important to mention Liebermann and Hess ’ s interest in expressionism, because the opera filmed for television in 1970 was Wozzeck and, according to the music critic Raymond Tuttle: In contrast to The Devils of Loudun, much of it was filmed outdoors, in and around the grounds of an old German castle. [ … ]. Hess ’ s eye for composition is superb, at times seemingly influenced by the German Expressionist directors 12 . In fact, it is very likely that the expressionist character of certain operas, such as those mentioned by Berg and Penderecki, justifies their greater adaptation to the film medium for the reasons that will be explained in this work below. Not in vain, the film director William Friedkin decided to include several of the Polish composer ’ s works (including The Devils of Loudun) in his new film, The Exorcist (1973). 11 Mitchell, Donald. (2021). El lenguaje de la música moderna. Acantilado, 191 - 192. Despite the “ astonishing audacity ” of atonality, it was “ unquestionable also its impossibility of articulating itself as an institution (and hence the need to create twelve tones) ” . Téllez, José Luis. (2019). Musica reservata y otros escritos musicales. Fórcola, 363. 12 Tuttle, Richard. (2007). 20th-Century Opera: Berg/ Penderecki-Wozzeck/ Devils of Loudun. Classical Net. Available under: http: / / www.classical.net/ music/ recs/ reviews/ a/ arh01279dvda.php. The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 79 <?page no="80"?> Penderecki ’ s atmospheric expressionism of contrasts and textures, in Hess ’ s film-opera Die Teufel von Loudun is divided into three short acts and thirty-two scenes. Penderecki wrote his own German libretto based on Fried ’ s translation of The Devils (1961), Whiting ’ s stage adaptation of Huxley ’ s non-fiction novel The Devils of Loudun (1952) 13 . In 2013, when the composer visited Copenhagen for the premier of his avant-garde opera, declared: [ … ] I growed a very catholic family in a small city in southeast Poland. Well, actually, the criticism against the Church was not only not allowed, but didn ’ t exist at all. You knew it was dogma and, after this book [Huxley] actually, which opened my eyes, I changed, and living in a very catholic Poland, which is maybe ninety percent, they said ninety-five percent -I don ’ t believe me, but it is really something like that-, I wanted to write the piece, which is told in the truth 14 . However, despite the musical avant-gardism of the score, Penderecki adhered to the formal dramatic conventionality typical of the operatic genre, that is, “ the need to reduce the plot to a scheme and the suppression of some characters with a view to the greatest conciseness and the most diaphanous narrative clarity ” 15 . The argument is about the tragic event that occurred in 1634 in the French provincial town of Loudun, where the torture, trial and sentence to death at the stake took place, of the vicar of the church of San Pedro, the handsome priest Urbain Grandier; accused of to miss his vow of chastity and, above all, to demonize the nuns of the Cloister of the Ursulines, whose prioress, Sister Jeanne, felt an unrequited love for Grandier, who had rejected the proposal to be her confessor. Despite this, the accusations were determined by a background of political intrigues that occurred due to the opposition of Father Grandier to the decree of demolition of the fortifications of Loudun. This decree had signed by King Louis XIII at the request of Cardinal Richelieu, who was worried about counteracting to the Huguenots (the French Protestants of Calvinist doctrine which had been gaining power and influence in the interior of many cities, since the approval in 1598 of the Edict of Nantes). 13 O ’ Loughlin, Niall. (2015). Characterization in the Operas of Penderecki. Musicological Annual, 51(2), 127 - 137. Available under: https: / / doi.org/ 10.4312/ mz.51.2. 14 Kogi, Martin/ Wagner, Marc Christoph (2013). Krzysztof Penderecki. Turning History into Avant-garde (Interview). Louisiana Channel. Available under: https: / / channel.louisiana. dk/ video/ krzysztof-penderecki-turning-history-avant-garde. 15 Franco, Enrique. (1976). Los demonios de Loudun. El País. Available under: https: / / elpais. com/ diario/ 1976/ 05/ 05/ cultura/ 200095212_850215.html 80 Jesús Ferrer Cayón <?page no="81"?> Fig. 3. Urban Grandier at the bonfire (final scene of The Devils of Loudun) The brevity of its three acts and the plot condensation of the libretto conceived by Penderecki allowed him to give his opera a greater dramatic intensity, thanks to the agility with which the scenes followed one another in this way. Undoubtedly, a quasi-cinematographic quality that was greatly exploited by Hess in his film, through effects such as: cross-cutting, or the superposition of temporarily simultaneous scenes (in the second act, during the exorcism practiced on Sister Jeanne by Father Mignon, confessor of the convent, we see how they both imagine the orgy described by her: together with the other nuns, she enjoyed sexual relations with Father Grandier and six religious brought by him to the convent); and flashforward, or the overlapping of temporarily asynchronous scenes (at the beginning, as a result of a vision of Jeanne while she is praying and masturbating with Grandier ’ s fantasies, we see a part of the last scene of the film, that is, the execution of the priest) 16 . These effects were often used in expressionist cinema. By creating a strong dichotomy between two simultaneous actions and encouraging the viewer to compare the two takes or scenes, a contrast was produced by which a strong emotional effect was achieved on the viewers, often at a critical moment in the movie 17 . In fact, the movement between two extremes or contrasts was the technique most used to reflect the “ volatile mental states ” that characterized the characters in 16 Astorga Sepúlveda, Cristóbal. (2007). [DVD] Los Demonios de Loudun de Krzysztof Penderecki: Demonios históricos. Tiempo de Música. Available under: http: / / www. tiempodemusica.com.ar/ noticia/ noticia.ver.php? idpost=305&idpagina=58. 17 For example, in Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927), specifically, the sequence of the telephone with two simultaneous images: the image of the phone call as well as the image of the television screen incorporated into said telephone. Patalas, E. (Director). (2002). Der Fall Metropolis (The Metropolis Case) [Extra documentary]. In Lang, F. (Director) (2020) Metrópolis [2DVD Film originally recorded in 1927]. Divisa Home Video. The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 81 <?page no="82"?> expressionist operas to the detriment of action, as evidenced in Erwartung (1909), of Schoenberg: a monodrama that should be considered as “ the purest and most intense manifestation of expressionism ” , since, having only one protagonist, the composer could “ ignore the characterization to concentrate his attention on detailing every delusional moment of anxiety, hope, joy and repentance of this woman, looking for a forest for her lover ” 18 . A characteristic that, bridging the gap, is also present in Die Teufel von Loudun, because Sister Jeanne, the protagonist, suffers from an unstable mental state: she oscillates until the confusion between religiosity and her erotic neuroses, in addition to feeling possessed by the devils. This variable human psyche was portrayed musically speaking by Penderecki, by contrasting Sister Jeanne ’ s two types of singing: the intimate singing for herself and tonally centered, in the moments of mysticism; and the exaggerated singing for others and extreme tessitura, in the moments in which she manifests her unsatisfied sexual obsession with Father Grandier. As different vocal styles are also those that Penderecki composed to illustrate the antagonistic moral, mental and emotional states, that the protagonist couple goes through: on the one hand, Grandier ’ s sobriety and correctness was marked by a fluent recitative style, with intonation of speech and subdued expression; on the other hand, Jeanne ’ s hysteria and falsehood was characterized by a pointillist style dotted with jumps, drastic dynamic changes and glissandos, without forgetting that demonic possession is underlined by the use of specific resources, such as laughter, moans and even electronic distortion of your voice 19 . A set of musical resources that were enhanced by the cinematographic conception of Hess, who, at the end of the second Act, again uses the effect of cross-cutting, by merging the simultaneous scenes of the arrest of Father Grandier and that of the recovery of the Sister Jeanne ’ s sanity. This scenes happen just when, after completing the exorcisms, she is aware and even feels fear about the fatal outcome that awaits Grandier due to her false accusation and the of the other nuns, who also falsely admitted having had relationships sex with Grandier. Furthermore, as had been characteristic of German expressionist films, in which the Kammerspielfilm or chamber film had been one of its two basic formats, all these scenes about the fickleness of the mental states of the characters were enhanced by the abundant use of close-ups of the singers, as well as by the movement of the cameras around the soloists; but never panoramic views. In this way, it can be said that Hess made Penderecki ’ s 18 Latham (2010: 1108). 19 Helman, Zofia. (1999). The Devils of Loudun by Krzysztof Penderecki: Genre, Form, and Style. In T. Malecka, 85 - 86. 82 Jesús Ferrer Cayón <?page no="83"?> opera more viable for viewing at home as a film, rather than just filming a real theatrical performance with still shots and its consequent stillness. Therefore, “ more than adding to the score or serving as an adornment of it ” , according to James L. Zychowicz, “ the cinematic elements are integral to Hess ’ s film of Penderecki ’ s opera ” 20 . In fact, already in Robert Wiene ’ s Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920), when filming the mind of a madman, his distorted vision of reality allowed great visual freedom and added to the narrative dimensions of cinema its ability to explore a field that had been resisting it, that of subjectivity, deploying his efforts on the self like a battlefield 21 . Another contrast is the different types of instrumental scriptures composed by Penderecki, depending on the type of scene or action to be illustrated. For this reason, chamber music is used in comic and grotesque scenes, which are usually characterized by pointillist textures and discontinuous motifs. A good example of the application of these resources is found in the grotesque musical portraits that Penderecki made of the apothecary - Adam - and the surgeon - Mannoury - ; two secondary but fundamental characters in the conspiracy hatched to sink and eliminate Father Grandier. In fact, expressionism served painters and composers to sublimate, in a twisted, subjective and grotesque way, the violence of the world and the crisis of a neurotic society like that of the first third of the 20th century. In the case of opera, Shostakovich had masterfully portrayed the sardonic element as a counterpoint to the drama contained in his opera The Nose (1928). On the other hand, orchestral or symphonic music of Die Teufel von Loudun, performed by a large orchestra of up to a hundred musicians, is used in dramatic scenes, which are characterized by thick, chaotic textures and dark tone colors 22 . In addition, as Zychowicz specifies, “ the orchestral accompaniment not only supports the vocal lines of the libretto but also serves as a kind of commentary on it ” . In fact, in a sense, it can be said that “ Penederecki ’ s conception of the orchestra resembles the one that Poulenc used a decade earlier in Dialogues des Carmélites (1957), where the orchestra sometimes resembles a soundtrack for the action on stage ” 23 . This similarity to a soundtrack of the music composed by Penderecki, reinforces the idea defended here: the expressionist opera, given its intrinsic characteristics, finds its maximum expression in the cinematographic medium because it tries to define the concept of the moving image; thus managing to 20 Zychowicz, James L. (2007). Penderecki: Die Teufel von Loudon. Opera Today. Available under: https: / / operatoday.com/ 2007/ 09/ penderecki_die_teufel_von_loudon/ . 21 Sánchez Vidal, Agustín (1997). Historia del cine. Historia 16, 17. 22 Hatten, Robert. S. (1999). Penderecki ’ s Operas in the Context of the Twentieth-Century Opera. In: Malecka, 21. 23 Zychowicz (2007). The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 83 <?page no="84"?> make visible with greater expressive force the representation of the volatility of the moods and mental states characteristic of expressionism, which belong to the interior of the human psyche. Not surprisingly, in Die Teufel von Loudun, Penderecki managed to reflect the various mental states of the characters in different social environments. To do this, musically speaking, he used a series of techniques of texture and enveloping sound, which gave his opera an atmospheric quality, in which the contrasts were obtained through the opposite use of different sound effects (screams, laughter, whispers and shouting violent) and tones at the extremes of the dynamic ranges of the instruments; in addition to other resources such as group glissandos, microtonal clusters, extended instrumental techniques and percussion effects, pointillist style and a continuous electric bass. In Hess ’ film version, this atmospheric quality (common to the gloomy and oppressive environments characteristic of expressionist cinema) has its correlate in the suffocating and claustrophobic atmosphere (almost completely absent from daylight), in which not once does it seem that the action takes place on an operatic stage; almost as if it seems that we are already in hell. An aspect that reinforces the feeling of tension and oppression resulting from Penderecki ’ s music. In fact, not coincidentally, a critic who had attended the Hamburg world premiere wrote that “ the various sound effects [ … ], great glissandos in the orchestra, [ … ], were simply used to produce atmosphere instead to create a dramatic effect ” 24 . However, the person who appreciated the atmospheric expressionism of Penderecki ’ s opera was Frank Zappa in a report and interview by Mick Farren for the British music magazine Let It Rock (26 April 1975). Zappa highlighted the excellence drama of the opera as a whole, and noted the scene of the enema exorcism from Act II as his favorite because: [ … ] Tatiana Troyanos who plays the main nun [ Jeanne] sounds absolutely marvellous during the enema scene. The story is about a hunch-backed nun who ’ s possessed by the Devil and has to have an exorcism. The exorcism involves the nun being given a hot herbal enema. In live performance the exorcism takes place behind a screen and you hear Tatiana singing and screeching whilst an orchestra plays enema music. You also hear the Devil chuckling from inside the nun ’ s bowel 25 . 24 Stuckenschmidt, Hans H. (1960). Die Teufel von Loudun in Hamburg. Uraufführung von Pendereckis erster Oper. Melos, 36(7/ 8), 322 - 25, In: Bylander, Cindy. (2004). Krzysztof Penderecki: a Bio-Bibliography. Praeger Publishers, 252. 25 Hall, Oliver. (2018). Penderecki ’ s The Devils of Loudun is the sleaziest, most depraved opera you ’ ll ever see. Dangerous Mind. Available under https: / / dangerousminds.net/ comments/ pendereckis_the_devils_of_loudun. 84 Jesús Ferrer Cayón <?page no="85"?> Fig. 4. Siste Jeanne (enema exorcism scene) This reflection by Zappa reminds the answer made by Berg to the survey opened (by the Neue Musikzeitung in 1928) about the problem of opera, when the composer specified his objective with Wozzeck: [ … ] I had no other intention (even from the technical point of view of composition) than to give the theater what is of the theater, that is, to articulate the music in such a way that it was aware at all times of its duty to serve the drama; moreover, that the music were capable of expressing in itself, everything that the drama needs to become a reality on stage; thus imposing on the composer the essential obligations of the ideal stage director, [ … ] 26 . A scene, that of the exorcism by enema, which, like the opera as a whole, refers us to “ the conspicuous concern for violence, for grotesque, pathological and nightmarish events ” , that characterized the expressionist style. In this operas, the marginality of the main female characters always occupied a central place, since they were beings of flesh and blood that, within their terrible social environment, distinguished themselves to the point of representing a presocial aspect 27 . In this regard, mention should be made of the female protagonist of the monodrama Erwartung (Arnold Schoenberg, 1909), as well as Judith from Bluebeard ’ s Castle (Béla Bartók, 1911), Marie from Wozzeck (Alban Berg, 1925) and Lulu from the homonymous Berg ’ s opera, premiered in 1937 28 . With regard 26 Salvetti, Guido (1986). El siglo XX. Vol 1. Turner: 188. 27 Mitchell (2021: 196 - 197). 28 A circumstance that can be extended to the cinema of the Neue Sachlichkeit or New Objectivity (label created in 1924 by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub), which rejected expressionist subjectivism to portray the crude street realism of a Germany punished The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 85 <?page no="86"?> to Die Teufel von Loudun, Jeanne ’ s estrangement from society and her marginal status were marked by three elements: her status as prioress of a cloistered convent of Ursuline nuns; her hump, the physical deformity that she suffered from it on her back, which made it very difficult for her to be attractive to the handsome Father Grandier; and ultimately, the demonic possession or altered state of mind that led to her obsession, anxiety, and frustration. A tendency to focus attention on the figure of Sister Jeanne, which the Mexican composer Francisco Ibarra Groth took into consideration in Madre Juana (1986), his opera premiered in 1993 at the Juan Ruiz de Alarcón Theater of the UNAM, in the city of México, with a plot inspired by the novel of Huxley and the film, Mother Joan of the Angels, by Kawalerowicz, based on the Iwaszkiewicz ’ s novel. According to Ibarra: the challenge and merit of this score lie in its exposing and developing (in the dramatic text as much as the music) the idea of a rarified space filled with oppressive trauma, where demonic possession and its consequences occur in the cloistered ambiance of convent life 29 . Conclusion Expressionism was a liberating art of painful and traumatic emotions that very soon resulted in multiple styles closely linked to the own personality of its artists, which established peculiar intersections with a sound world loaded with dissonances that enveloped the listener in a peculiar way. In Die Teufel von Loudun, Penderecki conceived an atmospheric expressionism (based on the effect produced by the contrasts between different types of instrumental writing and antagonistic vocal styles) in order to give a dramatic effect to this allegory of violence and of neurotic societies and promoters of political and religious fanaticism. In this way, Penderecki freed himself of the oppression exerted on Poland by the Soviet communist regime and the Catholic Church, by reflecting the different mental states that the unstable psyche of the characters goes through when operating in different oppressive social environments. Deepining into this same line, Hess, influenced by the German Expressionist directors, through an imaginative use of the visual effects (cross-cutting, flashforward, kammerspielfilm or chamber film) managed to capture more dramatically the tension, terror and truculence contained in Penderecki ’ s singular opera, in by inflation, where women often had to prostitute themselves in order to survive. Sánchez Vidal (1997: 77). 29 Ibarra, Federico. (1993). Madre Juana (1986). Available under http: / / federicoibarra.com/ operaandballet.html. 86 Jesús Ferrer Cayón <?page no="87"?> which political intrigue (conspiracy, accusation, torture or murder) and religious fanaticism (visions, exorcisms, Inquisition and auto of faith) are presented as instruments of social annihilation of peoples, in clear critical allusion to European totalitarianisms. Finally, the agility of the quasi-cinematic succession of the scenes, as well as the similarity to a soundtrack of the score written by Penderecki, reinforces the idea that the expressionist opera, due to its intrinsic characteristics, found its maximum expression in the cinematographic medium. In fact, for the German expressionists of the Interwar period, cinema was called to break the existing barrier between the elitist cultural avant-gardes and the mass commercial culture. Therefore, it seems that the film-opera Die Teufel von Loudun fulfilled this function, taking from the minority theaters to the generalist television audience this expressionist opera composed by Penderecki, surely the most popular avant-garde composer of the second half 20th century. Not in vain, he said in an interview posted in 2015: “ Music in the ‘ 50s isolated itself from popular music and then slowly, step by step, I think it might have begun in films, it started coming back ” 30 . An art form - the cinematographic - whose images had a strong influence on the conception that most of the people have of the expressionist movement; although, as Mitchell said in 1966, we should not “ fall into the trap of thinking that each Expressionist emerges well equipped from the famous cabinet of Dr. Caligari ” 31 . 30 Lewis, Daniel. (2020). Krzysztof Penderecki, Polish Composer With Cinematic Flair, Dies at 86. The New York Times. Available under: https: / / www.nytimes.com/ 2020/ 03/ 29/ arts/ music/ krzysztof-penderecki-dead.html. 31 Mitchell (2021: 197). The “ expressionist impact ” of Die Teufel von Loudun 87 <?page no="89"?> 3 Expressionism in Audiovisual Media <?page no="91"?> Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal María Carmen Gómez-Pérez Introduction From the point of view of film history and audiovisual translation, 1929 is a year considered a testing ground for the technical possibilities offered by the transition from silent to sound films 1 . The three modes of audiovisual translation being tested at the time were: subtitling, dubbing and double or multilingual versions. When Josef von Sternberg accepted in that year UFA Studios ’ proposal to film the first sound movie in German cinematography, Der blaue Engel (Von Sternberg, 1930), he opted for the double version mode and made a film that would later be considered pioneering in many aspects, both technical and artistic, by scholars from different disciplines. In this article, the aim is to highlight what makes up the central idea of Von Sternberg ’ s approach: to build his proposal for a sound film on the expressionist inheritance received from the silent movies of the golden age of Weimar cinema. Among the pioneering technical aspects, it is worth mentioning that von Sternberg opted for a double or multilingual production system for his project, as we have already mentioned above, that is, he shot the film simultaneously, with the same actors, in German and in English. Der blaue Engel and its English counterpart The Blue Angel thus became the first double version of German talking films, so called “ talkies ” . Another pioneering aspect of this film is that the English version was also the first German film to be a heterolingual version, that is to say, that there were two languages spoken, in this case English and German, the latter in a very significant proportion 2 . These notes on the linguistic planning of this film are of interest because they show the international scope of the project and, with it, point to the intention of its director to promote the artistic proposals presented in it. Der blaue Engel is not strictly considered an 1 Chaume, Frederic (2004). Cine y Traducción. Madrid: Cátedra, 120. 2 Gómez-Pérez, M.ª Carmen (2022). Heterolingualism in multilingual versions of classic cinema: the case of Der blaue Engel. (In press). <?page no="92"?> expressionist film, but rather it is usually framed within New Sobriety 3 . However, by studying in detail central aspects of this project such as the commission, the premise, the controlling idea and the iconographic code, as will be developed in this article, it will become apparent that there is a clear intention to put more value on the heritage of the classic Weimar film era (1919 - 1933), the greatest exponent of film expressionism, and to continue competing with it on the international scene. The commission and the initial approach As Brockmann 4 points out at the end of the 1920 ’ s, Berlin did not want to lag behind the production centre of Hollywood and sought to regain the prestige it had enjoyed throughout that decade. This is the specific context in which the UFA Studios wanted to demonstrate that they were capable of living up to the artistic possibilities offered by the transition from silent films to talking films, both in Germany and internationally. Erich Pommer, one of the emblematic producers of cult films of German expressionist cinema with such outstanding titles as Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, (Wiene, 1920), Der letzte Mann (Murnau, 1924) and Metropolis (Lang, 1927), was at the head of this production of Der blaue Engel, in which no promotional efforts were to be spared in the aforementioned sense. Pommer chose Josef von Sternberg as the filmmaker in charge of this project and with him the scriptwriters, musicians, and actors, from among the outstanding artists in theatre and silent films. The choice of Von Sternberg as director seems to have been influenced by his Austrian origins; he was considered an experienced director with the bilingual and bicultural competence necessary to meet the challenge 5 . Von Sternberg himself recounts in his memoirs that, in addition to Pommer ’ s criteria, the preference of Emil Jannings, the leading actor in Der blaue Engel, was also taken into account: Jannings had worked under Von Sternberg ’ s direction in the silent film The Last Command (Von Sternberg, 1928) and his performance won him the first Oscar for a leading actor. Von Sternberg was responsible for the choice of subject matter and the direction of all technical and acting aspects in the two 3 Brockmann, Stephen (2010). A critical history of German Film. New York: Cadmen House, 104. 4 Brockmann (2010: 106). 5 Von Sternberg, Josef (1965). Fun in a Chinese Laundry. San Francisco: Mercury House, 9. Von Sternberg ’ s first stay in the U. S. was from the age of 7 to 10. He then returned to Vienna. He lived there until the age of 14, after which he moved back to the United States for good. 92 María Carmen Gómez-Pérez <?page no="93"?> versions of his film. 6 After rejecting several titles, the director himself tells us in his memoirs that he was interested in the novel Professor Unrat (1905), by Heinrich Mann, because “ it narrated the end of a tyrant ” : he was interested in reflecting on the way in which a conceited and emotionally clumsy human being embarks on a journey into the unknown to finally end up in nothingness. 7 Von Sternberg starts from the following premise or precursor idea, shared with Mann ’ s novel 8 : what happens if a tyrannical and resentful human being enters a world of vital emotions hitherto unknown to him. It also shares with the literary work the guiding or controlling idea, that is, the common thread that encompasses the theme and defines it: to show the moral and vital collapse of a man, and what it represents, before a panorama of mirages, which he does not understand and continually misinterprets. Through the character of Professor Rath, Von Sternberg stated that his intention was not to criticize the German education system, nor to warn about the Nazi rise to power; however, he was aware that he was making visual poetry with the specific environment of a particular time; he was capturing in images the oceanic waves that he perceived in Berlin in 1929. It is worth quoting a large passage of his memoirs here, because it expresses a central aspect of the message of the film and that connects aspects widely represented by Expressionism: My ocean was Berlin in the fall of 1929. The war that had ended eleven years before had left the capital of a once proud Germany physically intact. Other things had happened that proved as destructive and more so than if the city had been turned into rubble -something the next war was to accomplish. When I arrived, Berlin had barely recovered from unheavals that its people should have remembered. [ … ] A people once strong and arrogant had been leveled to animals foraging for food. All normal values had become obsolete. [ … ] This ocean was seething when I was called to explore it. [ … ] To quote Erich Kästner ’ s popular poem, it began with the devastating “ In the place where others have a soul, she had a hole ” . 9 His multilingual work was thus intended to be a visual poem of this perception that shares the motifs that had inspired earlier German Expressionist cinema: chaos, confusion, social humiliation, (self-)destruction, distortion of reality and 6 Von Sternberg (1965: 135). 7 Von Sternberg (1965: 136). 8 Fortea, Carlos/ Gómez-Pérez, Mª. Carmen (2020). Literary text analysis as a translation tool: in the footsteps of Pilar Elena. Granada: Comares, 29 - 41. The interest aroused by the remastering of this filmic work has already given rise to intersemiotic studies that address the translation of the linguistic code of the script into the iconographic code of this filmic work and its relationship with the literary work from which it comes. 9 Von Sternberg (1965: 227). Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal 93 <?page no="94"?> loss of authority, among other features. These motifs were the same ones that had characterized both the artistic vision of the Expressionist movement and the mise-en-scène of some of the cult titles of German Expressionist cinema. The following sections will focus precisely on the expressionist legacy echoed by Von Sternberg with respect to the precursor idea, the controlling idea and the iconographic code. The Expressionist Legacy in the Precursor Idea As noted above, and in the words of its director, Der blaue Engel starts from the hypothesis or precursor idea of exploring what happens to a conceited and emotionally clumsy man who embarks on a journey into the unknown. Von Sternberg wants us to accompany the main character on his journey into the moral descent of an arrogant, tyrannical man into nothingness. The theme of individual and social male humiliation in Expressionist cinema is not exactly new; it is shared by earlier films such as Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari and Der Letzte Mann and will continue to appear in later films, as Brockmann notes. 10 Von Sternberg uses the first few minutes of the film to introduce us to the male character, Professor Rath, who is the protagonist of the plot precisely from this perspective. Rath is an old-fashioned-looking professor who displays a tyrannical and clumsy attitude and is obsessed with exercising his despotic, authoritarian force to hide his fears and desires. This attitude earns him the nickname Unrath. Rath, in fact, refers in German, to “ advice ” , “ counselor ” and it is interesting to note that etymologically it also means “ Mittel, die für den Lebensunterhalt notwendig sind ” . 11 That is, he who has Rat, possesses the resources necessary for living. In contrast, Unrat precisely means the lack of these resources, which is precisely the meaning of “ garbage ” , “ rottenness ” , given by the lack of or the impotence to get hold of the necessary means for life to prosper. Thus, a person lacking Rat is a powerless, helpless, disoriented, confused, ratlos, and clumsy person. From the character ’ s introduction to the end of the film, Von Sternberg plans the scenes so that these characteristics are highlighted. It is very interesting to see how the director presents this characterization to us visually through wordplay. The opening bars of the film are devoted to observing the professor ’ s living environment in order to anchor the connotations of the nickname Unrat to the main character. The sequence that runs from the seventh to the fifteenth minute takes place in the 10 Brockmann (2010: 46). 11 Duden (2001, 653). 94 María Carmen Gómez-Pérez <?page no="95"?> classroom, a key scene to complete with unequivocal data the characterization of the protagonist. A general shot presents us with the routine of what happens in the school. A group of students seems to be interested in a shared secret -a postcard of the cabaret performer Lola Lola. At that moment, one of the students breaks away from the group and heads towards the teacher ’ s desk; on a notebook, on which we can read the name of the teacher Rath, he draws a caricature and prefixes it with the prefix Un. In this way, as if it were an intertitle, the spectators are presented with the mockery of the professor ’ s authority, now transformed into Unrath. Von Sternberg resorts to visual Esperanto to anchor the moral rottenness and emotional inadequacy that characterizes the protagonist. In his mannerisms and gestures, we can observe the tyrant in action with his attempts at domination. Rath is a hypocrite who punishes the students for their sexual attraction to Lola, but when he is alone, he contemplates the postcard himself and revels in it. Soon it is he who decides to go and meet the cabaret performer by going to Der blaue Engel, the variety venue where Lola Lola performs. This is the character that we see going down and into the dark and motley streets of the city to embark on his journey into the unknown, almost “ wie in einen Abgrund ” 12 , like someone who throws himself into the abyss. The Expressionist Legacy in the Controlling Idea: The Blue of the Angel The idea of “ blue ” in this work represents an essential mechanism of semantic recurrence in the construction of the filmic text: it is a resource that confers coherence and cohesion to both the auditory and iconographic codes. Von Sternberg conveys the concept of blue through a careful audiovisual recurrence: in the linguistic code, through lexical and/ or conceptual repetitions, in the iconographic code, through the continuous presence of the Der blaue Engel poster in numerous sequences of the film and, finally, in the acoustic code through the soundtrack. 13 In the literary work on which the film is based, the first time Heinrich Mann refers to Der blaue Engel is at the end of Chapter III. Unrat, who had been looking for Der blaue Engel venue, identifies the place when he hears talk of drunkenness; two dock workers speak of “ hitting the flask ” , (translated from duhn supen 12 Mann, Heinrich (1905). Professor Unrat oder das Ende eines Tyranns. Leipzig: Kurt Wolff Verlag, 19. 13 Fortea/ Gómez-Pérez (2020: 38). Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal 95 <?page no="96"?> in the original text), 14 and Unrat immediately recalls hearing that colloquial expression during that very day. He follows these two characters who clearly intend to get drunk and discovers, at last, the place he was after. The symbolic meaning of blue in German is presented to us here in association with a concrete image of drunkenness, reminiscent of the expression, also colloquial, which uses this adjective in blau sein, “ to be drunk ” , “ to be as drunk as a skunk ” . Der blaue Engel is the place where one manages to let one ’ s senses be dulled. The path that Unrat takes to find the “ place of entertainment ” refers to another expression related to the blue: ins Blaue fahren, to embark on a journey into the uncertain, into the unknown. Blue symbolizes the distant, the uncertain, the confused, the unclear; and he who does not know where he is going fährt ins Blaue hinein, he is heading towards the blue. When the professor arrives at the place, he finds himself, as Mann ’ s work pictures it, 15 stunned by the din and blinded by the burning fumes that clouded his glasses. It is a place where an increasingly thick smoke predominates, full of uncertain expressions. It is an atmosphere which is masterfully translated into images by the filmmaker. Once in the venue, the cabaret performer who attracts all the attention and the one who is on the posters announcing the show is Lola Lola. In Mann ’ s work, it is she who personifies the angel: she is the artist Rosa Fröhlich and it is she who dresses in blue silk. Lola Lola is an unsophisticated character and her mannerisms are not refined either. Von Sternberg introduces us to this character by translating Mann ’ s words into images: he presents her to us as a frivolous and provocative artist who, nevertheless, from the very first moment dazzles Professor Rath and exercises a disconcerting power over him. Associating the angel with the blue once again brings us back to a well-known German expression: das Blaue von Himmel herunterlügen, “ to tell lies ” . This is the angel acting in “ the blue ” , in a space that can easily be associated with confusion, with falsehood, with stories that have no basis in reality. The veil of blue that runs through the work, not in vain, gives the film its title, and serves as a warning: one can embark towards the unattainable and find oneself in front of the projection of one ’ s own desires, in front of a mirage. In order to highlight the importance of “ blue ” , Von Sternberg decides to start the film narrative with exteriors of the city where the events take place, and he creates an internal mechanism of precise reiteration that begins with a close-up of the poster of the artist Lola Lola. From here on, this poster will be present in numerous sequences of the film, reminding us of her presence. The action begins by presenting us with a working-class neighbourhood in a port city, with houses with sloping 14 Mann (1905: 18). 15 Mann (1905: 19). 96 María Carmen Gómez-Pérez <?page no="97"?> roofs that could be the opening shot of any expressionist film. Shortly thereafter, we are shown a close-up of a poster of Lola Lola, depicting the scantily clad artist with long bare legs. A cherub clings to one of them. A cleaning woman grotesquely imitates the artist ’ s pose and gives us a clear clue as to the nature of the artist: she is a rather vulgar attraction that contrasts with the fantasy she provokes in Professor Rath. Professor Rath ’ s search for Der blaue Engel is full of insinuations that remind him that he is entering uncharted territory. From minute 16 onwards, we see him leave the safety of his realm of power and traverse the winding, dark streets that lead towards the object of his desire. Here again, this venture through the narrow, dark streets harkens back to the familiar images in silent expressionist films: they become visual reminders. Rath will pass by the Lola Lola sign, a policeman and a prostitute, and we also find acoustic warnings such as the distant sound of a siren as the professor enters a darkened alleyway on his way to the unknown (TCR 00: 35: 16). Other audible allusions to “ blue" are found in the film ’ s diegetic music, the music heard by the film ’ s characters themselves, mainly through the songs of the artist Lola Lola. The first time we see the cabaret performer on stage, the camera shows us a close-up of the artist ’ s bare legs as she sings Ich bin die fesche Lola (I am the fresh Lola), in front of a chorus of women who wait their turn drinking beer. The spicy lyrics of the song, the artist ’ s gestures and the staging suggest that the erotic magnetism she awakens at this precise moment is destined for an unsophisticated audience. The second sound index that defines the character and the space in which she performs is the song that Lola Lola dedicates to the professor, while he listens to her, drunk, from a box that looks like the prow of a ship, with a mask in the shape of a mermaid included. The song defines the angel: Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss aufs Liebe eingestellt, (I am made from head to toe to love). The lyrics already warn of the nature of this love and the fate that awaits those who seek it: “ Männer unschwirr ’ n mich, wie Motten um das Licht. Und wenn sie verbrennen, Ja, dafür kann ich nicht ” 16 . The blue remains distant and unreachable, which can bring unpleasant surprises. The erotic magnetism of the angel comes at a price, and the film offers visual and sound indications of this message in many of its sequences. Professor Rath and Lola meet in “ the blue ” , but they represent worlds that collide: it is a space that necessarily displays the destructive forces that nestle within the two characters. 16 Men surround me like moths around a candle. If they burn, I can ’ t help it. (TCR: 00: 53: 28). Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal 97 <?page no="98"?> The iconographic code at the service of the expressionist legacy: iconographic intertextuality Having underlined the expressionist imprint in aspects such as the commission, the precursor idea and the controlling idea, the focus now shifts to highlighting the iconographic intertextuality that von Sternberg establishes between his film and some silent films, representative of previous German expressionist cinema. It is important to us to emphasize at this point that it is about presenting a sound film which establishes a clear iconographic dialogue with the previous expressionist legacy. As it seems to be stated in his memoirs 17 , Von Sternberg, considers himself heir to an earlier visual tradition. Although he does not state it explicitly, he is aware that with Expressionism German cinema had reached a unique visual style and he wants to incorporate it into his proposal. We have already read his declaration of intentions and from a technical point of view he makes it clear that he wants to use the camera as a form of personal expression. He was also aware that silent films had succeeded in quelling the dispute over whether cinema was an artistic medium in its own right and not just a mere artifice of entertainment. With the silent expressionist aesthetic, German cinema had undoubtedly succeeded in settling the argument and for many it had reached the category of artistic manifestation. The arrival of sound cinema, for many theorists, once again called into question the true essence of cinema and brought the controversy back to the starting point 18 . An important aspect for Von Sternberg seems to be to incorporate into sound cinema the capacity to generate visual poetry, just as silent cinema had achieved. For this reason, the intertextuality, the visual reminders that he establishes with films such as Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, Der letzte Mann and Metropolis are not at all coincidental: in Der blaue Engel we find shots and scenes that resolutely remind us of these films, as Brockmann also points out. 19 Der blaue Engel shares with Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari the motives of confusion and uncertainty. The characters seem to be torn between reality and the projection of their desires. This emotional approach is manifested, among other things, in the settings in which the plot takes place. We find a notorious distortion of the visible forms in the starting point of the two films in the form of 17 Von Sternberg (1965: 332). 18 Bächlin, Peter (1975). Der film als Ware. Frankfurt: Athenäum Fischer Taschenbuch, 56 - 65. 19 Brockmann (2010: 104). 98 María Carmen Gómez-Pérez <?page no="99"?> steeply pitched roofs with sinuous lines and incursions between narrow, dark streets. In the final scenes of both films we again find very similar shots, this time calling into question previously arrogant figures. In both films both Professor Rath and Dr. Caligari appear manacled in a straitjacket, dejected and stripped of all authority. With Der letzte Mann, Der blaue Engel shares the themes of individual and social humiliation. It is not difficult, as Brockmann suggests, 20 to draw a parallel between the fates of the two protagonists: they both descend socially and face a familiar hell. In the final sequence of Der blaue Engel, Rath returns to the high school in the dark of night. He rings the bell and a janitor recognizes him and lets him in. The janitor follows him with a flashlight that illuminates the staircase and the corridors. This scene is reminiscent of the penultimate sequence in Der letzte Mann in which the humiliated hotel porter returns to the laundry and collapses. Here, too, there is a watchman who follows the protagonist with a flashlight and illuminates the inert body of a humiliated man. As Brockmann recalls, there is a clear nod to silent cinema in this final scene: it is filmed in silence, as if Von Sternberg wanted to show that he still believed in the power of silence and in the significant power of the visual, even in his sound film. Finally, Der blaue Engel shares with Metropolis the motive of the sexual tension and desire. When Rath leaves the premises to return to the high school, Lola is on stage sitting with her legs wrapped around the back of a chair and, at this moment, she sings again her song that explains the professor ’ s fate: Professor Rath is like a moth trapped in Lola ’ s sexuality, a fact for which she does not feel at all guilty. In this aspect, the artist behaves like the false Maria from Metropolis. Lola, like the Maria clone, enjoys the power she wields over men, just as men enjoy the attraction she generates. Lola, like the soulless Maria of Metropolis, as Brockmann also remind us, may be the object of male desire, but this gives them the power of destruction in these two films. 21 Conclusion The journey through the commission, the precursor idea, the controlling notion and the iconographic code of Der blaue Engel allow us to affirm that von Sternberg designed a filmic approach in which the thematic and expressionist aesthetics achieve a strong protagonism. We have highlighted some of the main 20 Brockmann (2010: 102). 21 Brockmann (2010: 102). Homage to German Expressionist Cinema: von Sternberg ’ s Proposal 99 <?page no="100"?> elements of textual construction, although there are obviously other scenographic elements that abound in this idea, such as, for example, the play of light and shadow. Emil Jannings ’ performance is essentially expressionist, we only have to remember his shots before the mirror disguised as a clown, -an eloquent image of a tormented, disoriented and humiliated soul-, or his impotent cackling on stage, a sequence in which we can perceive the torment and pain that invades him. Some scholars, including Brockmann 22 , point out that, while this expressionist presence is true, it is no less true that Von Sternberg always seems to find elements representative of the New Sobriety that counteract expressionism. In a way, this film could stage the contrast between Expressionism and New Sobriety. The character of Lola Lola would represent this new cultural and aesthetic form: she does not live under the emotional excesses of the Expressionist movement, but rather accepts reality, however crude it may be, without letting herself be carried away by mirages. However, the fact that both forces confront each other and unleash all their destructive potential, makes us think that in Von Sternberg ’ s approach, the expressionist thread that runs through everything and that was part of the origin of the film, which consisted of seeing how a tyrant ends up in nothingness, becomes relevant. Von Sternberg thus seeks to vindicate the potential of cinema as a form of artistic expression even in its sound version, and to do so he resorts to a theme and an aesthetic that is rooted in the expressionist legacy of German cinema. Considering the pioneering aspects of this film, Der blaue Engel is one of the first sound proposals in which a well-deserved homage is paid to German expressionist cinema. 22 Brockmann (2010: 105). 100 María Carmen Gómez-Pérez <?page no="101"?> The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns Celia Martínez García Introduction Already from the beginning of the production process, Die Mörder sind unter uns (Wolfgang Staudte, 1946) 1 was subjected to thorough scrutiny. The fact that it was the first film produced in German territory after the downfall of the Third Reich became decisive due to the subsequent development of film industry in Germany. The policies of democratisation and denazification translated, among other aspects, to a control on German film production by the four occupying forces. And since one of the main purposes for the occupation of the country was starting from a zero hour, culture must also provide a new beginning based on an obvious and frontal rejection to the Nazi past. Due to a series of casualties, Die Mörder sind unter uns was also the first production of DEFA 2 , founded in May 1946 and conceived as a symbol of the new anti-fascist cinema that characterised the East German film industry. In addition to that, the film was released only two weeks after the judgement against the major Nazi war criminals was proclaimed in Nuremberg. Thus, topics such as guilt, justice and accountability made the premiere of this film on October 15 th 1946 especially pertinent and cathartic for German people. When Staudte -writer and directorfirst approached the authorities in the Western occupation zones, the French, the British and the Americans rejected his idea for being “ too political ” 3 . It was the Soviet Command who accepted the 1 The murderers are among us. 2 DEFA (Deutsche Film-Aktiengeschellschaft) was the state-owned film studio of the German Democratic Republic. After the German capitulation in 1945, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany (the highest authority in the Soviet Zone) sought to create a new antifascist culture and establish a new film production. The granting of the license for film production took place in Potsdam-Babelsberg in May 17 th 1946 and DEFA was then founded. (www.defa-stiftung.de) 3 Brockmann, Stephen (2010). A critical history of German Film. Rochester, New York: Camden House, 200. <?page no="102"?> project on the condition that Staudte changed the ending. Die Mörder sind unter uns tells the story of the young Susanne Wallner, a former concentration camp prisoner who comes back to Berlin after the capitulation in 1945. In her apartment she finds Hans Mertens, a military surgeon assigned to the German Wehrmacht in Poland during the Second World War, who has been living there for the past years. However, instead of practising his profession, due to posttraumatic stress disorder, he can be found frequently inebriated in the various Berlin variety shows. Mertens ’ trauma originates in what he saw -but did not avoidon Christmas Eve 1942: the shooting of 36 men, 54 women and 31 children under the orders of the third character in this constellation: Ferdinand Brückner, his former Wehrmacht Captain. In Satudte ’ s original idea, whose title was going to be Der Mann, den ich töten werde (The man I am going to kill) 4 , Mertens would end up killing Brückner, now living a comfortable and bourgeois life as an industrialist. However, the Soviet Cultural Officer understood that a new Germany, constituted on a social and democratic rule of law, should never have been conceived on principles such as revenge. They even “ feared that such an ending might incite Germans to vigilant justice against the nazis among them ” 5 . Therefore, Staudte rewrote the last scene, in which Susanne manages to prevent Mertens from taking justice into his own hand and shooting Brückner, pleading with him to leave justice to the authorities. It is through these three wrecked characters that a powerful metaphor of German society during the Third Reich is created: Susanne Wallner stands in as the imprisoned communist returning from the concentration camp, Hans Mertens is the collaborator tortured by his guilty conscience who needs a cathartic experience (saving a child ’ s life in the ruins of postwar Berlin) to find closure, and Captain Brückner exemplifies the thousands of former Nazis who either escaped the trials ‘ white-washed ’ or avoided them altogether and returned to public life as if nothing had ever happened 6 . One of the main reasons why this film has been closely analysed is due to its connections with German Expressionism. On several occasions, its influence, legacy or continuity from Expressionism have been discussed by different scholars 7 and it has even been considered a “ return to the mastery of cinematic techniques which brought forth the great German movies of the 1920s ” 8 . 4 Heiduschke, Sebastian (2013). East German Cinema. DEFA and Film History. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 45. 5 Brockmann (2010: 201). 6 Heiduschke (2013: 46). 7 Sebastian Heiduschke, Stephen Brockmann or Christopher Wickham, among others. 8 Schulz, Hiltrud (2016) The murderers are among us on US and UK screens, 1948. DEFA Film Library, 6. 102 Celia Martínez García <?page no="103"?> Brockmann even understands the film as an “ homage to the great Expressionist tradition in German cinema [ … ] a stylistic proclamation that the Nazi period had come to an end ” 9 . Hence, how can we address this topic on a film from 1946 given the fact that, for many, German Expressionism faded out as an artistic trend around 1928 - 1929? Does it have to do more with Wolfgang Staudte ’ s admiration towards Fritz Lang or his work with Otto Hunte? 10 Are its shadows, real and metaphorical, the same ones Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), Nosferatu (F. W. Murnau, 1922) or Der letzte Mann (F. W. Murnau, 1924) used? Is it continuity or re-interpretation? According to one of the main principles of Expressionism, is still the external reality constructed through the inner and agonizing experience? By answering all of these questions, the aim of this text is, therefore, analysing the traces of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns and understanding to what extent these connections respond to the (sometimes obsessive) need for an artistic label. We aim to clarify whether, beyond the apparent common elements, we can establish such direct lines between German Expressionism and this film. Other influences, other genres Die Mörder sind unter uns has also been analysed from other perspectives, since it is the film that inaugurates the subgenre of the Trümmerfilme or Ruinenfilme 11 in postwar Germany, productions that proliferated mostly in Munich and Berlin from 1945 until 1949. The landscape of rubble and destruction became the perfect metaphor for Germany to represent the symbolic ruins of the country in 1945: material, human, cultural and emotional. And for similar reasons, this postwar apocalyptic scenery was also assimilated to Italian Neorrealism. Even if 9 Brockmann (2010: 199). 10 Otto Hunte had worked with Fritz Lang in Die Nibelungen (1924) and Metropolis (1927) and was hired as set designer for Die Mörder sind unter uns. “ Hunte created a brooding, dark set that, along with the lighting, helped create an Expressionist effect that harked back to the great German films of the Weimar Republic ” Brockmann, (2010: 198). 11 Rubble films or ruin films was a film subgenre that characterised film production in postwar Germany. The main and most symbolic element was the destroyed landscapes of cities. “ Made under trying conditions, subject to Allied censorship, and executed with a minimum of resources, these films too dealt with the ever-present effects of the war and its aftermath in the ruins of Germany ’ s major cities, especially Berlin ” . (Rasch, William (2008). “ Introduction. Looking again at the rubble ” . In: Wilms, Wilfried and Rasch, William (eds.) German postwar films. Life and love in the ruins. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 1 - 5, 2. The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 103 <?page no="104"?> it can appear as an apparent contradiction, Heiduschke finds similarities in the definition and development of characters: “ returning soldiers struggling with reintegration in society, people trying to cope with their fascist past, and survivors searching for idols and ideals ” 12 . The most representative example of this genre is Deutschland im Jahre Null (Roberto Rossellini, 1948), deeply and obviously influenced by Irgendwo in Berlin (Gerhard Lamprecht, 1946) and as an antagonist of Billy Wilder ’ s A foreign affair (1948), conceived as a classic American comedy. Shandley even interprets the film as a Western in “ its presentation of the landscape, the hero, the heroine, and much of the plot ” 13 and connects it to the domestic melodrama “ in which the drive is toward the subjects ’ of integration with community values and social harmony ” 14 . Almost naturally, German Expressionism evolved into American Film Noir during the forties and the fifties, due to the presence of European directors in Hollywood, such as F. W. Murnau, Fritz Lang or Billy Wilder, among many others. In the particular case of Die Mörder sind unter uns, where there is an obvious aesthetic and thematic influence from Film Noir, the atmosphere of mistrust that defined Europe during the Cold War became even more patent in Berlin. The city was not only almost fully destroyed and unrecognisable but it was also under other people ’ s control, emphasizing the feeling of hostility in a territory that seemed foreign for the Germans. We can therefore see that, when addressing Die Mörder sind unter uns and ascribing characteristics from German Expressionism, we must be very cautious and try to consider other references, such as the historical context, the evolution of artistic trends and the political aspects that determined the production by the Soviet Command. The expressionist shadow in Die Mörder sind unter uns The aesthetic elements are without any doubt the most obvious and recognizable ones when considering the traces of Expressionism in this film. Aspects such as camera angles, oblique lines or lightning draw directly and unequivocally from Wiene ’ s, Lang ’ s or Murnau ’ s work. Brockmann makes a parallelism between some of these elements and the emotional state of the characters, pointing out that “ angles are not just literal but also metaphorical, representing 12 Heiduschke (2013: 48). 13 Shandley, Robert R. (2001) Rubble films. German cinema in the shadow of the Third Reich. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 26. 14 Shandley (2001: 26). 104 Celia Martínez García <?page no="105"?> the disturbances of the human psyche ” 15 . Likewise, Heiduschke adds that the canted angles “ communicate a sense of uneasiness and instability [ … ] and relate to their disorientation and a world in turmoil ” 16 . These observations are a clear reminder of those who ruled German cinema during the Weimar years: the fears that the new century and modernity brought, the economical, social and political crises triggered by the defeat at the Great War and the threat that Germany had to face with the unavoidable arrival of the Nazis at the beginning of the thirties. Similarly, the lighting in Die Mörder sind unter uns draws from the logic dialectic of opposing light and darkness as a way of representing a psychological condition. This opposition is also reflected in the two protagonists and their character development. Susanne is created as the “ archetype of a new German ” 17 , since she is the character that, real and metaphorically, brings light to the story, especially to Mertens, who is always characterised through darkness, canted angles in the lighting and the recurring use of shadows. Unlike Susanne, with “ her innocence, her pure character, and her unabated sense of justice ” 18 , Mertens is still a character living in the past and anchored in Germany ’ s trauma. His guilty conscience accompanies him in the shape of a real shadow on the wall. This lack of emotional stability is represented as well in the apartment where he lives, a chaotic place as a reflection of his chaotic psyche 19 . However, his emotional state does not improve when he goes out onto the streets of Berlin, where he seems to be engulfed by rubble and destruction. The camera bores into the ruins, it creates frighteningly beautiful landscapes of ruins. It bores into the destroyed lives of human beings, creates magnificently dark landscapes of the soul. [ … ] Huge shadows again and again and again destroy any possible glimmer of hope. 20 The ruins, as the most characteristic feature of the Trümmerfilme, provide an unsettling and hostile landscape, a scared and unstable scenery where Mertens roams. As had happened with the first productions of the twenties, this film “ probes the mental condition of Germans after the war ” 21 , another year zero and another wound. 15 Brockmann (2010: 205). 16 Heiduschke (2013: 49). 17 Heiduschke (2013: 50). 18 Heiduschke (2013: 50). 19 Brockmann (2013: 204). 20 Werner Fiedler in Brockmann (2010: 205). 21 Heiduschke (2013: 49). The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 105 <?page no="106"?> However, not only the aesthetic elements previously described were distinctive in German Expressionism. A series of concepts and topics were recurrently used, symbols and codes that crowded the screens during the twenties, expressing fears, threats and agony. Certain thematic aspects defined both historical moments, 1918 and 1945, and Germany -emotionally, socially and economically destroyedhad to face another defeat, another postwar, another trauma. The inner wound of dark and shady characters seemed to represent the perfect paradigm of a collective national damage. Therefore, elements that became usual references during the twenties are revisited in Die Mörder sind unter uns. Symbols such as the clown, referencing Der blaue Engel ( Josef von Sternberg, 1930), the gossiping neighbours, as in Der letzte Mann (F. W. Murnau, 1924), or the mirror, that could be seen in Der Student von Prag (Paul Wegener, 1926) or M (Fritz Lang, 1931). And in Staudte ’ s film, together with the broken windows, “ symbolizing the intrusion of historical chaos into the private sphere ” . 22 In general terms, if we pay attention to these aesthetic aspects, the traces of Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns are undeniable, based on both historical and stylistic reasons. But even when the historical references seem to be quite alike in 1918 and 1945, the postwar scenario was different, as well as the German film industry. Rupture between German Expressionism and Die Mörder sind unter uns Considering the degree of material, cultural and human destruction that the Second World War meant for Germany, Die Mörder sind unter uns appears to bring a glimpse of light and hope. Although on a very superficial level the dark and expressionist aesthetic seems to be obvious, the denouement of the main plot after Susanne ’ s intercession in the last scene detaches the film from approaches more typical from the Weimar years. In addition to this, the use of the shadow, usually assumed as the most paradigmatic feature of Expressionism, is again representing a threat and the omnipresence of death. However, there seems to be a substantial difference in the meaning of this element in Staudte ’ s film, since the trauma after 1918 was significantly different to the one after 1945. Those “ threatening events ” 23 , to which Heiduschke referred in Nosferatu and Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, were routed in the fear that devastated German 22 Brockmann (2010: 204). 23 Heiduschke (2013: 50). 106 Celia Martínez García <?page no="107"?> psyche during the twenties: an irrational dread triggered by the constant presence of death during the war, its futility, the economical and social chaos in the country or the experience that Germany was, literally, drifting after the inflation in 1923. As a consequence, there was a clear sign of all this not being adequately channelled, an unavoidable threat that was approaching them. By 1945, however, the reasons for the trauma were different, the wound was more connected to the past, to Germany ’ s accountability for the Third Reich and the idea of the collective guilt (even when it took decades to finally assume the social responsibility of the population). Therefore, the shadow that is repeatedly shown when we see Mertens can be understood as the Holocaust ’ s shadow flying over and shaking German consciences. In addition to this, attending to other narrative terms, the character development is closer to realism than to Expressionism. Their concreteness, based on the metaphor that represents German society, differs from myths and fantasy and it is solidly based on a context that was painfully close and familiar to many citizens in 1946. Likewise, the specification at the beginning of the film “ Berlin 1945. Die Stadt hat kapituliert ” 24 sets a unique context on an authentic setting, although photographed with a strong expressionist influence. The weight of the historical context provides a most realist atmosphere, where the characters suffer from real wounds in real situations. In opposition to the recurring abstract and surreal landscapes from Expressionism, where the anxiety and inner experience of the characters prevails over other narrative elements, Staudte ’ s film focuses on events and places recognizable by the Germans. This “ contemporary environment, all too familiar to audiences ” 25 is reflected in the original footage that Staudte took from the “ DEFA newsreel program Die Augenzeuge, and therefore likely recognized as authentic by the audiences ” 26 . One of the most decisive features of this setting is that the story of Die Mörder sind unter uns could not have been told in any other place or time. Its historical uniqueness resides, not only in the postwar context or the presence of the ruins, but also in the fact that four different occupying forces would exercise a powerful political and cultural influence on Germany. The presence of these foreign armies -furthermore, the winners of the waremphasized the hostile atmosphere that the downfall of the Third Reich had already originated and that the denazification process had continued. 24 Berlin, the city has capitulated. 25 Heiduschke (2013: 48). 26 Heiduschke, (2013: 48). The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 107 <?page no="108"?> The questionable continuity between the shadows in Fritz Lang ’ s M and Staudte ’ s Die Mörder sind unter uns If there is a film that can be more directly connected to Staudte ’ s, that is Fritz Lang ’ s M (1931). According to Kracauer 27 , Lang ’ s working title was Mörder unter uns, but he changed it “ because he feared that it might be seen as an affront by the Nazis ” 28 . It seems that “ Staudte chose the same title precisely as a gesture of affront to the Nazis: as a way of urging the German public to hold the Nazi criminals living among them accountable for their crimes ” 29 . Besides the title, Shandley also agrees on the similarities between both films: the “ story of shellshock, murder and revenge in an anxiety-ridden Berlin ” 30 . However, there is a more complex discussion about M and its belonging to the expressionist movement, since it appears to be imprecise that it could be aligned with earlier examples such as Nosferatu or Der Golem (Paul Wegener, 1920), for instance. Jiménez González asserts that Lang brings back the aesthetic appeal of those characters and adapts it to real stories to represent an unstable situation in German society 31 at the beginning of the thirties, only two years before the Nazis took power. Lang ’ s film is detached from the purest instances of Expressionism, it is clearly an example of maturity, still anchored in the irrational and the insanity of the characters, but that has slightly overcome the traumas of the Great War. Similarly to the footage from the DEFA newsreel, Lang also used original excerpts from police proucedures 32 , so masterfully inserted that it slips by unperceived. The reality of both films is so close and current, so present in the character ’ s lives, that there seems to be a sort of invisible arc that could be described between 1931 and 1946, as if the threat of the future had turned into the trauma from the past. M even works as a hinge between the primary Expressionism from the early twenties and Staudte ’ s film: more mature, selfaware and clearheaded. The proximity of the story - a serial killer of children in Düsseldorf - , brings over the threat in the shape of a man who cannot avoid murdering. Likewise, the society represented in the film is absolutely insane and deeply wounded. The 27 Kracauer, Sigfried (1985). De Caligari a Hitler. Una historia psicológica del cine alemán. Barcelona: Paidós, 205. 28 Brockmann (2010: 200). 29 Brockmann (2010: 200). 30 Shandley (2001: 27). 31 Jiménez González, Marcos (2018) Relación entre el cine y la sociedad en la República de Weimar: cultura y política en la Alemania de entreguerras, Avanca Cinema, 28 - 32, 31. 32 Kracauer (1985: 205). 108 Celia Martínez García <?page no="109"?> most revealing and representative scene of the film is the last one (where we can find certain parallelism with Die Mörder sind unter uns when Mertens faces Brückner), in which a group of criminals takes the killer and judges him in the basement of a building. It is slowly becoming evident how they have lost their reasoning and how murder turns out to be their only possible response. In both films, we are facing characters that have surrendered to violence. And even if in M the murderer is finally taken to the authorities by the police, the insanity of the people thrives as a symptom of Germany ’ s emotional state. Staudte, however, makes of Susanne a pivotal character that symbolizes hope and future, the search for justice on democratic grounds. And this is especially significant since Susanne is a survivor of a concentration camp, a destroyed woman that manages to carry on despite the difficulties. The small glimpse of light that Germany may have left after 1945 is represented by her, rejecting violence and revenge in response to the Nazi crimes. Despite the fact that there is a clear connection between M and Die Mörder sind unter uns, they need to be understood in two different emotional places. If Sigfried Kracauer had continued writing Von Caligari zu Hitler (1947) - published only one year after Staudte ’ s film was released - , this would have been the natural continuation of this psychological history: the threat that crowded the collective psyche during the twenties materialised in the thirties and the first half of the forties. As if the principle of crime and punishment had been applied to Germany. Conclusions It is not really clear whether the purpose of the film, as well as the purpose of Expressionism, was consciously cathartic for the population. But, according to the ulterior response of the Germans towards their Nazi past, Staudte ’ s film did not succeed in getting rid of the “ psychological rubble ” 33 , as Brockmann referred to it, that the Third Reich had provoked in the country. It has been noted that Die Mörder sind unter uns shares common features with Expressionism in the representation of landscapes, for instance, or in the way it was perceived by the press: as a “ psychological drama ” 34 . The ruined, deformed and chaotic sceneries symbolize the emotional and psychological state of the characters, even in collective terms. However, even if the material destruction is worse than after 1918, the references to the subconscious suggested in films like 33 Brockmann (2010: 207). 34 Schulz (2016: 3). The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 109 <?page no="110"?> Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari and the fascination that originated within psychoanalyst circles seem to have been overcome. Partly because the historical circumstances are substantially different after the Second World War, and so was the society and the subsequent unfolding of events. Some of the reasons that triggered the birth of Expressionism were the new century, the advent of modernity and the development of mass society. This is why this artistic movement is usually contextualized as of 1911, even before the Great War started. The intense and agonic experience that many artists went through was obviously exacerbated by the conflict and the violence until 1918, and Expressionism in film finally culminated in 1920 with Caligari. Heiduschke points out that Die Mörder sind unter uns was necessary for Staudte to overcome Nationalsozialism and Nazi cinema, and it even became “ a personal matter, since he and other members of his team were involved with the film industry during the Third Reich ” 35 . The film is definitely an attempt to detach from the ideology and the aesthetics from the past, especially because the Third Reich had condemned Expressionism (in all its facets) as being considered degenerated art by the Reichskulturkammer. Many of the narrative codes that had become representative of Nazi cinema were delegitimized 36 , so this language tended to disappear in favour of a language that was understood as pre-Nazi. Staudte drew on known, familiar and recognizable film codes that belonged to the past to tell a story of the present. It seems that he did not want to refer to the threat that was approaching Germany -as it happened during the twentiesbut to symbolize the monster that had been left behind. And for that reason, instead of being still stuck in the past, as many characters from Expressionism were, Die Mörder sind unter uns is looking into the future. It searches for balance and justice, and most of all, reconciliation. This lucidity, represented in Susanne Wallner, would have never been representative of an expressionist film, in terms of characters or plots. However, we cannot forget, as it was previously mentioned, that the reason for that ending was that the film was subject to censorship by the Soviet Command (not so much due to Staudte ’ s original idea). In any case, the fact that the first production in Germany after the liberation of the extermination camps and the downfall of the Third Reich was Die Mörder sind unter uns is quite remarkable, given the degree of pain and suffering that 1945 meant for Europe. It is an exercise of maturity and common sense that is routed in the urge for moving forward. Even if Germany did not properly deal with its past during the fifties and beginning of the sixties, cultural industry was more focused on providing entertainment. On no account, German film after 35 Heiduschke (2013: 47). 36 Shandley (2001: 26). 110 Celia Martínez García <?page no="111"?> 1945 turned out to be a showcase of tyrants, killer somnambulists or manipulative characters, as it had happened during the Weimar Republic. Die Mörder sind unter uns was a decisive milestone to set the grounds of a new film industry and a new society, and the priority that meant rebuilding the country on the grounds of justice and democracy. The long shadow of German Expressionism in Die Mörder sind unter uns 111 <?page no="112"?> Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität Die urbane Dystopie in Dark City Manuel Maldonado-Alemán Die Großstadt und die Kultur der Indifferenz In seinem 1903 erschienenen Aufsatz „ Die Großstädte und das Geistesleben “ , mit dem in Deutschland die soziologische Auseinandersetzung mit der modernen Stadt beginnt 1 , thematisiert der Soziologe und Philosoph Georg Simmel die Stadt aus soziologischer und kultureller Perspektive in erster Linie unter den Aspekten der urbanen Lebensweise und des sozialen Wandels. Simmel betrachtet die Stadt als einen Ort, wo „ die Entstehung des modernen Sozialcharakters “ 2 deutlich zum Ausdruck kommt. Die Großstadt ist für Simmel „ das Labor, die Werkstatt und der Schauplatz der Moderne zugleich “ 3 ; sie erscheint als Ort der Indifferenz, Distanziertheit und Intellektualität. Die Wechselwirkungen zwischen der Größe und dem Tempo des großstädtischen Lebens, den technischen Erfordernissen „ eines reibungslosen Funktionierens der Stadt “ 4 , der Arbeitsteilung und nicht zuletzt der Geldwirtschaft prägen die urbane Lebens- 1 Siebel, Walter (2018). Eine Soziologie der Stadt. In: Lautmann, Rüdiger/ Wienold, Hanns (Hrsg.) Georg Simmel und das Leben in der Gegenwart. Wiesbaden: Springer VS, 111 - 126, 112. Allerdings, wie Rolf Lindner bemerkt, „ Simmel als Stadtsoziologen zu bezeichnen käme vielmehr einer Verkennung seines Werkes gleich; letztlich geht es bei ihm um kulturphilosophische Reflexionen über das Schicksal der Persönlichkeit in der Moderne, das sich exemplarisch in der modernen Großstadt vollzieht “ . Lindner, Rolf (2011). Georg Simmel, die Großstadt und das Geistesleben. In: Mieg, Harald A./ Sundsboe, Astrid O./ Bieniok, Majken (Hrsg.) Georg Simmel und die aktuelle Stadtforschung. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag, 29 - 37, 29. Unter „ Geistesleben “ verstand Georg Simmel „ die geistig-seelische Disposition und Formation des Großstädters “ . Lindner (2011: 32). 2 Siebel (2018: 112). 3 Lindner (2011: 33). 4 Siebel (2018: 114). <?page no="113"?> form, die sich „ zu einem Gebilde von höchster Unpersönlichkeit “ 5 gestaltet. In der von der Großstadt bewirkten „ Steigerung des Nervenlebens “ 6 , die „ aus dem raschen und ununterbrochenen Wechsel äußerer und innerer Eindrücke hervorgeht “ 7 , sah Simmel die psychologische Grundlage, auf der sich „ der Typus großstädtischer Individualitäten “ erhebt 8 . In der Großstadt - so Simmel - muss sich das Individuum gegen „ die rasche Zusammendrängung wechselnder Bilder “ bzw. „ die Unerwartetheit sich aufdrängender Impressionen “ 9 wehren. Nur die Ausbildung des Intellekts als Distanzorgan und Reizschutz, und die „ Abstumpfung “ , die das „ Wesen der Blasiertheit “ ist 10 , können dem Großstädter „ als der Inkarnation des modernen Subjekts “ 11 gegen das Übermaß an Eindrücken helfen. Simmel charakterisiert deshalb die großstädtische Mentalität als distanziert, gleichgültig, reserviert, blasiert und intellektualisiert, typische Eigenschaften der großstädtischen Verhaltensweise, die als mentale Schutzvorrichtung gegen die Reizüberflutung und die Zunahme der rastlosen Mobilität notwendig sind, sonst „ würde man sich innerlich völlig atomisieren und in eine ganz unausdenkbare seelische Verfassung geraten “ 12 . Die „ Herausbildung der modernen Kultur der Indifferenz “ 13 ist aus diesem Grund eine Schutzreaktion infolge der Überreizung und der Übermacht der Metropole, d. h. „ ein Präservativ des subjektiven Lebens gegen die Vergewaltigungen der Großstadt “ 14 . Die Großstadt als Schauplatz der Versachlichung des sozialen Verhaltens des modernen Menschen ist für Simmel eine Bedrohung der Individualität. Die Dynamik der Großstadt bringt ein Übergewicht des objektiven Geistes über den subjektiven hervor, ein „ Überwuchern der objektiven Kultur “ 15 - wie Institu- 5 Simmel, Georg (1903). Die Großstädte und das Geistesleben. In: Georg Simmel Gesamtausgabe, hrsg. von Otthein Rammstedt, Band 7. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1995, 116 - 131, 121. 6 Simmel (1903: 116). Kursiv im Original. 7 Simmel (1903: 116). 8 Simmel (1903: 116). 9 Simmel (1903: 117). 10 Simmel (1903: 121). Blasiertheit - vom französischen Wort blasé, was unempfänglich und gleichgültig bedeutet - ist laut Rolf Lindner (2011: 34) „ die Unempfänglichkeit für Reize und die Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber Unterschieden “ . 11 Müller, Lothar (1988). Die Großstadt als Ort der Moderne. Über Georg Simmel. In: Scherpe, Klaus R. (Hrsg.) Die Unwirklichkeit der Städte. Großstadtdarstellungen zwischen Moderne und Postmoderne. Reinbek bei Hamburg: Rowohlt, 14 - 36, 23. 12 Simmel (1903: 122 f.). 13 Müller (1988: 23). 14 Simmel (1903: 118). 15 Simmel (1903: 129). Wie es Harald A. Mieg erklärt, mit „ dem Begriff ‚ objektive Kultur ‘ bezieht sich Simmel auf den Gesamtbestand an materieller und immaterieller Kultur in Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 113 <?page no="114"?> tionen oder Werte - über die personal-subjektive Kultur, welchem das Individuum nicht gewachsen ist. Selbst wenn die moderne Stadt die Entfaltung individueller Freiheit ermöglichen kann, führt die Nivellierungstendenz der „ über alles Persönliche hinauswachsenden Kultur “ 16 zur „ Atrophie der individuellen durch die Hypertrophie der objektiven Kultur “ 17 , d. h. zu einer Entwertung der persönlichen Eigenart des Individuums, welche die großstädtische Form der Entfremdung ausmacht. Aufgrund dessen veranschaulicht sich in der Großstadt ein typisches Grundmotiv: „ der Widerstand des Subjekts, in einem gesellschaftlich-technischen Mechanismus nivelliert und verbraucht zu werden “ 18 . Die Metropole zeigt, wie sich die „ tiefsten Probleme des modernen Lebens “ aus dem Anspruch des Individuums ergeben, „ die Selbständigkeit und Eigenart seines Daseins gegen die Übermächte der Gesellschaft, des geschichtlich Ererbten, der äußerlichen Kultur und Technik des Lebens zu bewahren “ 19 . Vor dem Hintergrund von Simmels Überlegungen zur modernen Kultur der Indifferenz und zur großstädtischen Entwertung des Individuellen wird im Folgenden die Inszenierung der urbanen Dystopie in Alex Proyas ’ Science- Fiction-Film Dark City (USA/ Australien, 1998) untersucht, der das Motiv der Simulation von Realität aufnimmt. Dabei wird vor allem auf den Zusammenhang zwischen uneigentlicher Realitätswahrnehmung und fremdgesteuerter Konstruktion von Identität eingegangen. Dark City und die dystopische Stadt Science-Fiction ist häufig mehr als Unterhaltung oder Technik. In Science- Fiction-Romanen und -Filmen geht es auch vielfach um Reflexion und Kritik. Seit der industriellen Revolution „ begleitet Science Fiction mal affirmativ, mal kritisch die gesellschaftliche Entwicklung “ 20 . Insbesondere erweist Science- Fiction ein durchaus kritisches Potential in Bezug auf die Verdinglichung Form von Gütern, Leistungen, Institutionen etc. “ . Mieg, Harald A. (2011). Simmel - Milgram - Sassen: Metropolen als Orte der Zivilisationsproduktion. In: Mieg/ Sundsboe/ Bieniok (Hrsg.) (2011: 41 - 52, 49). 16 Simmel (1903: 130). 17 Simmel (1903: 130). 18 Simmel (1903: 116). 19 Simmel (1903: 116). 20 Fuhse, Jan A. (2003). Das Andere der Gesellschaft - Science Fiction als Kritische Theorie. Soziale Welt 54: 3, 223 - 239, 223. Bekannte Beispiele der kritischen Tradition von Science- Fiction sind Mary Shelleys Frankenstein (1818), Aldous Huxleys Brave New World (1932) und George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949). Vgl. dazu auch Fuhse, Jan (2008). Die Repräsentation der Massenmedien in der Science Fiction - von der Manipulation über die 114 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="115"?> moderner - sowohl industrieller wie postindustrieller - Gesellschaften. Durch die Darstellung dystopischer Zukunfts- und Alternativwelten und ihrer negativen Auswirkungen auf das Individuum warnt Science-Fiction vor sozialen Fehlentwicklungen und ihren drohenden Konsequenzen 21 . Häufige Themen der Science-Fiction wie das Verhältnis zwischen Mensch und Technik, die Vermischung von Wirklichkeit und Simulation oder die Konstruktion von Identität und Realität werfen Fragen über die unscharf gewordene Demarkationslinie zwischen virtuellen und nichtvirtuellen Welten, über die Folgen der Technik oder die Auflösung des Selbst in der gegenwärtigen Gesellschaft auf 22 . Die kritische Darstellung künftiger Gesellschaftsformationen, die zum Nachdenken auffordert, impliziert „ philosophical questions about the nature of personal identity, moral agency, and what it means to be human “ 23 . Auch Alternative Futures-Filme, die auf düstere Zukunftsversionen weisen - wie Blade Runner (1982), Dark City (1998), The Matrix (1999) oder The 13 th Floor (1999) - üben im Rahmen des Genres der Science-Fiction scharfe Kritik an den Herrschaftsverhältnissen und der Entwicklung einer sich selbst entfremdeten Gesellschaft. In ihnen erscheint oft in verschiedenen Varianten das soziale Leben als eine Dopplung zur Simulation der Gesellschaft. In: Fuhse, Jan A. (Hrsg.) Technik und Gesellschaft in der Science Fiction. Berlin: Lit, 125 - 144. 21 Nach Li Zhang, „ Dystopia, the antithesis of utopia, or utopia that has gone wrong, is a distinct, popular genre of literature and film in modern Western societies. It is often manifested in an imagined or future society completely controlled by an oppressive and corrupt government, or by forces of technologies beyond the original intention of human designers (such as in Dark City and Blade Runner) “ . Li Zhang (2010). Postsocialist Urban Dystopia? In: Prakash, Gyan (Hrsg.) Noir Urbanisms. Dystopic Images of the Modern City. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 127 - 149, 128. Gerade „ der utopische Rest der Dystopie liegt in ihrer Funktion, durch die ausführliche Schilderung einer negativen Gesellschaft und ihrer Auswirkungen auf das Individuum vor gegenwärtigen Entwicklungen zu warnen, um zu verhindern, dass die Prognose Wirklichkeit wird “ . Kuon, Peter (2013). Utopie/ Dystopie. In: Brittnacher, Hans R./ May, Markus (Hrsg.) Phantastik. Ein interdisziplinäres Handbuch. Stuttgart/ Weimar: Metzler, 328 - 335, 334. 22 Ein charakteristisches Merkmal der Science-Fiction als Genre der Literatur, des Films und der bildenden Kunst ist die Plausibilität der skizzierten Zukunfts- und Alternativwelten. Im Unterschied zur Phantastik wird in der Science-Fiction „ davon ausgegangen, dass die andere Welt [ … ] mit den Naturgesetzen der bekannten Welt kompatibel ist. An die Stelle des für die Phantastik im engeren Sinn kennzeichnenden »Risses in der Wirklichkeit« [ … ] tritt in der SF die Brücke der suggerierten wissenschaftlichen Plausibilität. Spielt die Phantastik im engeren Sinn mit dem Einbruch des Unmöglichen ins Wirkliche, so richtet die SF ihren Ehrgeiz darauf, die Möglichkeit selbst des auf den ersten Blick als unmöglich Erscheinenden zu erweisen “ . Innerhofer, Roland (2013). Science Fiction. In: Brittnacher/ May (Hrsg.) (2013: 318 - 328, 318). 23 Sanders, Steven M. (2008). An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science Fiction Film. In: Sanders, Steven M. (Hrsg.) The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1 - 18, 5. Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 115 <?page no="116"?> Simulation, hinter der die gesellschaftliche Realität zunächst unsichtbar bleibt. Dark City inszeniert in diesem Zusammenhang auf exemplarischer Weise das Motiv der Simulation von Gesellschaft und veranschaulicht zugleich, wie die unwirkliche Realitätswahrnehmung zur absoluten Entfremdung und Entnaturalisierung des Individuums führt. Im Mittelpunkt des Science-Fiction-Films Dark City, der auch dem Genre Neo- Noir 24 und dem Cyberpunk 25 zugeordnet wird, steht eine mysteriöse, namenlose Stadt, wo immer Nacht ist. Der Protagonist John Murdoch, dargestellt von Rufus Sewell, wacht ohne Erinnerungen in der Badewanne eines Hotelzimmers auf. Neben ihm befindet sich eine ermordete Prostituierte mit einem blutigen Spiralmuster auf ihrem Körper eingeritzt. Er weiß nicht, wer er ist oder was mit ihm passiert ist; auch nicht wie er dort hingekommen ist. Er findet nur wenige Hinweise auf seine Identität: ein paar Schlüssel, einen Koffer und die Postkarte eines sonnigen Orts namens Shell Beach. Er wird von dem Psychiater Dr. Daniel Schreber, gespielt von Kiefer Sutherland, angerufen, der ihn auffordert, das Hotel sofort zu verlassen. Auf der Flucht vor dem Polizeiinspektor Frank Bumstead, dargestellt von William Hurt, der ihn als mutmaßlichen Serienmörder von Prostituierten sucht, versucht Murdoch seine verlorene wahre Identität herauszufinden. Er gerät an die Nachtclub-Sängerin Emma, gespielt von Jennifer Connelly, die behauptet seine Frau zu sein. Zugleich wird er von seltsamen Männern in langen schwarzen Mänteln verfolgt, die „ Strangers “ , die übermenschliche psychokinetische Kräfte besitzen, das sog. „ Tuning “ , eine Gabe, über die Murdoch auch verfügt, wie es sich herausstellen wird. Das Auftreten der Fremden ist militärisch, auch ihre Kostüme und ihr Gruppenverhalten. Sie bewohnen den Untergrund und bleiben verborgen. 24 Als Neo Noir gelten Filme, die auf visuelle Konzepte, Muster und narrative Techniken des Film Noir der 1940er und 1950er Jahre zurückgreifen, wie „ tiefenscharfe Fotografie, extremen Hell-Dunkel-Stil (Chiaroscuro), kontrastreiche Beleuchtung (low-key lighting), Schattenbilder und subjektive, schrage Kameraeinstellungen. Narrative Techniken sind häufige Ruckblenden und die kommentierende Erzählung durch die Stimme des Protagonisten aus dem Off. [ … ] Archetypische Figuren sind der desillusionierte Einzelgänger - häufig ein Privatdetektiv, ein zu Unrecht Verdächtigter oder ein Verbrecher - und die verhängnisvolle Femme fatale bzw. die in Gefahr geratende Femme fragile “ . Schmidt, Mirko F. (2007). Film Noir. In: Burdorf, Dieter/ Fasbender, Christoph/ Moennighoff, Burkhard (Hrsg.) (2007) Metzler Lexikon Literatur. Begriffe und Definitionen. 3., völlig neu bearbeitete Auflage. Stuttgart/ Weimar: Metzler, 242. 25 Cyberpunk, der eine Subgattung der Science-Fiction ist, „ is associated with a dark vision of the near future on Earth, where humans are under the influence of electronic, informational, genetic, and other technologies, making it virtually impossible to distinguish between the real and the artificially replicated “ . Knight, Deborah/ McKnight, George (2008). What Is It to Be Human? Blade Runner and Dark City. In: Sanders (Hrsg.) (2008: 21 - 37, 22). 116 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="117"?> Murdoch beginnt langsam die unsichtbare Wirklichkeit zu enthüllen. Er stellt fest, dass in der Stadt merkwürdige Ereignisse vor sich gehen, die in Zusammenhang mit den Fremden stehen. Die Stadtbewohner fallen immer um 12 Uhr in tiefen Schlaf, die Zeit bleibt dann stehen und unterdessen, dank ihrer Fähigkeit zu „ tunen “ , verändern die Fremden die Architektur und das Erscheinungsbild der Stadt: Straßen, Bauten und ganze Häuserblöcke werden verschoben; Fußwege verschwinden; neue Gebäude tauchen aus dem Untergrund auf, während sich die alten zurückziehen und mutieren; Wohnungen werden umgestaltet. Mit Schrebers Hilfe, der aufgrund seiner gründlichen Kenntnisse über die menschliche Natur im Dienst der Fremde steht, werden den Menschen erfundene bzw. gestohlene Erinnerungen eingepflanzt ( „ imprinted “ ), die zu anderen Individuen gehörten. Die Stadtbewohner erhalten dann, abrupt und unbewusst, eine neue persönliche und soziale Identität. Wenn sie wieder erwachen, haben sie Erinnerungen an Erfahrungen, die sie nie erlebt haben, und spielen eine ganz andere soziale Rolle. Selbst persönliche Gegenstände wie Fotoalben werden völlig neu gestaltet. Murdoch jedoch wachte unerwartet während der Implantation von Erinnerungen eines Serienmörders auf und blieb ohne Erinnerungen zurück. Es stellt sich heraus, dass die Fremden eine grenzenlose Kontrolle über Raum und Zeit besitzen. Sie können die Vergangenheit, das Gedächtnis und die Identität der Stadtbewohner nach eigenen Interessen verwandeln. John Murdoch, der Zeuge der unheimlichen Umgestaltungen ist, scheint der Einzige zu sein, der gegen die Manipulation der Fremden resistent ist. Er bemerkt, dass die Stadtbewohner sich an den sonnigen Ort Shell Beach erinnern, von dem Murdoch schwache Kindheitserinnerungen hat; niemand aber erinnert sich an den Weg dorthin. Shell Beach lässt sich in der Tat nicht erreichen. Die Stadt, wie es scheint, kann nicht verlassen werden. Die Bewohner sind in ihr gefangen, ohne dass jemand sich überhaupt Gedanken darüber macht. Aufgrund der Entmenschlichung des urbanen Umfelds und der Versachlichung der sozialen Umgebung ist der Alltag der Stadtbewohner funktional und unpersönlich. Die Bürger von Dark City bilden eine amorphe, willenlose Masse. Sie zeigen eine blasierte, indifferente Haltung ihrer Umwelt gegenüber. Die Mehrheit hat nicht einmal einen Charakter. In der Anonymität des urbanen Lebens sind sie an menschlichen Beziehungen grundsätzlich nicht interessiert und interagieren nicht. Sie sind die Verkörperung des blasierten, entfremdeten Großstadtmenschen: „ comprised of faceless, unremarkable individuals, who are both uninterested and uninvolved “ 26 . Ihre vollkommene Entfremdung und 26 Gerlach, Neil/ Hamilton, Sheryl N. (2004). Preserving Self in the City of the Imagination: Georg Simmel and Dark City. Canadian Review of American Studies 34: 2, 115 - 134, 124. Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 117 <?page no="118"?> Apathie erweisen sich als Konsequenz der Manipulation ihrer Erinnerungen und ihrer Identität. Nur der ehemalige Polizeidetektiv Eddie Walensky, dargestellt von Colin Friels, der aufgrund seiner beunruhigenden Verdächtigungen über die wahre Natur der Stadt in den Wahnsinn getrieben wurde, stellt sich Fragen über seine Vergangenheit: Walensky: You think about the past much, Frank? Bumstead: Much as the next guy. Walensky: See, I ’ ve been trying to remember things, clearly remember things from my past. But the more I try to think back, the more it all starts to unravel. None of it seems real. It ’ s like I ’ ve just been dreaming this life, and when I finally wake up, I ’ ll be somebody else, somebody totally different. Bumstead: You saw something, didn ’ t you, Eddie. Something to do with the case. Walensky: There is no case! There never was! It ’ s all just a big joke! It ’ s a joke! 27 Raum, Erinnerung, Identität Die architektonische Umgestaltung der Stadt in Dark City verdeutlicht, dass Raum, Erinnerung und Identität in einer Korrelation stehen. Die Filmhandlung beruht auf der Annahme, dass der Raum für menschliches Leben und Erleben, Denken und Handeln sowie für die Konstruktion von Erinnerung und Identität von außerordentlicher Bedeutung ist. Mit Recht gehen die Fremden davon aus, dass das menschliche Gedächtnis in seiner Aktualisierung in der Erinnerung von Räumen strukturiert wird. Wie die Architektur der Stadt, die als Zeugnis menschlichen Lebens ein wichtiger Erinnerungsträger ist, fungieren im Film andere Orte und Räume als Sinnträger, die Erinnerungen auslösen bzw. Erinnerungsinhalte vermitteln. Außen- und Innenräume verkörpern die Gegenwart der Vergangenheit und sind für die Konstruktion - bzw. Manipulation - der Erinnerungen der Stadtbewohner von besonderem Belang. Genauso wie die Erinnerung ist die Identität nicht einfach vorgegeben. Sie ist „ eine kulturelle Konstruktion und ein biographisches Projekt “ 28 . Dank der Information von Dr. Schreber sind die Außerirdischen genau darüber im Bilde, dass der Mensch seinen Orientierungssinn, seine Sozialisierung, seine Persönlichkeit, seine Imagination und sein Gedächtnis innerhalb bestimmter räumlicher Strukturen entwickelt. Sein Selbst hat sich ausgeprägt durch das, was das Individuum in einem bestimmten Raum und in einer bestimmten Zeit 27 Proyas, Alex (1998). Dark City. USA/ Australien: New Line Cinema, 00: 33: 08 - 00: 33: 54. 28 Assmann, Aleida (2006). Einführung in die Kulturwissenschaft. Grundbegriffe, Themen, Fragestellungen. Berlin: Eich Schmidt, 217. 118 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="119"?> erfahren hat. Der Mensch ist also, was er war und gewesen ist im Bereich seiner Bindung an ein bestimmtes kulturelles Raumkonstrukt. Das bedeutet aber auch, dass an der Konstitution des Ich die Vergangenheit entscheidend mitbeteiligt ist. „ Sie liefert uns täglich neu die Bewertungsraster, mit deren Hilfe wir die Gegenwart erkennen, analysieren, vielleicht sogar bewältigen können, und in diesem Sinne sind wir sogar in gewisser Weise determiniert. “ 29 Die effektive Kontrolle der menschlichen Identität impliziert somit, wie Dark City vorführt, die Manipulation von Raum und Erinnerung, die „ frequently leads to the manipulation of reality itself, leading to the formation of a kind of false consciousness, a bogus universe in which the individual is secretly controlled by unknown forces “ 30 . Dark City zeigt in radikaler Weise, wie fragil und brüchig die Attribute der Zugehörigkeit sein können. Das Konzept einer homogenen, fixierten, statischen Identität, die ein und für allemal gegeben ist, wird im Film grundsätzlich in Frage gestellt und sogar demontiert. Die Vorstellung von einer eindeutigen, stabilen Identität zeigt sich als Illusion. Identität ist keine Essenz, kein für immer festgelegtes Wesen, keine „ beharrliche Einheit, die in den Fluten der Veränderung ewig dieselbe bleibt “ 31 , sondern eine sich stets wandelnde Größe. Identität ist „ ein stetig veränderliches Produkt vielfältiger Konstruktionsprozesse “ , ein „ dynamisches, netzartiges Gebilde, das sich aus unterschiedlichen Bezugsgrößen “ generiert. 32 Die Bürger der nächtlichen Stadt besitzen kein überdauerndes, starres, monolithisches Ich. Durch das Eingreifen der „ Strangers “ entstehen ununterbrochen neue Identitäten. „ Here, identity is constructed and multiple in the strongest of senses “ 33 . Die Identität der Stadtbewohner ist flüssig, im Transit, beweglich, mutabel und flexibel. Ihr fluides Selbst ändert sich andauernd und erscheint als „ ein ständiges Sich-neu-Einbetten in be- 29 Koopmann, Helmut (1995). Geschichte, Mythos, Gleichnis: Die Antwort des Exils. In: Holzner, Johann/ Wiesmüller, Wolfgang (Hrsg.) Ästhetik der Geschichte. Innsbruck: Institut für Germanistik (= Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft. Germanistische Reihe 54), 77 - 98, 77. 30 Meehan, Paul (2008). Tech-Noir. The Fusion of Science Fiction and Film Noir. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 15. 31 Schiller, Friedrich (1999). Über die ästhetische Erziehung des Menschen in einer Reihe von Briefen. In: Schiller, Friedrich. Theoretische Schriften. Köln: Könemann, 282. 32 Lübcke, Alexandra (2009). Enträumlichungen und Erinnerungstopographien: Transnationale deutschsprachige Literaturen als historiographisches Erzählen. In: Schmitz, Helmut (Hrsg.) Von der nationalen zur internationalen Literatur. Transkulturelle deutschsprachige Literatur und Kultur im Zeitalter globaler Migration. Amsterdam/ New York: Rodopi, 77 - 97, 79. 33 Milner, Andrew (2004). Darker cities. Urban dystopia and science fiction cinema. International Journal of Cultural Studies 7: 3, 259 - 279, 272. Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 119 <?page no="120"?> stimmte Strukturen, Funktionen und Umgebungen “ 34 . In dieser Welt also „ reality is contingent and mutable; memories, manipulable; identity, uncertain “ 35 . Atrophie des Individuums Die Konsequenzen der absoluten Übermacht der fremden, unsichtbaren Kräfte offenbaren in Dark City was personale Atrophie in der Großstadtgesellschaft bedeutet, d. h. wie die Menschen sind, wenn sie ihr wahres Selbst verlieren. Die Atrophie des Individuums wird durch die strukturelle Hypertrophie einer von Maschinen und technologischer Überwachung dominierten Umwelt hervorgerufen, die den Menschen durch die ständige Kontrolle seiner Erinnerungen und seiner Identität fremdbestimmt und verdinglicht. „ There ’ s no escape. The city is ours, we made it [ … ]. We fashioned this city on stolen memories: different eras, different pasts, all rolled into one. Each night we revise it, refine it, in order to learn “ 36 , erklärt einer der Fremden. Die Außerirdischen verkörpern eine ernsthafte Bedrohung des individuellen menschlichen Willens und Begehrens. Das Motiv gestohlener, gelöschter und eingepflanzter Erinnerungen macht in diesem Zusammenhang auf die unbewusste kollektive Gedankenmanipulation, Überwachung und Unterdrückung des freien Willens aufmerksam, die von verborgenen Mächten zur Herrschaftssicherung in modernen und postmodernen Gesellschaften vollzogen werden. Die Atrophie der individuellen Subjektivität, die sich nicht autonom konstituieren kann, wird in Dark City anhand der wiederkehrenden Figur der Spirale symbolisiert. Sie erscheint im Spiralgekritzel an den Wänden des Zimmers des ehemaligen Detektivs Walensky, in dem von den Fremden konstruierten spiralförmigen Stadtmodell, in Murdochs Fingerabdrücken oder im Dr. Schrebers kreisförmigen Labyrinth, in dem er mit dem Verhalten von Mäusen experimentiert. Eine Spirale wird auch in den Körper der ermordeten Prostituierten eingeritzt. Die Spirale verbildlicht die allumfassende Omnipotenz der Stadt über die Individuen und die Unmöglichkeit, aus ihr herauszukommen. Die spiralförmige Struktur der Stadt gestattet nur eine eingeschränkte Bewegung im Kreis ohne Verbindung zu einem Ausgang. Wie Walensky behauptet: „ I ’ ve just been 34 Zschocke, Martina (2005). Mobilität in der Postmoderne. Psychische Komponenten von Reisen und Leben im Ausland. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 133. 35 Gerlach/ Hamilton (2004: 120). 36 Proyas (1998: 01: 07: 52 - 01: 08: 08). 120 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="121"?> spending time in the subway, riding in circles. Thinking in circles. There ’ s no way out “ 37 . „ You can ’ t get out of the city. Believe me, I ’ ve tried “ 38 . Die zentrale Szene des Versuchs mit der Maus im Labyrinth repräsentiert als pars pro toto die geschlossene, isolierte Welt von Dark City. Die Stadt ist wie ein auswegloses Labyrinth, in dem die „ panoptische Macht “ 39 der Außerirdischen die Individualität der Menschen vollkommen entwertet hat. Der Autonomie- und Kontrollverlust der Stadtbewohner korreliert „ mit der Erfahrung der Fragmentierung und Dekontextualisierung des Subjekts “ 40 . Die Simulation von Realität Die Fremden verkörpern die geheimen Mechanismen der Manipulation in der gegenwärtigen Welt und Medienkultur. Sie erweisen sich als eine Art „ genius malignus, der die absichtliche Täuschung des Menschen betreibt, um eine Erkenntnis der wahren Bedingungen des Seins zu verhindern “ 41 . Die Feststellung der fremdgesteuerten Kontrolle und Manipulation führt bei Murdoch zur skeptischen Hinterfragung der ontologischen Authentizität der bislang wahrgenommenen Welt. Zusammen mit dem Inspektor Bumstead zwingt er den dubiosen Dr. Schreber, die Geheimnisse der unbekannten Mächte zu offenbaren. Die „ Strangers “ sind, so Schreber, eine außerirdische, aussterbende Spezies, die Leichen von Menschen bewohnen und eine Aversion gegen Licht und Wasser haben. Mit Hilfe einer anthropomorphen Maschine, „ that allow them to focus their telepathic energies “ 42 , kontrollieren sie unbemerkt die Stadt. Sie sind auf 37 Proyas (1998: 00: 32: 42 - 00: 32: 49). 38 Proyas (1998: 00: 54: 23 - 00: 54: 25). 39 Döring, Melanie (2010). Die Karte als Experiment. Zur Raum - und Sujetstruktur in DARK CITY. In: Döring, Melanie. Filme lesen. Mediale Reflexion literaturwissenschaftlicher Theorien. München: Akademische Verlagsgemeinschaft, 32 - 51, 46. 40 Müller, André (2010). Film und Utopie. Positionen des fiktionalen Films zwischen Gattungstradition und gesellschaftlichen Zukunftsdiskursen. Münster: Lit, 329. Obwohl Alex Proyas auf Konzepte und Techniken des Film Noir zurückgreift, die er mit dem Genre der Science-Fiction verbindet, nimmt Dark City bei der filmischen Darstellung der Allmacht der Stadt, der Technologie und der Maschine deutlich Bezug auf Filme des deutschen Expressionismus, insbesondere auf Metropolis (1927) von Fritz Lang, aber auch auf Friedrich Wilhelm Murnaus Nosferatu (1922) und Robert Wienes Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920). Metropolis liefert Vorlagen für Design und Architektur der Stadt. Allerdings, im Unterschied zu Metropolis, geht in Dark City der Widerstand gegen die sozialen Macht- und Herrschaftsstrukturen von einem Individuum aus, während Fritz Lang an die Solidarität der unterdrückten Masse appelliert. 41 Müller (2010: 326). 42 Proyas (1998: 01: 23: 16 - 01: 23: 18). Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 121 <?page no="122"?> der Suche nach dem gemeinsamen Element, das die differenzierende menschliche Individualität hervorbringt, wie sie sich in den Erinnerungen manifestiert. Im Gegensatz zu den Menschen bilden sie eine Nicht-Individualität: „ They share one group mind “ 43 . Sie sind mit einem Kollektiv-Geist ausgestattet und besitzen keine personale Identität. Dr. Schreber: First, there was darkness. Then came the Strangers. They abducted us and brought us here. This city, everyone in it is their experiment. They mix and match our memories as they see fit, trying to divine what makes us unique. One day, a man might be an inspector. The next, someone entirely different. When they want to study a murderer, for instance, they simply imprint one of their citizens with a new personality. Arrange a family for him, friends, an entire history even a lost wallet. Then they observe the results. [ … ] Bumstead: Why are they doing all this? Dr. Schreber: It is our capacity for individuality, our souls that makes us different from them. They think they can find the human soul if they understand how our memories work. All they have are collective memories. They share one group mind. They ’ re dying. Their entire race is on the brink of extinction. They think we can save them. Murdoch: Where do I fit in? Dr. Schreber: You ’ re different, John. You resisted my attempt to imprint you 44 . Die Stadt ist also ein großes Labor, wo die Simulation die herkömmliche Realität ersetzt hat. Die Außerirdischen experimentieren mit den Menschen und greifen in ihr Leben ein, um herauszufinden, was Menschen menschlich macht. Denn als aussterbende Spezies mit einem Kollektivbewusstsein benötigen sie individuelle Eigenschaften, die es ihnen erlauben, unter den Menschen unauffällig zu leben und somit als Spezies zu überleben. Murdoch jedoch kann nicht akzeptieren, dass sein Leben nur Simulation und seine Erinnerungen bloß eine Lüge sind. Insbesondere will er herausfinden, ob Shell Beach, an dem er in seiner Kindheit gewesen zu sein glaubt und der die erste Phase seines Lebens vermeintlich repräsentiert, wirklich existiert. Zusammen mit Bumstead und Schreber versucht er zu dem mysteriösen Ort zu gelangen. An der Grenze der Stadt, die von einer Mauer umgeben ist, stoßen sie zu einem Shell Beach-Plakat vor und schlagen ein Loch in die Mauer hinter dem Plakat, um der Stadt zu entkommen. Völlig unerwartet erscheint dann im Loch der leere Weltraum, das Vakuum. Die Stadt existiert abseits der Erde. Alles, an das sie glaubten, ist eine Illusion, eine „ fabrication “ 45 . Das, was die Stadtbewohner für die Realität halten, ist ein Simulakrum, die Figuration einer Irrealität, eine Täuschung. Die Realität, wie sie sie erkennen, ist bloße Simu- 43 Proyas (1998: 01: 22: 47). 44 Proyas (1998: 01: 21: 25 - 01: 23: 00). 45 Proyas (1998: 01: 24: 28). 122 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="123"?> lation 46 . Shell Beach existiert nur in der Erinnerung und die Stadt, in der sie gefangen sind, ist ein im Weltraum schwebendes Konstrukt. Kein Weg führt hinaus. „ There is no ocean, John. There ’ s nothing beyond the city. The only place home exists is in your head “ 47 , sagt Dr. Schreber zu Murdoch. Shell Beach, der im krassen Gegensatz zur nächtlichen Stadt steht 48 , erweist sich als ein imaginärer Nicht-Ort, als ein leeres Zeichen ohne Referenten. Es gibt kein Signifikat jenseits des Signifikanten 49 . Shell Beach existiert nur auf Postkarten und Anzeigen. Er bezeichnet nichts, genauso wie die persönlichen Fotos und Gegenstände, die zu keinem Signifikat führen. Sie sind „ a ‚ spatial other ’ , an object of retrogressive desire (nostalgia) or progressive desire (utopia), always defined by its absence, deferral, or unattainability “ 50 . Und dennoch spielt Shell Beach eine bedeutende Rolle in Dark City, denn „ this place has become a collective dream “ 51 . Er fungiert als „ Illusion von Freiheit und Projektionsfläche von Sehnsüchten “ 52 : it symbolises the fundamental fantasy that any authoritarian regime employs so that the oppressed remain subdued. When the inhabitants are given the illusion of participation in a sunny setting that expands beyond the ideological control of the dark city, they are bound to remain docile 53 . Am Ende des Films, dank seiner Gabe zu tunen und mit Hilfe von Dr. Schreber gelingt es Murdoch, die Kontrolle über die Maschine der Fremden zu übernehmen und diese zu besiegen. Nun besitzt Murdoch eine grenzenlose Macht über die von den Außerirdischen erfundene Welt. Er kann die Realität nach seinem Willen modellieren, obwohl diese im Weltraum schwebende Welt nicht verlassen werden kann. Murdoch erschafft Shell Beach und bringt Sonnenlicht in die dunkle Stadt. Er trifft Emma wieder, die bereits als Anna „ geprägt “ wurde 46 Schein statt des Seins ist in diesem Kontext das wesentliche Charakteristikum der Simulation. 47 Proyas (1998: 01: 26: 01 - 01: 26: 14). 48 Wegen seiner scheinbaren geographischen Lage am Meer ist es in Shell Beach vermutlich hell und grenzenlos. Vgl. Döring (2010: 45). 49 Vgl. Daskalaki, Maria (2012). Ideology and the Urban Experience in Alex Proyas ’ Dark City. Art History Supplement 2: 6, 5 - 28, 14. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.academia.edu/ 3423974/ Ideology_and_the_Urban_Experience_in_Alex_- Proyas_Dark_City (Stand: 02/ 02/ 2022). 50 Hantke, Steffen (2005). Encapsulated Noir: Hybrid Genres and Social Mobility in Alex Proyas ’ Dark City. Scope. An Online Journal of Film and Television Studies 3. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.nottingham.ac.uk/ scope/ documents/ 2005/ october-2005/ hantke.pdf (Stand: 02/ 02/ 2022). 51 Fitch, Alex (2019). Dark City and The Truman Show. Surveillance and the Destabilization of Identity. Film Criticism 43: 2, 57 - 74, 69. 52 Müller (2010: 326). 53 Daskalaki (2012: 16). Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 123 <?page no="124"?> und sich nicht mehr an Murdoch erinnert, und beide brechen zusammen nach Shell Beach auf. Als „ Durchbrecher des Herrschaftsapparats “ 54 ist Murdoch ein Musterbeispiel des revolutionären Charakters im Sinne Erich Fromms: Der revolutionäre Charakter ist ein Humanist, sofern er in sich die ganze Menschheit erfährt und ihm nichts Menschliches fremd ist. Er liebt das Leben und achtet es. In ihm sind Skepsis und Glaube. Skeptiker ist er, weil er die Ideologien verdächtigt, unerwünschte Realitäten zu verschleiern. Glaubender ist er, weil er an das glauben kann, was erst potenziell ist, ohne schon ganz geboren zu sein. Er kann „ nein “ sagen und ungehorsam sein, eben weil er „ ja “ sagen kann und jenen Grundsätzen gehorcht, die in Wahrheit seine eigenen sind. Er befindet sich nicht im Halbschlaf, sondern nimmt in voller Wachheit die persönlichen und gesellschaftlichen Realitäten um sich wahr. Er ist unabhängig; was er ist, verdankt er seinen eigenen Bemühungen, er ist frei und keines Menschen Diener 55 . Als Einzelheld, der gegen den Versuch rebelliert, „ in einem gesellschaftlichtechnischen Mechanismus nivelliert und verbraucht zu werden “ 56 , leistet Murdoch einen erfolgreichen Widerstand gegen die Macht- und Herrschaftsstrukturen der Außerirdischen. Es gelingt ihm, „ die Selbständigkeit und Eigenart seines Daseins gegen die Übermächte der Gesellschaft, des geschichtlich Ererbten, der äußerlichen Kultur und Technik des Lebens zu bewahren “ 57 , wie es Georg Simmel 1903 ausdrückte. Dank der Hervorhebung seiner Individualität und der Betonung seiner Willensstärke kann Murdoch die oppressiven sozialen Strukturen durchschauen, das Verborgene hinter der Realität enthüllen und sich von der herrschenden Simulation und der Tyrannei der „ Strangers “ befreien. Die absolute Entfremdung der Stadtbewohner, die in der ständigen Veränderung ihrer Erinnerungen und ihrer Identität verankert ist, wird voraussichtlich zum Ende kommen. Allerdings, obwohl nach der Vernichtung der Fremden eine optimistische Zukunft angedeutet wird, liegt nun die ganze Macht ausschließlich bei John Murdoch, der die Realität neu, nach seinen Bedürfnissen, Vorstellungen und Wünschen gestalten kann. „ He can do this only because he too has mastered the ultimate technology, the ability to alter physical reality by will alone, in short, because he has already mutated into something posthuman “ 58 . Darüber hinaus, 54 Fuhse (2003: 233). 55 Fromm, Erich (1999). Gesamtausgabe in zwölf Bänden, hrsg. von Rainer Funk. Bd. IX: Sozialistischer Humanismus und humanistische Ethik. München: Deutsche Verlags- Anstalt/ Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 353. 56 Simmel (1903: 116). 57 Simmel (1903: 116). 58 Milner (2004: 274). 124 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="125"?> auch wenn der (posthumane) Protagonist, dessen individuelle Entscheidungsfreiheit heroisiert wird, aus der simulierten Welt der „ Strangers “ ausbricht und die gesellschaftliche Wirklichkeit erkennt, bleibt es letztlich offen, ob die Realität hinter der Simulation für die Mehrzahl der Stadtbewohner weiterhin unsichtbar bleibt. Es wird in Dark City angedeutet, dass die Welt nur aus Simulation besteht. Der Mensch existiert einzig und allein in der Simulation. Alles, was er ist und was ihn umgibt, ist simuliert. So lassen sich bemerkenswerte Koinzidenzen zwischen Dark City und der postmodernen Simulationstheorie des französischen Philosophen und Soziologen Jean Baudrillard feststellen. Denn nach Baudrillard ist die Welt in der Massen- und Mediengesellschaft von der Simulation beherrscht. Die neuen Technologien und Medien erzeugen eine Hyperrealität, in der zwischen authentischen und simulierten Vorgängen und Ereignissen nicht mehr unterschieden werden kann. Durch die „ Agonie des Realen “ entsteht eine Welt der Simulation, in der das, was in ihr für „ das Reale “ gehalten wird, „ nicht mehr das Reale ist “ 59 . Die Formen bisher bekannter und vertrauter Realität werden dabei aufgelöst. Reales wird nicht einfach imitiert bzw. re-produziert, sondern massenmedial simuliert. In der so verformten (Hyper-)Realität verschwindet die Möglichkeit von Referenzialität. „ Die Simulationen oder Zeichenwelten interagieren mit anderen Simulationen, nicht aber mit Referenten. “ 60 Die Signifikanten sind ohne Bezug zu einem Signifikat. Die Zeichen sind nur noch Simulation, „ Simulakra “ von Realität. Sie stehen nicht in einem Referenz- Verhältnis zu Realem und sind selbstreferenziell geworden. Das Realitätsprinzip hat sich mit einem bestimmten Stadium des Wertgesetzes gedeckt. Heute kippt das ganze System in die Unbestimmtheit, jegliche Realität wird von der Hyperrealität des Codes und der Simulation aufgesogen. Anstelle des alten Realitätsprinzips beherrscht uns von nun an ein Simulationsprinzip. [ … ] es gibt nur noch Simulakren 61 . Wie bei Baudrillard steht in Dark City die philosophische Frage im Mittelpunkt, inwieweit Simulationen Realität erzeugen können. Der Film veranschaulicht wie eine Hyperrealität im Sinne Baudrillards entsteht, in der alles durch den Verlust des Signifikats hinter dem Signifikanten ein Teil der Simulation geworden ist. 59 Baudrillard, Jean (1978). Agonie des Realen. Aus dem Franz. v. Lothar Kurzawa und Volker Schaefer. Berlin: Merve, 25. 60 Runge, Evelyn (2014). Ökonomie: Markt der Bilder. In: Günzel, Stephan/ Mersch, Dieter (Hrsg.) Bild. Ein interdisziplinäres Handbuch. Stuttgart/ Weimar: Metzler, 143 - 150, 144. 61 Baudrillard, Jean (1982). Der symbolische Tausch und der Tod. Aus dem Franz. v. Gerd Bergfleth, Gabriele Ricke und Ronald Voullié. München: Matthes & Seitz, 8. Simulation, Überwachung und fremdbestimmte Identität 125 <?page no="126"?> Fazit Im Rahmen des Genres der Science-Fiction übt Dark City scharfe Kritik an einer entnaturalisierten Gesellschaft, die die Realität nur noch simuliert und den Menschen fremdbestimmt und manipuliert. Durch die Darstellung einer dystopischen Zukunftswelt warnt Dark City vor sozialen Fehlentwicklungen und ihren drohenden Konsequenzen. Der Film veranschaulicht wie die verzerrte, uneigentliche Realitätswahrnehmung zur fremdgesteuerten Konstruktion von Identität und zur absoluten Entfremdung des Individuums führt. Das Reale verschwindet in Simulation, hinter der die Herrschaftsverhältnisse, die soziale Wirklichkeit und die Auflösung des Selbst verborgen bleiben. Es herrschen ausschließlich Scheinwirklichkeit und Scheinselbstständigkeit als Konsequenz der absoluten Hypertrophie einer von Maschinen und technologischer Überwachung dominierten Umwelt, die den Menschen kaum Entscheidungsfreiheit ermöglicht und seine Individualität vollkommen entwertet. Die Identität des Menschen ist fragil, brüchig und mutabel. Wegen der Atrophie der individuellen Subjektivität, die sich nicht autonom konstituieren kann, sind die Menschen nicht in der Lage, die gesellschaftliche Realität und ihre eigene Fremdbestimmtheit zu erkennen. Der Mensch befindet sich in einem ihm vorgegebenen Leben gefangen, aus dem er nicht ausbrechen kann. Gegen die hyperreale Welt der Simulation und der Verdinglichung des Individuums können nur, wenn überhaupt, wie Dark City betont, die individuelle Freiheit als Unabhängigkeit des Einzelnen erfolgreich sein. Deshalb rückt der individuelle Held in den Mittelpunkt des Films. Dank seiner Willenskraft kann er das überpersönliche System, das ihn unterdrückt, besiegen. Allerdings bleibt die Frage offen, inwieweit die hyperreale Simulationsgesellschaft weiterhin bestehen bleibt. 126 Manuel Maldonado-Alemán <?page no="127"?> Moderne Abgründe Die dämonische Leinwand des David Lynch Carlo Avventi „ All I wanted to do was paint “ 1 , verrät der Künstler und Filmemacher David Lynch in David Lynch: The Art Life 2 , einem 2016 erschienenen Dokumentarfilm über das Leben und Werk des Enfant terrible des amerikanischen Kinos. Malerei, Fotografie, Musik, Design, Videoinstallationen spielen im Leben Lynchs eine seinem filmischen Schaffen nicht untergeordnete Rolle. Kunstbände wie David Lynch, someone is in my House 3 , oder David Lynch. Digital Nudes 4 sowie weltweite Ausstellungen, etwa die 2007 in der Fondation Cartier in Paris stattgefundene Retrospektive seines künstlerischen Werks, zeugen davon. Doch Lynchs Auseinandersetzung mit Kunst läuft nicht einfach parallel, d. h. neben seiner Filmproduktion, sie ist vielmehr Teil davon. Kunst und Film bzw. Film und Kunst lassen sich in David Lynchs Œ uvre nicht eindeutig trennen. Georg Seeßlen spricht in David Lynch und seine Filme von einem Kino im Geiste der Malerei. 5 Julia Meier geht in Die Tiefe der Oberfläche. David Lynch. Gilles Deleuze. Francis Bacon noch weiter, indem sie behauptet: „ Die Narration dient [Lynch A. d. V.] als Unterstützung des Sensuellen. “ 6 Von seinen frühen Kurz- 1 Nguyen, Jon/ Barnes, Rick/ Neergaard-Holm, Olivia (2017). David Lynch. The art life. USA u. a.: Duck Diver Films (00: 28: 56 - 00: 28: 58). 2 Ebda. 3 Chabon, Michael/ Huijts, Stijn/ Giloy-Hirtz, Petra/ McKenna, Kristine (2018). David Lynch, someone is in my house. Veurne: Éditions Hannibal. 4 Lynch, David (2021). David Lynch, Digital Nudes. Paris: Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. 5 Vgl. Seeßlen, Georg (1994). David Lynch und seine Filme. Marburg: Schüren, 9. 6 Meier, Julia (2013). Die Tiefe der Oberfläche. David Lynch, Gilles Deleuze, Francis Bacon. Berlin: Kulturverlag Kadmos, 17. <?page no="128"?> filmen wie The Alphabet 7 (1968) bis zu neueren Produktionen (Twin Peaks. The Return 8 [2017]) ist der Einfluss der bildenenden Kunst in Lynchs Filmografie unverkennbar. Als Vorbilder und Inspirationsquelle für den US-amerikanischen Filmemacher wurden bisher vor allem Francis Bacon 9 , Edward Hopper 10 , und der Surrealismus 11 einer näheren Betrachtung unterzogen. Eine Verwandtschaft zwischen Lynchs filmischem Werk und dem (deutschen) Expressionismus erkennt Georg Seeßlen etwa im Motiv des Doppelgängers, 12 verfolgt diese Affinität jedoch nicht weiter. So bleibt die Frage, inwiefern bzw. inwieweit zwischen der expressionistischen Kunstbewegung des beginnenden 20. Jahrhunderts und Lynchs Filmen Kongruenzen vorhanden seien, größtenteils unbeantwortet. Durch seine Studien an der School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston und an der Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts sowie aufgrund der 1965 unternommenen Reise nach Europa, zur Sommerakademie von Oskar Kokoschka, 13 ist davon auszugehen, dass bereits dem jungen Studenten Lynch Hauptwerke und -merkmale expressionistischer Kunst vertraut sein mussten. Im Folgenden soll der Frage nachgegangen werden, ob es Gemeinsamkeiten und damit eine mögliche Nähe zwischen Lynchs Filmografie und der Kunst des Expressionismus gibt. Existieren zwischen beiden substanzielle Kongruenzen oder finden sich in Lynchs Filmen bloß expressionistische Anleihen, die nicht über das Dekorative hinausgehen? Anders formuliert: Haben der Expressionismus und Lynchs Kunst Voraussetzungen, Einstellungen und Perspektiven, die sich in Stilelementen, Motiven und Themen niederschlagen, gemein? Diese Aspekte werden aufgrund des vorhandenen Rahmens weder in ihrer Tiefe, beispielsweise in ihren psychoanalytischen oder soziologischen Konnotationen, weiter verfolgt, noch kann hier ein Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit erhoben werden. Eine erste Begehung eines größtenteils unerforschten Terrains ist hier die Absicht, die umfassendere und detailliertere Untersuchungen anstoßen möchte, nicht zuletzt weil der Expressionismus als Schlüssel neue Einblicke in das Werk eines der kryptischsten Filmemachers unserer Zeit gewähren könnte. 7 Lynch, David (1968). The Alphabet. USA: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. 8 Lynch, David (2017). Twin Peaks. The Return. USA: Lynch/ Frost Productions. 9 Vgl. Meier, a. a. O. 10 Vgl. Seeßlen, a. a. O., 211. 11 Vgl. Light, Jo (2019). The Artists That Inspire David Lynch ’ s Unique Visual Style. Abrufbar unter: https: / / nofilmschool.com/ david-lynch-artistic-inspirations (Stand: 18/ 12/ 2021). 12 Vgl. Seeßlen, a. a. O., 206. 13 David Lynch studiert letztlich nicht bei Kokoschka, sondern kehrt bereits nach zwei Wochen in die USA zurück. 128 Carlo Avventi <?page no="129"?> Um der oben genannten Fragestellung einen festeren Boden zu bereiten, ist es hilfreich, das dieser Untersuchung zugrundeliegende Verständnis von Expressionismus zu präzisieren. Als Prüfstein für Lynchs Nähe zum Expressionismus soll im Folgenden in erster Linie der expressionistische Film dienen. 14 Gemeint sind Filme von 1913 (Der Student von Prag 15 ) bis zum Beginn der Dreißiger Jahre, etwa bis M 16 von Fritz Lang. Filme, die in erster Linie in Deutschland entstanden und die allgemein zur Blütezeit deutscher (Stumm)filmkunst gezählt werden. Kennzeichen des expressionistischen Films ist, wie auch für Malerei und Literatur allgemein formuliert, die Abkehr von einer naturalistischen Realitätswidergabe zugunsten einer subjektiven Wirklichkeitskonstruktion. Dieser Subjektivismus reicht nicht selten ins Phantastisch-Visionäre, ins Grotesk-Dämonische bzw. ins Artifiziell-Abstrakte. „ Das Filmbild soll …“ , so der berühmte Spruch Hermann Warms, eines der Architekten von Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari 17 , „… Graphik werden. “ 18 Vertikalen, Diagonalen, Schrägen, Verzerrungen, Verschattungen, Licht-Schatteneffekte, isolierte Objekte, stilisiert-artifizielles Agieren [ … ], Figurenprofile, geschwärzt von traumhafter Unwirklichkeit, dämonischer Machtbesessenheit und moderner Verlorenheit, oder auch charakteristische Elemente der Narration: Rahmungen und Verdopplungen, Unheimlichkeiten und Abgründigkeiten, Subjektivitäten und Autoreflexivitäten 19 sind für Christian Kiening und Ulrich Johannes Beil in Anlehung an Rudolf Kurtz ’ Expressionismus und Film 20 für den expressionistischen Film konstitutiv. Kasimir Edschmid schreibt über den Expressionismus in der Literatur: Nun gibt es nicht mehr die Kette der Tatsachen: Fabriken, Häuser, Krankheit, Huren, Geschrei und Hunger. Nun gibt es ihre Vision. Die Tatsachen haben Bedeutung nur so weit, als, durch sie hindurchgreifend, die Hand des Künstlers nach dem faßt, was hinter ihnen steht. 21 14 Der Vergleich von Lynchs filmischem Œ uvre mit dem Kino des Expressionimsus bietet zudem die Möglichkeit einer unmittelbareren Inbezugsetzung filmischer Mittel. 15 Ewers, Hanns Heinz (1913). Der Student von Prag. Romantisches Drama in vier Akten. Deutschland: Deutsche Bioscop GmbH. 16 Lang, Fritz (1931). M. Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder. Deutschland: Nero-Film A. G. 17 Wiene, Robert (1920). Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari. Deutschland: Decla Film. 18 Kurtz, Rudolf (2007). Expressionismus und Film. Zürich: Chronos, 66. 19 Kiening, Christian/ Beil, Ulrich Johannes (2007). Nachwort. In: Ebda., 167. 20 Kurtz (2007). 21 Edschmid, Kasimir (1919). Über den Expressionismus in der Literatur und die neue Dichtung. 4. Aufl. Berlin: Erich Reiß Verlag. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.gutenberg.org/ cache/ epub/ 32450/ pg32450-images.html (Stand: 18/ 12/ 2021). Moderne Abgründe 129 <?page no="130"?> Es geht dem Expressionimus also um ein ‚ Dahinter ’ , um eine zweite Ebene, einen doppelten Boden, zu dem allein der expressionistische Blick Zugang hat bzw. den nur der expressionistische Künstler zu enthüllen vermag. Doch das, was sich hinter dem Vorhang der Tatsachen, also dem unmittelbar Sichtbarem befindet, ist, gerade im expressionistischem Film nicht selten das Abgründige und Dämonische. Sigfried Kracauer und Lotte H. Eisner beschreiben diese Tendenz des deutschen Kinos der 20er Jahre nicht zuletzt als Spiegel der Ängste und Ressentiments der deutschen Bevölkerung nach dem Ersten Weltkrieg. 22 Der Film reflektiere, so Kracauer „ jene Tiefenschichten der Kollektivmentalität, die sich mehr oder weniger unterhalb der Bewußtseinsdimension erstrecken “ 23 . Auch in David Lynchs Filmen geht es fast immer um ein ‚ Darunter ’ bzw. ein ‚ Dahinter ’ . Um Fassade und Hintergrund. Eine paradigmatische Szene dafür findet sich in Blue Velvet 24 von 1986. Der Film beginnt mit der überzeichneten Darstellung einer amerikanischen Kleinstadtidylle. Doch als der Vater des Protagonisten beim Besprengen seines Vorgartens plötzlich einen Herzinfarkt erleidet, fährt die Kamera durch das Gras hindurch und enthüllt unter dem grünen, gepflegten Rasen eine dunkle, von Käfern wimmelnde Unterwelt. Diese Sequenz erweist sich nicht nur für die Fortsetzung des genannten Films als Programm, sie bietet auch einen Schlüssel zu einem Großteil von Lynchs Filmografie. Wie einige Jahre später in Twin Peaks stellt sich auch in Lumberton die Idylle als bloße Hülle, hinter der sich Ausschweifungen und Gewalt verbergen, heraus. Folgerichtig erscheinen in Lynch Filmen Orte auffällig oft und prominent platziert in Gestalt von Plakaten: Lumberton, Twin Peaks, Big Tuna (Wild at Heart 25 ) und als Quintessenz natürlich Hollywood in Mulholland Drive 26 . Lynchs Welten erscheinen zunächst als Reklame, deren Versprechen sich, wie am Ortseingangsschild von Big Tuna mit der Aufschrift ‚ Fuck You ’ unmissverständlich spürbar wird, als Lüge erweisen. Sieht man vielleicht von The Straight Story 27 ab, so erteilt David Lynch in seinen Filmen dem amerikanischen Mythos einer im Einklang mit der Natur lebenden, friedlichen und tugendhaften Gemeinschaft oder dem Mythos Hollywood als Sinnbild des amerikanischen Traums eine Absage. Das Nachkriegsamerika, das der 1946 geborene Lynch bereits als Kind mit seiner Familie durchquert, ist ein 22 Vgl. Kracauer, Siegfried (1984). Von Caligari zu Hitler. Eine psychologische Geschichte des deutschen Films. 11. Aufl. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp. Sowie: Eisner, Lotte H. (1976). Die dämonische Leinwand. 3. Aufl. Frankfurt am Main: Kommunales Kino. 23 Krakauer (1984: 12). 24 Lynch, David (1986). Blue Velvet. USA: De Laurentiis Entertainment Group. 25 Lynch, David (1990). Wild at Heart. USA: Polygram Filmed Entertainment u. a. 26 Lynch, David (2001). Mulholland Drive. Frankreich u. a.: Les Films Alain Sarde. 27 Lynch, David (1999). The Straight Story. Frankreich u. a.: Les Films Alain Sarde. 130 Carlo Avventi <?page no="131"?> im Wandel (Verstädterung, Rezession) begriffenes und von inneren und äußeren Spannungen (Kalter Krieg, Rassenunruhen, Vietnam) durchzogenes Land. Wie der expressionistische Film, so muss auch Lynchs Kino als Spiegel und Reaktion der Sorgen und Ängste einer Bevölkerung vor der Veränderung des eigenen Landes betrachtet werden. Und wie im deutschen Kino der 20er Jahre ist das Spiegelbild ein düsteres. Eraserhead 28 , Lynchs erster Langspielfilm von 1977, ist ein Paradebeispiel dafür. Der Film, dessen Inhalt - wie bei Lynch nicht selten - sich nur schwer zusammenfassen lässt, zeigt einen jungen Mann in einer unwirtlichen, (post) industriellen Welt, der sich um (s)einen missgebildeten Säugling kümmern muss. Die in anderen Filmen Lynchs zu Beginn noch vorhandene Fassade einer bürgerlichen Idylle erscheint hier von Beginn an als Groteske. Der Zuschauer taucht mit dem Protagonisten Henry Spencer direkt in die Unterwelt ein. Der in Schwarz-weiß gedrehte Film erinnert in seinem Low-Key-Stil an den Film Noir und damit auch an den expressionistischen Film. Die meist dunklen Hintergründe, vor denen sich einzelne Figuren und Objekte abheben, verleihen dem Geschehen eine düstere, albtraumhafte Atmosphäre. In diese fügen sich die Figuren, allen voran der Protagonist durch sein expressives Äußeres (Haare) und Spiel (Überbetonung nonverbaler Ausdrucksmittel), das an die schauspielerische Darstellungsweise im deutschen Film der 20er Jahren erinnert, organisch ein. Zum Eindruck des Abgründigen tragen auch die Motive in Eraserhead bei, allen voran, jenes des Abnormen, Entstellten. Wie im Expressionismus (etwa bei Murnaus Nosferatu 29 ) kann auch in Lynchs Werk dieses als Signum nicht nur individueller ( „ Angst des nicht zu Ende geborenen Mannes vor der Sexualität “ 30 ), sondern auch kollektiver Tiefenschichten (Zerstörung herkömmlicher bürgerlich-familiärer Ordnungen) betrachtet werden. In The Elephant Man 31 (1980), Lynchs nächstem Langspielfilm, setzt sich das Motiv des Monströsen fort. Wie der Titel bereits besagt, haben wir es hier mit einem aufgrund schrecklicher Deformationen als Elefantenmenschen bezeichneten Protagonisten zu tun. Wie in Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari wird hier das Monströse als Attraktion präsentiert. Frappierend ist die Parallele zwischen den zwei Filmen. In beiden wird auf einem Jahrmarkt von einem perfiden Schausteller eine Kreatur, der Elephantenmensch bei Lynch, der somnambule Cesare bei Wiene den schaulustigen Bürgern für Geld präsentiert. Doch anders als in 28 Lynch, David (1977). Eraserhead. USA: American Film Institute. 29 Murnau, Friedrich Wilhelm (1922). Nosferatu. Eine Symphonie des Grauens. Deutschland: Prana Film GmbH. 30 Seßleen (1994: 35). 31 Lynch, David (1980). The Elephant Man. USA: Brooksfilm. Moderne Abgründe 131 <?page no="132"?> Nosferatu oder in Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari geht vom ‚ Elefantenmenschen ’ keine Gefahr aus. Er ist ein modernes, domestiziertes Monster, in Anbetracht dessen der Bürger gefahrlos seiner Sehlust und damit seiner unterdrückten Sexualität symbolisch frönen kann. Dune 32 (1984), Lynchs darauf folgender Film, soll hier nur erwähnt werden, da in ihm bisher beleuchtete Motive und Themen nur am Rande vorkommen, 33 vor allem aber, weil beim Betrachten des Films der Eindruck entsteht, nur in Ansätzen ein Werk David Lynchs vor sich zu haben. Lynch selbst schreibt über Dune: „ Ich hatte Dune nicht im Griff. Ich machte den Film für die Produzenten, nicht für mich selbst. “ 34 Ganz anders verhält es sich, wie bereits erwähnt, beim zwei Jahre später entstandenen Blue Velvet (1986). Trotz der Resonanz von Eraserhead, kann erst dieser als vollendeter Lynch-Film bezeichnet werden. In ihm sind bereits die wichtigsten Motive und Themen des US-amerikanischen Filmemachers angelegt: Die Reise in die Unterwelt, die schuldhafte Sexualität, brutale, exzessive Gewalt, Voyeurismus, die Bühne, der Vorhang, das Labyrinthische usw. Dagegen machtlos scheint die heile, bürgerliche Welt, durch die aufrechte und tugendhafte Polizistentochter Sandy Williams personifiziert. So erscheint auch das Ende des Films, bei dem nach dem Tod Frank Booths die bürgerliche Ordnung wiederhergestellt zu sein scheint, dem Filmanfang ähnlich, als trügerisch. Das Unheimliche ist hier im Freudschen Sinne zu verstehen, d. h. als nicht vom Heim (lichen) zu trennen. So ist die Instanz, die genau für diese Trennung zuständig sein sollte, die Polizei, in Blue Velvet selbst korrupt und damit vom Keim des Bösen infiziert. Wie im expressionistischen Film, in dem Nosferatu in das bürgerliche Haus, um Ellens Blut zu trinken, eindringt oder bei Caligari, in dem die Filmästhetik gegen eine Trennung von Rahmen- und Binnenerzählung spricht und damit gegen eine Eingrenzung der Gewalt in die Sphäre der Phantasie bzw. des Wahnsinns, ist auch in Lynchs Film das Dämonische weder zu bändigen noch einzugrenzen. Wild at Heart (1990) ist ein von Gewalt und Brutalität durchzogener Film. Vergewaltigung und Mord bestimmten die Vergangenheit der zwei Hauptfiguren und lassen eine bürgerliche Gesellschaft mit einer intakten familiären Struktur höchstens als eine ferne, von Sehnsucht begleitete Vorstellung erscheinen. Stattdessen herrscht in Wild at Heart trotz eines polizeilichen Repressionsapparats das Recht des Stärkeren. Sailor und Lula bewegen sich in einer Hobbesschen Welt, in der jeder seines nächsten Wolf ist. Beinahe 32 Lynch, David (1984). Dune. USA: Dino de Laurentiis Corp. 33 Erwähnt sei hier etwa das Motiv der körperlichen Entstellung beim Baron Harkonnen. 34 Seßleen (1994: 77). 132 Carlo Avventi <?page no="133"?> unwirklich erscheint vor diesem Hintergrund ihre reine, unschuldige Liebe. Doch das den Film grundierende Gefühl der Unwirklichkeit rührt vor allem vom posenhaften Verhalten der Protagonisten her. Trotz (traumatischer) Vergangenheit und damit einer Art Biografie ausgestattet, bleiben Sailor und Lula flächig, d. h. künstliche Wesen, die sich selbst als Figuren spielen bzw. illustre Vorbilder wie Elvis Presley oder Marilyn Monroe zitieren. Der zu Beginn erwähnte artifiziell-abstrakte Charakter des Expressionismus rührt hier aus einer medialen Selbstreflexion. Sailor und Lula spielen sich selbst als Figuren, sind also in einem doppelten Sinne künstlich. Das Abstrakte bzw. Zweidimensionale von Lynchs fünftem Langspielfilm ist auch Ergebnis der Art der räumlichen Darstellung. Obwohl der Film eine Reise schildert, als Road Movie verstanden werden könnte, wird der Zuschauer nur selten mit Landschaften, d. h. mit räumlichen Perspektiven konfrontiert. Stattdessen findet das Geschehen vor allem in Innenräumen, etwa in Hotelzimmern statt. Dadurch verliert die Reise ihre realen Koordinaten (Orte wie Cape Fear, New Orleans oder Tuna bleiben gesichtslos), während die Protagonisten wie Getriebene in einem Albtraum erscheinen. Dieser (Alb)traumcharakter setzt sich in der Serie Twin Peaks 35 (1990 - 1991) sowie im dazugehörigen Langspielfilm Twin Peaks. Fire Walk with Me 36 (1992) oder in Twin Peaks. The Return 37 (2017) fort. Programmatisch heißt es zu Beginn von Twin Peaks. Fire Walk with Me: „ We live inside a dream. “ 38 Wie in vielen expressionistischen Filmen und in fast allen Filmen David Lynchs hat dieser unwirkliche Charakter mit der Künstlichkeit der dargestellten Welt und, wie wir spätestens seit Wild at Heart wissen, auch der Figuren, zu tun. Zwar wird der Zuschauer bei Lynch nicht mit gemalten, phantastisch anmutenden Kulissen aus einem Filmstudio konfrontiert, dennoch bleiben Lynchs Räume ebenso abstrakt und unfassbar. Von Twin Peaks als Ort gibt es kein Zentrum, 39 noch bietet der Film über diesen Ort am Ende der Zivilisation einen tatsächlichen Überblick. Der Zuschauer wird mit einzelnen Räumen konfrontiert, die er wie in einem Puzzle oder einen Scherbenhaufen zusammenfügen muss. In Twin Peaks geht David Lynch einen weiteren Schritt Richtung Abstraktion, indem er einen Raum, ein Interieur, das von einem roten Vorhang umgeben ist, und außerhalb der Diegese zu stehen scheint, entwirft: Der sogenannte Red Room. Man könnte ihn als einen transzendentalen Raum, eine Art Backstage der Filmhandlung, bezeichnen, in dem die Gesetze von Zeit und Raum aufgehoben sind, und 35 Lynch, David (1990/ 1991). Twin Peaks. USA: Lynch/ Frost Productions u. a. 36 Lynch, David (1992). Twin Peaks. Fire Walk with Me. USA: Twin Peaks Productions u. a. 37 Lynch, David (2017). Twin Peaks. The Return. USA: Lynch/ Frost Productions. 38 Lynch, David (1992: 00: 28: 34 - 00: 28: 38). 39 Vgl. Seßleen (1994: 232 - 233). Moderne Abgründe 133 <?page no="134"?> Figuren auch nach ihrem Tod als Geister interagieren können. Mit dem Red Room erreicht Lynch wohl den Höhepunkt der Abstraktion und nähert sich ästhetisch am stärksten vielen stilisierten, realitätsfernen Kulissen des Expressionismus. Als Grenzort, gemeint ist hier nicht die Grenze zu Kanada, sondern jene zur Natur, verkörpert Twin Peaks einen uramerikanischen Mythos und zwar jenen des Siedlers, der vor den Gefahren der Natur nur mit Tugendhaftigkeit bestehen kann und in der Gemeinschaft Geborgenheit findet. Dieser Mythos ist, wie bereits angedeutet, zur Fassade verkommen. Wie in Blue Velvet versteckt sich unmittelbar dahinter das Dämonische. Diese Dychotomie wird durch die Figur der Laura Palmer, die sowohl Opfer als auch Täter, Engel und Prostituierte in einem ist, versinnbildlicht. Doch nicht nur sie, fast alle Figuren in Twin Peaks scheinen eine Doppelexistenz zu führen, eine gutbürgerliche und eine lasterhafte. Und über allen schwebt der Dämon Bob, der wie Caligari oder Mabuse von den Menschen Besitz ergreifen und diese, wie Lauras Vater, zu Verbrechen anstiften kann. Wie Murnaus Nosferatu dringt er in die geschützte und angeblich heile Sphäre von Lauras (Kinder)zimmer ein und macht sich über sie her. Bob erscheint hier als moderner, expressionistischer Dämon. Lost Highway 40 (1997), Lynch nächster Langspielfilm, enthält mehrere der bisher in seinem Werk beobachteten und ihn in die Nähe des Expressionismus rückenden Motive: Das Dämonische, das in die häusliche Welt in Form von Videoaufnahmen eindringt, sowie die rohe Gewalt, versinnbildlicht durch die Figur des Mr. Eddy. Wie Twin Peaks enthält auch Lost Highway eine Art Spukgestalt und zwar den allwissenden und allgegenwärtigen Mystery Man. Dieser, der aufgrund seines Aussehens (Kleidung und vor allem Make-Up) direkt aus einem expressionistischem Film entsprungen zu sein scheint, entpuppt sich als Manipulator der bzw. des Protagonisten und erscheint damit ebenfalls als Nachfahre eines Caligaris, Mabuses oder Mephistos. Wie im Expressionismus sind Landschaftsbzw. Raumdarstellungen stets mit psychologischen Konnotationen verbunden. Diese subjektive Weltsicht wird übrigens in Lost Highway von Fred ganz explizit thematisiert: „ I like to remember things my own way [ … ]. How I remembered them. Not necessarily the way they happened. “ 41 So findet die klaustrophobische Welt von Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari ihr Pendant in Fred Madisons Haus. Dieses erweist sich, wie viele andere Häuser bzw. Wohnungen bei Lynch als geschlossener, d. h. als finsterer, undurchsichtiger Raum, in dem sich die Figuren wie Schattenwesen bewegen oder, wie Fred vor dem Mord an seiner Frau, in der Dunkelheit desselben verschwinden. Das Labyrinthische ist in Lost Highway jedoch nicht nur eine Eigenschaft des 40 Lynch, David (1997). Lost Highway. USA: Asymetrical Productions u. a. 41 Ebda. (00: 23: 45 - 00: 23: 57). 134 Carlo Avventi <?page no="135"?> Raumes, es bestimmt auch die Narration. Wie ein Möbiusband schreitet diese nicht linear fort, sondern kehrt am Schluss zu ihrem Anfang zurück, indem sie die Opposition von Innen und Außen, Traum und Realität außer Kraft setzt. 42 Zu dieser Verunsicherung trägt auch das Motiv des Doppelgängers bei. Dieses kommt in Lost Highway gleich zwei Mal zum Tragen: Mit den Figuren Fred und Pete sowie bei Renee und Alice. Ob es sich hier um ein übernatürliches, magisches Element oder um ein Symptom psychischer Erkrankung handelt, sei dahingestellt. Die Nähe zu Filmen wie Der Student von Prag oder Der Andere 43 ist nicht von der Hand zu weisen. Aus dem infernalen Zirkel scheint es weder in Caligaris Heilanstalt, die von hohen, unüberwindbaren Mauern umgeben ist, noch in Lost Highway einen Ausweg zu geben. So kann in Anlehnung an Munchs gleichnamiges Gemälde Freds Schrei am Ende des Films als Ausdruck seiner Furcht vor dem Verlust seiner Identität betrachtet werden. 44 Wie bereits erwähnt, bildet meines Erachtens The Straight Story, ein Roadmovie von 1999, größtenteils eine thematische und ästhetische Ausnahme in Lynch Œ uvre und soll hier übersprungen werden. In Mulholland Drive (2001) widmet sich Lynch dem Mythos Hollywood. Hollywood als Geschichtsschreiber und Gewissen Amerikas und als Traumfabrik, d. h. als Ort des Amerikanischen Traums, dessen Sinnbild der Star ist. Analog zu den zwei Protagonistinnen weist Lynch diesem Mythos einen Januskopf mit einem strahlenden und einem finsteren Gesicht zu. Es überrascht nicht, dass im Laufe des Films die Spannung, die zwischen diesen zwei Seiten herrscht, zugunsten zweiterer entschieden wird. Die Glitzerwelt, nach der sich die Doris-Day-hafte Betty sehnt, erweist sich einmal mehr als äußerst dünn. Durch sie hindurch spuken geisterhafte und dämonische Figuren, wie der Cowboy Man oder das ältere Ehepaar, das mit Betty in Los Angeles landet und durch sein teufliches Grinsen, das anstehende Unheil vorwegnimmt. Der Wendepunkt im Lost Highway ähnlich zirkulär aufgebauten Film, findet an einem Ort, dem Club Silencio, der in mehrerer Hinsicht an eine Bühne des Expressionismus erinnert, statt. Wie der Schausteller Caligari zieht ein diabolisch anmutender Zeremonienmeister, von dem eine hypnotische Macht auszugehen scheint, sein Publikum in den Bann. Und wie in Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari ist seine ‚ Kreatur ’ , die Sängerin ‚ La Llorona de Los Angeles ‘ , wie Cesare, ein stummes, puppenartiges Geschöpf. Sie ist, wie die Musikinstrumente ( „ It`s 42 Herzogenrath, Bernd (2017). „ This Is Some Spoky Shit We Got Here “ . SeltsameTopo ǀ - Logiken in David Lynchs Lost Highway. In: Binotto, Johannes (Hrsg.). Film | Architektur. Perspektiven des Kinos auf den Raum. Basel. Birkhäuser, 197. 43 Wiene, Robert (1930). Der Andere. Deutschland: Terra Film. 44 Vgl. Meier (2013: 105). Moderne Abgründe 135 <?page no="136"?> all recorded “ 45 ) Teil der großen Illusion. Wie die Sängerin bricht im Club Silencio für Betty der Traum einer Schauspielerkarriere zusammen und es beginnt ihr Niedergang. Lynchs bisher letzter und mit Sicherheit kryptischster Langspielfilm Inland Empire 46 (2006) scheint zunächst eine Fortsetzung oder eine Variante von Mulholland Drive zu sein. Wie bei seinem Vorläufer steht auch hier das Thema Hollywood bzw. die Filmproduktion im Zentrum. Und wie Betty strahlt die Protagonistin Nikki, die zu Beginn des Films eine für sie wichtige Rolle erhält, voll von Optimismus. Doch auch hier wird bereits sehr früh durch eine, wie aus einem Märchen entsprungene hexenhafte Nachbarin das Glück der Schauspielerin in Frage gestellt. Der Unkenruf der finsteren Frauengestalt erweist sich als zutreffend, und wie bei Betty, so beginnt auch bald für Nikki der Abstieg in die Unterwelt. Für die Protagonistin und für den Zuschauer verschwimmen Film und ihr Privatleben, Realität und Fiktion zunehmend. Ein beträchtlicher Teil der Spannung rührt im Film von der Frage her, ob die Szene, der man gerade folgt, eine Filmszene, d. h. eine gespielte und damit innerhalb der Diegese fiktionale oder ob gerade Nikkis privates Leben zu sehen ist. Bewegen sich die Figuren in einer Filmkulisse oder in einem realen, außerfilmischen Raum? Auch dies lässt sich oft nicht beantworten. So verliert der Zuschauer im 180 Minuten langen Film die Koordinaten, um sich in Zeit und Raum der Filmhandlung zurechtzufinden. David Lynch rät, diesem Film weniger mit dem Intellekt, als mit Gefühl und Intuition zu begegnen und ihn, wie Musik, auf sich wirken zu lassen. 47 Die Suche nach einer nachvollziehbaren Geschichte mit einer damit verbundenen Aussage scheint in Inland Empire der falsche Ansatz zu sein. So könnte man Lynchs letzten Langspielfilm als Experiment, das sich nicht dechiffrieren lässt, verstehen. Zu dem Experimentalcharakter gehört hier auch die Filmtechnik. Zum ersten Mal dreht Lynch in einem seiner Kinofilme mit semiprofessioneller, niedrig auflösender Digitaltechnik. Diese verleiht Inland Empire ein artifizielles Erscheinungsbild. Ein Bild, das durch seine Unvollkommenheit stets oder meistens als Gemachtes wahrgenommen wird. Auch durch diese ästhetische Entscheidung oder Notwendigekeit wird dem klassischen, der Illusion verpflichteten Kino (Hollywoods) eine Absage erteilt. Vielleicht, zieht man den langen Zeitraum (15 Jahre) in Betracht, in dem David Lynch keinen neuen Kinofilm mehr gedreht hat, lässt sich Inland Empire in gewisser Weise auch als sein Abschied von der Großen Leinwand verstehen. 45 Lynch, David (2001). Mulholland Drive. (01: 41: 08 - 01: 41: 10). 46 Lynch, David (2006). Inland Empire. USA: Asymetrical Productions u. a. 47 Lynch, David (2006). Pressekonferenz zu Inland Empire bei den Filmfestspielen in Venedig. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.youtube.com/ watch? v=kDfDRZ6 t_QM&t=739s (Stand: 18/ 12/ 2021). 136 Carlo Avventi <?page no="137"?> Inland Empire lief zwar im Kino, ist jedoch nur schwer als Kinofilm zu definieren. Es handelt sich hier möglicherweise um einen neuen, ultimativen Schritt von Lynch in Richtung Bildender Kunst. Einen Schritt, den das expressionistische Kino mit Filmen wie Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari, Von Morgen bis Mitternacht oder Das Wachsfigurenkabinett vor 100 Jahren unternommen hatte: Der Schritt hin zu einer Synthese von Kino und Kunst. Moderne Abgründe 137 <?page no="138"?> Von Caligari zu Mr. Robot Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos Luis N. Sanguinet Einführung Der expressionistische Film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1919) hat ein sehr vielfältiges kinematographisches Erbe hinterlassen, das in aktuellen Filmen und Serien präsent ist. In den vielen Fantasy- und Horrorfilmen der Zeit dienten Kameratricks und Spezialeffekte, die sich noch im Experimentierstadium befanden, dazu, wundersame Ereignisse darzustellen. In Caligari gestaltete die Verzerrung der Realität eine visuelle Form für die Wahnvorstellungen des Protagonisten. Der Film spiegelte das Misstrauen gegenüber Autoritäten und psychiatrischen Methoden der Zeit wider, das in der Weimarer Republik aufgrund der psychologischen Folgen des Ersten Weltkriegs an Bedeutung gewann. Caligari verwendete kinematografische Techniken, um Seelenzustände in einem sozialen Moment darzustellen, in dem sich das Konzept der Identität in einer tiefen Krise befand. Heutzutage, aber schon in den letzten Jahrzehnten, haben Selbstbefragung und narrative Instabilität als Elemente des Handlungskerns in populären Filmen und Serien an Bedeutung gewonnen. Metadiskursive Rahmen und der Verfall der Identität sind aktuelle Themen, die in den sogenannten Psychothrillern dazu dienen, narrativ und kinematographisch mentale Situationen zu strukturieren. Der vorliegende Text untersucht eine dieser Serien, Mr. Robot (Sam Esmail, 2014 - 2019) und berücksichtigt ihre Parallelen und Konvergenzen mit Caligari, die sich im geistigen Zustand des Protagonisten vertiefen. Mr. Robot aktualisiert kinematografische Hilfsmittel, die über hundert Jahre alt sind und deren Ursprünge in Caligari liegen. <?page no="139"?> Caligaris Erbe Durch den Erfolg von Caligari breitete sich die Verwendung der expressionistischen Topoi aus, um sich auf den Stil eines Films zu beziehen, und dies heizte die Debatte über die künstlerischen Möglichkeiten des Kinos an. Wegen der Veröffentlichungen der Bücher von Kracauer und Eisner Von Caligari zu Hitler und Die Dämonische Leinwand begann Jahrzehnte später eine Debatte über die Definition und den wahren Einfluss des expressionistischen Filmes. Neuere Arbeiten weisen auf eine Unterordnung der Geschichte unter die Techniken und Spezialeffekte als Merkmal des Expressionismus hin. Elsaesser erwähnt folgendes über Der Student von Prag (Paul Wegener, 1913), den Eisner und Kracauer als Präzedenzfall für den Expressionismus bezeichnen: Unter diesem Gesichtspunkt kann Der Student von Prag tatsächlich als der este expressionistische Film betrachtet werden [ … ]. Der Student von Prag verdient sich diese Vorreiterrolle auch nicht durch das literarische Motiv des Doppelgängers. Vielmehr verkörpert der Film ein allgemeines Schlüsselprinzip des deutschen expressionistischen Films, das kein stilistisches, sondern ein filmpolitisches ist: Stil und Erzählstoff werden hier von den Anforderungen der Technik und dem Stand der Filmindustrie bestimmt, und nicht umgekehrt. 1 Tatsächlich hat Wagener für diesen Film ein Drehbuch in Auftrag gegeben, bei dem das Spiegelbild des Protagonisten aus dem Spiegel kommt, um einen Spezialeffekt zu erzielen: einen Schauspieler zweimal im selben Bildausschnitt darzustellen. Für Caligari schlugen die Drehbuchautoren Mayer und Janowitz ein wahnhaftes Umfeld vor, um den Wahnsinn der Autorität darzustellen. Aber die Produzenten beschlossen, eine Rahmenerzählung hinzuzufügen, die den Protagonisten als psychiatrischen Patienten zurückließ. Kracauer sagt „ In Caligari scheint Expressionismus nichts anderes zu sein als die angemessene Übersetzung einer Irrenphantasie in eine Folge von Bildern “ 2 und weist dann auf einen vermeintlichen Widerspruch hin: [ … ] obwohl der Film Irrsinn mit Hilfe schiefer Schornsteine anprangerte, versinnbildlichte er doch niemals den normalen Zustand durch senkrechte Schornsteine. Expressionistische Ornamente überwuchern auch die Schlußepisode, in der man, vom Standpunkt der Spießer aus, hätte erwarten sollen, daß senkrechte Linien die Wiedererstehung konventioneller Wirklichkeit charakterisieren würden. 3 1 Elsaesser, Thomas (1999). Das Weimarer Kino - aufgeklärt und doppelbödig. Berlin: Vorwerk 8, 62. 2 Kracauer, Siegfried (1995). Von Caligari zu Hitler. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 76. 3 Kracauer (1995: 76 - 77). Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos 139 <?page no="140"?> Gemäß Kracauer wäre dies ein Fehler in der Darstellung des Wahnsinns. Diese Verwirrung wurde jedoch als kreativer Wert hervorgehoben, da sie den Grund eines unzuverlässigen Erzählers darstellt. Der Schluss, bei dem der Arzt in die Kamera schaut, wirft in dieser Hinsicht einen weiteren Zweifel auf. Im Hinblick auf diese mehrfache Zweideutigkeit wurde gesagt: „ De ahí que hayamos hablado de la crisis de verdad. Esta sospecha sobre lo real hace de Caligari un film muy moderno “ 4 . Diese Unzuverlässigkeit wird durch eine Reihe überraschender Wendungen enthüllt, die die Erzählung noch verwirrender und unklarer macht. Diesbezüglich betont Elsaesser: In seinem allerersten › Meisterwerk ‹ - Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari - wollte der › Expressionismus ‹ das Kino eben nicht in die Angelegenheiten des Realismus verwickeln, ja noch nicht einmal in das Streben nach der › Wahrheit ‹ , sondern in die Suche nach Formen einer durchgehenden Skepsis: Dies mag sein Vermächtnis sein, das im Folgenden noch einmal untersucht werden soll. 5 Sánchez-Navarro weist auf das Andauern dieser narrativen Merkmale hin und setzt Caligari in Beziehung zu populären Filmen, die in der Jahrhundertwende produziert wurden und deren Hauptattraktion eine überraschende Wendung ist, die die Unzuverlässigkeit des Erzählers deutlich macht 6 . In The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan, 1999) und The Others (Alejandro Amenábar, 2001) gibt es etwas Wichtiges an den Protagonisten, das sie selbst nicht wissen. In The Usual Suspects (Bryan Singer, 1995) lügt der Erzähler absichtlich, um sowohl den Detektiven als auch den Zuschauer zu täuschen. In Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999) ist die Unzuverlässigkeit des Protagonisten auf seine psychische Störung zurückzuführen, die seine Wahrnehmung der Realität verzerrt. Dies geschieht noch in weiteren Filmen wie Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000), Shutter Island (Martin Scorsese, 2010) und Joker (Todd Phillips, 2019), in denen die Fragmentierung und Dekonstruktion der Erzählung auch die Frage nach dem Verständnis der Geschichte als Spiel aufwirft. Ein weiteres narratives Merkmal ist als aktuelles Caligaris Erbe hervorgehoben worden. „ La progresiva disolución de la realidad y, en consecuencia, de la identidad ha sido la temática congénita a la televisión emergente de principios 4 Sánchez-Noriega, José Luis (2016). Sobre el caligarismo y el cine expresionista alemán. In Estudios de arte y cultura visual. Madrid: Icono 14, Februar, 401 - 429, 419. „ Daher sprechen wir über eine Krise der Wahrheit. Dieser Zweifel über das Reale macht, dass Caligari ein sehr moderner Film ist “ (eigene Übersetzung). 5 Elsaesser (1999: 56). 6 Sánchez-Navarro, Jordi (2020). «¡Todos pensáis que estoy loco! » Huellas del relato delirante de El gabinete del doctor Caligari en el cine posterior. In Sala, Ángel y Sánchez- Navarro, Jordi (Hrsg.) (2020). Sombras de Caligari. Barcelona: Hermenaute, 75 - 97, 91 - 92. 140 Luis N. Sanguinet <?page no="141"?> de siglo. “ 7 Sala nennt unter anderem Twin Peaks (Mark Frost und David Lynch, 1990 - 1991 und 2017), Lost ( J. J. Abrams, Jeffrey Lieber und Damon Lindelof, 2004 - 2010) und einige Episoden von Black Mirror (Charlie Brooker 2011 - 2019) als Beispiele für die Auflösung der Identität und der Realität. Zu den zeitgenössischen Serien, die diese narrativen Merkmale aufweisen, gehört Mr. Robot. Hundert Jahre liegen zwischen Caligari und dieser Serie, die wie die oben genannten Filme und Serien das Erbe dieses Weimarer Films aufgreift. Mr. Robot und seine Wurzeln bei Caligari Der Protagonist von Mr. Robot ist Elliot, gespielt von Rami Malek, ein junger Informatiker mit psychischen Problemen und sozialen Ängsten, der in einer Cybersicherheitsfirma arbeitet und mit einer Gruppe von Hackern eine Revolution gegen das Finanzsystem organisiert. Mit einem Voice-over wendet Elliot sich direkt an den Zuschauer, als wäre er sein imaginärer Freund und sein Vertrauter. Diese Stimme kommt also aus Elliots innerem Dialog. Seine Kleidung ist sehr nüchtern: Er trägt immer dunkle Jeans, schwarze Turnschuhe und ein schwarzes Sweatshirt. Nur auf Wunsch seines Chefs, der von ihm verlangt, im Büro formellere Kleidung zu tragen, trägt Elliot gelegentlich ein graues Hemd. Die einzige Abweichung von seinem üblichen Erscheinungsbild ist sein blasser Teint. Es ist merkwürdig oder außerordentlich, Elliot außerhalb dieser monochromatischen Farbpalette zu sehen. Man kann sagen, dass Elliot eine Person aus einer schwarz-weißen Welt scheint, die nicht so recht in das bunte städtische Umfeld passt. Dieses chromatische Merkmal fungiert als eine visuelle Übersetzung seiner Schwierigkeiten, sich in die Gesellschaft einzufügen. Abgesehen von den ästhetischen Details sind Mr. Robots Wurzeln im Stummfilmkino, insbesondere bei Caligari, in vielen seiner narrativen Elemente zu finden. Die psychische Situation des Protagonisten steht im Mittelpunkt der Geschichte in Mr. Robot, ebenso wie in Caligari. Mayer und Janowitz erklärten, dass der Urspung von Caligari in der Abneigung gegenüber Psychiatern lag. Psychiatrische Diagnosen hatten vor allem nach dem ersten Weltkrieg im gesellschaftlichen Kontext an Bedeutung gewonnen. Caligari und Mr. Robot führen die Geschichte durch den psychologischen Zustand ihrer Protagonisten 7 Sala, Ángel (2020). El caligarismo televisivo. Pequeña pantalla como interfaz metalingüística del clásico. In Sala, Ángel y Sánchez-Navarro (2020, 189 - 208, 204). „ Die fortschreitende Auflösung der Realität und, folglich, der Identität ist die kongenitale Thematik des Fernsehens zu Beginn unseres Jahrhunderts “ (eigene Übersetzung). Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos 141 <?page no="142"?> ein und schaffen dafür eine metadiskursive Rahmenerzählung. Diese Gemeinsamkeit und die Vertiefung der Psyche der Protagonisten führen dazu, dass beide audiovisuelle Produkte gemeinsame diskursive Zeichen verwenden, die im Folgenden erläutert werden. Rahmenerzählung und Paranoia In Mr. Robot wird die Rahmenerzählung in der ersten Episode von Anfang an festgelegt, genauso wie im expressionistischen Film. Franzis, der Protagonist von Caligari, gespielt von Friedrich Feher, erzählte seine Geschichte einer anderen Filmfigur, die neben ihm sitzt. Der Rest des Films ist eine Rückblende seiner Erinnerungen oder Delirien. In Mr. Robot spricht Elliot den Zuschauer immer in der Gegenwart direkt an. Trotz dieses Unterschieds im Zeitbezug verinnerlichen die Rahmenerzählungen in beiden Fällen die Geschichte und beschränken sie auf die Perspektive des Protagonisten. Hallo Freund. Hallo Freund? Das ist Lahm. Vielleicht sollte ich dir einen Namen geben. Doch das ist eine eklige Sache. Du bist nur in meinem Kopf. Daran müssen wir denken. Scheiße! Ich rede tatsächlich mit einer imaginären Person. 8 Das Voice-over zeigt, dass Elliot seine psychologische Situation kennt, und legt die paranoide Wurzel seines Diskurses offen: Was ich dir jetzt sagen werde, ist top-secret, eine Verschwörung, die größer ist, als wir alle. Da gibt es eine mächtige Gruppe von Leuten da draußen, die insgeheim die Welt regieren. Ich spreche von den Kerlen, von denen Niemand weiß, die, die unsichtbar sind. Das oberste ein Prozent vom obersten ein Prozent. Die Kerle, die ohne Erlaubnis Gott spielen. Und jetzt glaube ich, dass sie mich verfolgen. 9 Die Paranoia in Caligari ergibt sich auch aus der Rahmenerzählung. Franzis erzählt von der Tragödie, die er wegen Dr. Caligari, gespielt von Werner Krauss, erlitten hat. Am Ende wird deutlich, dass einige Filmfiguren seiner Geschichte eigentlich Patienten derselben psychiatrischen Anstalt sind. Als Franzis sein Delirium mit der Realität konfrontiert, überwiegt seine paranoide Perspektive: der Direktor des Zentrums ist Dr. Caligari, der die Macht wiedererlangt und ihn eingesperrt hat. Die Rahmenerzählung teilt die Realität in zwei gegensätzliche und unvereinbare Sichtweisen. Elliots Äußerungsakt zeigt von Anfang an, dass er sich bewusst ist, dass er psychotische Episoden erleiden kann, die seine Geschichte verändern können. Im Laufe der ersten Staffel beginnt er, seiner 8 Esmail, Sam (2014). Mr. Robot: 1.0_hellofriend.mov. USA: USA Network. 9 Esmail (2014). 142 Luis N. Sanguinet <?page no="143"?> gesamten Realität zu misstrauen. Ein weiterer wichtiger Aspekt des inneren Dialogs ist, dass Elliots Diskrepanzen zwischen seinem Verhalten und seinem Denken und zwischen seinem Beruf und seinen geheimen Aktivitäten gezeigt werden. Elliots Position in Bezug auf die Geschichte zentriert sich auf zwei Pole: Ordnung und Chaos, die jeweils in den beiden Bereichen, in denen Elliot arbeitet, dargestellt werden: im Büro und im verlassenen Vergnügungspark. Gegensätzliche Räume Elliot wird von der Hackergruppe Fsociety rekrutiert, deren Anführer sich Mr. Robot nennt, gespielt von Christian Slater. Der Angriff auf das Finanzsystem setzt eine weltweite soziale und wirtschaftliche Revolution in Gang. Die Einsatzzentrale der Fsociety befindet sich in einem Vergnügungspark, in einer verlassenen Spielhalle. Dieser Raum verweist auf die impulsiven Begierden, die diese Figuren in der Gesellschaft entfesseln wollen. Dieser chaotische, laute und lustige Ort steht im Gegensatz zur bürokratischen Ordnung des Büros, in dem sich Elliots Alltag abspielt. Es ist derselbe Gegensatz von Räumen, den Kracauer in Caligari aufzeigt. „ Die erzählerischen und bildlichen Elemente des Films drängen zwei einander entgegengesetzten Polen zu. Der eine mag Autorität genannt werden oder deutlicher: Tyrannei. “ 10 Über den zweiten Pol fügt er hinzu: Für Erwachsene ist es eine Rückkehr in die Kindertage, in denen Spiel und Ernst ein und dasselbe sind, Wirkliches und Unwirkliches ineinander übergehen und anarchische Begierden eine Möglichkeit nach der andern ziellos ausprobieren. [ … ] Der Jahrmarkt ist nicht Freiheit, sondern Anarchie, die Chaos brütet. 11 In Caligari wäre die Autorität an bürokratische Räume wie das Rathaus, die Polizeistation und das Gefängnis gebunden. Der aufregende Jahrmarkt wäre dann mit Anarchie und Chaos verbunden, der Dr. Caligari als Versteck dient. Dort hat er seine Hütte, wo er Cesare verbirgt und die Morde plant. Daher kreieren die Serie als auch der Film diesen räumlichen Gegensatz zwischen Büro und Vergnügungspark, von dem aus der Angriff auf das System gestartet wird. In Mr. Robot erwachen in der Spielhalle die dunkelsten Begierden der Mitglieder der Gruppe, die die Beendigung des internationalen Treuhandsystems beinhalten. Die Unvereinbarkeit daran ist, dass die Sicherheit von E-Corp, dem größten Mischkonzern, von Allsafe abhängt, die Cybersicherheitsfirma, für die Elliot arbeitet. Diese Doppelzüngigkeit von Elliot als Informatiker und Hack- 10 Kracauer (1995: 78). 11 Kracauer (1995: 80). Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos 143 <?page no="144"?> tivist erzeugt in ihm eine innere Spaltung, da er indirekt für denselben Finanzkonzern arbeitet, den er zerstören möchte. Verwirrung zwischen Delirium und Wirklichkeit Um ihren Plan auszuführen, müssen Elliot und der Rest der Gruppe sich entscheiden, ob sie entweder mit äußerster Schnelligkeit, Effizienz und Diskretion handeln, oder mehr Zeit verbringen, um den möglichen Tod von Unschuldigen zu vermeiden, was den Plan gefährden könnte. Dies ist eine der Spaltungen, an denen Elliot häufig leidet. In Folge „ 1.7_wh1ter0se.m4 v “ wird das illusorische Wesen der Figur Mr. Robot enthüllt. Wie Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) in Fight Club ist Mr. Robot Elliots imaginärer Freund. Er bringt Elliots innere Doppelzüngigkeit nach außen und ist seine autoritäre Version, denn er führt die Gruppe und übernimmt die Verantwortung, die Elliot nicht will. Mr. Robot ist auch die impulsivste Seite von Elliot, da er versucht, den Plan auszuführen, ohne über die Konsequenzen nachzudenken. Er will die Schuld tragen, damit Elliot keine Gewissensbisse hat. Als Elliot entdeckt, dass Mr. Robot eine imaginäre Person ist, nimmt er natürlich Mr. Robots Handlungen als seine eigenen an und hier beginnt seine Identitätskrise. Seiner Delirien bewusst, unterscheidet Elliot nicht die Wahnvorstellungen von den realen Ereignissen, die in seiner Geschichte geschehen. Der Vergleich mit Fight Club ist nicht zufällig. Am Ende der Episode „ 1.8_m1rr0 r1ng.qt “ macht die Serie einen Bezug zu dem Film, als das Lied Where is my Mind? von Maxence Cyrin erklingt, eine Instrumentalversion des gleichnamigen Songs von Pixies, der am Ende von Fight Club gespielt wird. Die Kämpfe, die sowohl zwischen Tyler und dem Erzähler (Edward Northon) als auch zwischen Elliot und Mr. Robot stattfinden, werden als Fälle von Selbstbeschädigung enthüllt, die den inneren Konflikt nach außen tragen. Auch der Erzähler arbeitet, wie Elliot, in einem Büro, in einer monotonen Umgebung. Tyler ist wie Mr. Robot eine imaginäre Figur, die in das Leben der Hauptfigur eintritt, um ihn aus dieser Monotonie zu befreien. Genau wie Tyler raucht und trinkt Mr. Robot und lädt sogar Elliot ein, es auch zu tun. Beide imaginäre Figuren stellen eine innere Schattenseite dar, die die impulsiven Begierden sofort befriedigen will und die Protagonisten zu Handlungen drängen, die sie alleine nicht wagen würden. In der dritten Staffel wird die Beziehung zwischen Elliot und Mr. Robot so schwierig, dass Elliot es schafft, ihn zu ignorieren und nicht mehr von ihm besucht wird. Aber in Wirklichkeit handelt Mr. Robot heimlich in den Nächten, ohne dass Elliot es merkt. Tagsüber organisiert Elliot einen friedlichen Plan, aber 144 Luis N. Sanguinet <?page no="145"?> wenn er schläft, übernimmt Mr. Robot die Führung und heckt andere Pläne aus. Das ist wie die Beziehung zwischen Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde. Ein romantisches Thema, das im Weimarer Kino eine wichtige Rolle spielte. Der Andere (Max Mack, 1913) und der verlorene Januskopf (F. W. Murnau, 1920) sind bedeutende Weimarer Beispiele für ein Thema, das bis heute auf unterschiedliche Weise aufgearbeitet wurde. Fight Club ist wahrscheinlich das populärste zeitgenössische filmische Beispiel für dieses Thema, gezeigt an einem Fall multipler Persönlichkeitsstörung. Wie Tyler und der Erzähler sind auch Elliot und Mr. Robot zwei Persönlichkeiten, die um die Kontrolle desselben Körpers kämpfen. Die Beziehung zwischen den beiden Figuren bildet eine Kette aufeinanderfolgender Enthüllungen, ähnlich wie die aufeinanderfolgenden Wendungen in Caligari, auf die weiter unten eingegangen wird. Während der gesamten Serie andauern die Doppelgänger-Spiele und fast am Ende entdeckt der Protagonist, dass es noch eine weitere Identität gibt und begegnet einer anderen Version seiner selbst. Dies ist Teil einer Verkettung von Enthüllungen, die im Folgenden behandelt werden. Verkettung von Enthüllungen Die unerwarteten Wendungen in Caligari sind besonders wichtig, weil sie die Geschichte und die vorherigen Ereignisse neu formulieren. Diese Struktur wird in Mr. Robot ähnlich dargestellt. In Wienes Film ist Dr. Caligari ein Schausteller, der sich als Serienmörder entpuppt, der wiederum der Direktor einer psychiatrischen Anstalt ist. Am Ende weiß man, dass der Protagonist ein Patient und Caligari der Arzt ist, der ihn behandelt. In Esmails Serie ist Mr. Robot ein Hacker, der sich als imaginärer Freund von Elliot entpuppt, der sich später als eine alternative Persönlichkeit von Elliot herausstellt. Letztendlich stellt sich heraus, dass der Protagonist nur eine weitere Identität innerhalb der multiplen Persönlichkeitsstörung Elliots ist, unter der der echte Elliot leidet. Der Protagonist hat während der ganzen Serie geglaubt, dass er Elliots wahre Persönlichkeit ist. Wie bereits über solche Filme gesagt wurde, „ el peso de los protagonistas -y de su visión de la realidades tal que su poder se traslada con frecuencia a la propia organización del relato “ 12 . Wegen der psychischen Verfassung des 12 Santamaría, Antonio (2003). La dispersión de los narradores y la fractura del relato. In Santamaría, Antonio (Hrsg.) (2003). Cine fantástico y de terror alemán. Donostia: Donostia Kultura, 35 - 45, 39. Die Gewichtung der Protagonisten (und ihrer Vision der Realität) ist so bedeutend, dass ihre Macht häufig auf die Gestaltung der Erzählung übertragen wird “ (eigene Übersetzung). Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos 145 <?page no="146"?> Protagonisten erzeugt diese Macht die Unordnung und Fragmentierung der Geschichte, was für Elsaesser eine Eigenschaft des Weimarer Kinos darstellt: Angefangen mit Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari scheinen die Filme, die das Weimarer Kino ausmachen, tatsächlich eines miteinander gemeinsam zu haben: Sie sind ausnahmslos als Vexierbilder konstruiert, weil sie sich konsequent, wenn nicht sogar systematisch, jeder Festlegung auf eine einzige Bedeutung verweigern. 13 Franzis hat seine Geschichte und ihre Enthüllungen nicht im Griff und als er der Realität gegenübersteht, zerbricht seine Wahrhaftigkeit. Deswegen gilt Caligari als ein frühes filmisches Beispiel eines unzuverlässigen Erzählers. Die Bedeutungen des Films überlagern sich und lösen sich auf und verstricken sich in ein erzählerisches Rätsel. Dies ist wahrscheinlich einer der Gründe, warum so viel über Caligari geschrieben wurde. Die aufeinanderfolgenden Enthüllungen stellen sowohl bei Franzis als auch bei Elliot ein Misstrauen gegenüber dem Erzähler dar. Trotz dieses Misstrauens wird am Ende von Mr. Robot ausdrücklich alle Zweifel über den psychischen Zustand des Protagonisten und seine Beteiligung an der Geschichte geklärt. Vermeidung der Mehrdeutigkeit am Schluss In Mr. Robot, wie auch in Caligari, werden einige Teile der Geschichte weggelassen, Andere werden verändert und wiederum Andere sind ungeordnet. Elliots Macht über seine Geschichte ist wie im Fall von Franzis fraglich. Die Erzählung von Franzis scheint keine logische Kontinuität mit seiner Realität zu haben. Allerdings ist auch der unschuldige Arzt fraglich, den Franzis sich als Bösewicht in seiner Geschichte vorgestellt hat: „ la inquietante mirada final del doctor en cuestión no sólo pone en entredicho el revisionismo del epílogo, sino que invita a contemplar de nuevo la totalidad del film desde otro punto de vista “ 14 . Das Delirium könnte in Franzis ’ Kopf erfunden worden sein, es könnte auch eine übertriebene Version seiner Gefangenschaft, oder auch eine Vorstellung seiner Feindseligkeit gegenüber dem Arzt sein. Diese und andere Lesarten sind möglich, widersprüchlich, und keine hat Vorrang vor derAnderen. Serien wie Twin Peaks und Lost lassen absichtlich Fragen offen. Die Mehrdeutigkeit des Schlusses ist eine der Hauptattraktionen von Filmen wie Inception 13 Elsaesser (1999: 10). 14 Losilla, Carlos (1993). El cine de terror. Una introducción. Barcelona: Paidós, 64. „ Der geheimnisvolle letzte Blick des besagten Arztes stellt nicht nur den Revisionismus des Epilogs in Frage, sondern lädt auch dazu ein, den gesamten Film aus einem anderen Blickwinkel zu betrachten “ (eigene Übersetzung). 146 Luis N. Sanguinet <?page no="147"?> und Joker. Aber Mr. Robot weigert sich, das Ende mehrdeutig zu gestalten. Natürlich kann die Serie noch immer anders interpretiert werden, aber eine der letzten Szenen räumt mögliche Unklarheiten über die Natur und die psychologische Verfassung des Protagonisten aus. Dies geschieht, als Elliot im Krankenhaus aufwacht, ähnlich wie Franzis am Ende im Bett des Krankenzimmers liegt. Dies wäre der ideale Ort, um zu glauben, dass alles nur ein Traum war, und das ist der Zweifel, den Elliot sofort nach dem Aufwachen seiner Schwester Darlene (Carly Chaikin) äußert. Das ist doch real, oder? Bitte sag mir, dass es kein Traum ist. Das ist kein Traum, Elliot. [ … ] Solange ich für dich hier bin, solange du meine Hand halten kannst, weißt du, dass dies real ist. Also vertrau mir, das ist real. 15 Es muss berücksichtigt werden, was Elliots Psychologin erwähnt: „ Elliots Verbindung zu ihr [Darlene] ist ziemlich stark. So stark, dass sie seine einzige Verbindung zur Realität ist “ 16 . Darlene zeigt, dass sie weiß, dass in Elliot mehrere Persönlichkeiten existieren und dass sie in der Lage ist, diese zu erkennen, was ihr in der Geschichte eine Autorität verleiht. Sie bestätigt Elliot ihre Anwesenheit in der realen Welt und erinnert sich an ihre gemeinsamen Abenteuer, um dem Betrachter zu bestätigen, was im Rahmen der Realität zu berücksichtigen ist. So endet Mr. Robot und löst sich am Ende von der Mehrdeutigkeit der filmischen Tradition von fragmentierten Geschichten, erzählerischen Betrügen und Psychothrillern, die mit Caligari begann. Schlussfolgerungen Die Hauptverbindung zwischen Mr. Robot und Caligari ist offensichtlich die subjektive Darstellung von psychischen Problemen. Diese kinematografische Thematik, der sich Mr. Robot verschreibt, beginnt mit Caligari. Die Übersetzung instabiler psychologischer und emotionaler Zustände in Bilder war eines der Prinzipien des bildnerischen Expressionismus. Die expressionistische Ästhetik in Caligari wird durch einen erzählerischen Stil ergänzt, der die Erzählung durch die Darstellung der psychologischen Prozesse des Protagonisten verändert. Wie bereits erwähnt, ist dies derselbe Erzählstil, der auch in Mr. Robot angewandt wird. Die wichtigsten Gemeinsamkeiten der beiden Geschichten sind entscheidend für ihre jeweiligen narrativen Strukturen. Die Rahmenerzählung dient dazu, sowohl die Sichtweise des Protagonisten darzustellen, als auch paranoide 15 Esmail, Sam (2019). Mr. Robot: Hello, Elliot. USA_USA Network. 16 Esmail (2019). Das selbstreferenzierende und verdoppelnde Erbe des expressionistischen Kinos 147 <?page no="148"?> Nuancen einzuführen, die an Bedeutung gewinnen, immer wenn die Geschichte verändert und fragmentiert wird. Die Verkettung von Enthüllungen und überraschenden Wendungen legen verschiedene Erzählebenen fest. Diese erzählerischen Mittel ermöglichen es, die Verwirrung zwischen Wahn und Wirklichkeit und auch die Identitätsspaltungen des Protagonisten darzustellen. Die konfrontative Anordnung von Orten wie Büro und Vergnügungspark überträgt die Erfahrungen des Protagonisten in Bilder und Räume, in denen die Geschichte spielt. Der Bruch mit der psychologischen Mehrdeutigkeit ist in diesem Sinne symbolisch, denn er wirft Licht auf eine eher düstere Erzähltradition, die zu traurigen Tragödien neigt, wie es im Weimarer Kino oft der Fall war. Ein angekündigtes kommendes Projekt von Sam Esmail, Autor und Regisseur von Mr. Robot, ist eine Miniserie über Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927), in der die Bezüge zum deutschen Kino der 1920er Jahre wahrscheinlich noch deutlicher werden. Auf jeden Fall legt Mr. Robot eine hundertjährige Verknüpfung an die kinematografischen Ursprünge des Psychothrillers und der Darstellung von psychischer Gesundheit fest: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari. Sowohl der Film als auch die Serie entstanden auf unterschiedliche Weise in einer Zeit großer sozialer Krisen. Beide spiegeln kritische Aspekte ihrer jeweiligen Gesellschaft wider, und beide werfen einen Blick in den Abgrund, da sich globale Krisen individuell in Identitätskrisen übertragen können. Dieser Verweis auf die gespaltene Identität und die Selbstbefragung ist das Erbe des Films Caligari, das in den zeitgenössischen Filmen und Serien am stärksten übertragen wird. 148 Luis N. Sanguinet <?page no="149"?> 4 Expressionist Myths in the Audiovisual Culture <?page no="151"?> 4.1 The Myth of the Vampire. The legacy of Murnau ’ s Nosferatu <?page no="153"?> Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien in Streaming-Diensten Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig Einleitung Dass der expressionistische deutsche Film einen bedeutsamen Einfluss auf die Ästhetik und Thematik der bildenden Kunst ausgeübt hat und in der aktuellen audiovisuellen Medienlandschaft immer noch Spuren hinterlässt, ist unbestritten. 1 In diesem Beitrag möchten wir uns auf die expressionistische Wirkung in Serien konzentrieren, die in Streaming-Plattformen ausgestrahlt werden. Für unsere Analyse ist der paradigmatische expressionistische Film Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens von Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau (1922) ausgewählt worden, insofern wir davon ausgehen, dass dieses Werk vielen der modernen Vampir-Serien als ästhetisch-narratives Muster dient. Auf der einen Seite glauben wir, dass die Hauptfigur Nosferatu einen visuellen Stereotyp für zahlreiche dämonische Vampire geliefert hat, der heute noch erkennbar ist. Andererseits verweist die murnausche Filmerzählung auch auf die archaische Vision der Wiedergeburt der Welt, die in vielen antiken mythologischen Vorstellungen präsent ist. Die Erzählung symbolisiert die klassische Opposition zwischen Chaos (Instabilität, Unordnung, Dunkelheit) und Kosmos (Gleichgewicht, Ordnung, Licht), aus der eine neue harmonische Welt entsteht, ein immer wiederkehrendes Motiv, das seinen Niederschlag in postmodernen apokalyptischen und übernatürlichen Vampir-Serien findet. Diese These soll hier aus der Sicht der „ Rezeptionsstudien “ - dem kulturellen Einfluss eines Werks bzw. einer Kunstströmung in anderen Werken und Kulturen - im Zusammenhang mit der „ Mythos-Kritik “ erörtert werden. 1 Vgl. Brandes, Sonja (2015). Der Vampir-Mythos in Literatur, Film und Alltagskultur. In: Ohlendorf, Wiebke/ Reichart, André/ Schmidtchen, Gunnar (Hrsg.). Wissenschaft und Populärkultur, Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 13 - 32; Siehe auch Inoue, Yoshitaka (2011). Contemporary Consciousness as Reflected in Images of the Vampire. Jung Journal: Culture & Psyche 5: 4, 83 - 99. <?page no="154"?> Die kosmische Wiedergeburt wird in der Vampirthematik meistens als teleologischer Kampf zwischen einer dunklen übernatürlichen Unterwelt und einer zivilisierten Oberwelt dargestellt und symbolisiert unter anderem die atavistische Angst des Menschen vor einer unkontrollierbaren Natur. Es handelt sich um eine primitive die Menschheit begleitende Vorstellung, die aufgrund ihres fantastischen und existentialistischen Potenzials auch heute noch durchaus relevant ist. Die in der Gestalt des dämonischen Vampirs verkörperte Unterwelt existiert seit Urzeiten in fast allen Gesellschaften und hat zahlreiche Sagen und Mythen hervorgebracht. Zum Beispiel glaubte man in der Antike an die Existenz von schauerlichen Geschöpfen, die sich von Kinderblut oder Leichen ernährten, und die Menschen in Form von Gespenstern (Empusa) oder fürchterlichen Nachtvögeln (Strix) heimsuchten. Aus dem Osten stammt der Glaube an die wolfsähnliche Figur der Ghouls. 2 Auch die umstrittene Herkunft des Worts Vampir deutet auf eine unheimliche, lebensbedrohende Figur. Laut Wilson und auch Groom gibt es vier etymologische Schulen, die auf eine griechische, türkische, hebräische oder auch ungarische Abstammung deuten. 3 Zusammengefasst lassen sich entsprechend verschiedene Bedeutungen ableiten, darunter „ Hexe “ , „ geflügeltes Wesen “ oder die Bedeutung „ blutdürstig “ bzw. „ trinken “ . Wilson unterstreicht aber, dass alle Namen auf einen slawischen Ursprung verweisen. Neben Vampir gibt es auch andere begriffsähnliche Namen wie etwa das griechische Wort „ Nosferatu “ , das als „ Krankheitsbringer “ übersetzt werden kann; den slawischen Ausdruck „ Strigoi “ oder den nordischen „ Draugr “ , der auf eine Art Gespenst verweist, das sich von Leichen ernährt. Zweifelsohne hat Bram Stokers Dracula (1897) dem Vampir eine originelle vieldeutige Dimension verliehen. 4 Seit Stoker wird der Vampir-Archetyp als universaler moderner Mythos betrachtet 5 , der wie kaum ein anderer eine 2 Siehe Borrmann, Norbert (1999). Vampirismo. El anhelo de la inmortalidad. Barcelona: Timun Mas, 41. 3 Wilson, Katharina M. (Oct.- Dec. 1985). The History of the Word “ Vampire ” . Journal of the History of Ideas 46: 4, 577 - 583, 577. Abrufbar unter: http: / / www.jstor.org/ stable/ 2709546. Siehe auch Groom, Nick (2018). A Note on the Etymology of the Word Vampire, in The Vampire: A New History, New Haven: Yale University Press, XVII-XXXVI. 4 Vgl. Grimm, Gunter E. (2002). Dracula und seine Erben: über einen Horror-Mythos. Online unter: https: / / duepublico2.uni-due.de/ receive/ duepublico_mods_00005382. Grimm nennt bis zu acht verschiedene Interpretationsansätze, die von teleologischen, soziopolitischen, feministischen bis zu sexuellen psychoanalytischen Deutungen reichen, 1 - 21, 15. 5 Vgl. Molina Foix, Juan Antonio (1993, 2006). Introducción. In Stoker, Bram. Drácula. Madrid: Cátedra, 7 - 90, 10. Siehe auch Losada, José María (2015). Tipología de los mitos modernos. In Losada, José María (Hrsg.) Nuevas formas del mito. Una metodología interdisciplinar. Berlin: Logos Verlag, 187 - 221, 216. 154 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="155"?> erstaunliche Faszination ausübt und durch etliche Verfilmungen (vgl. Ted Browning, Terence Fisher, Werner Herzog, Francis Ford Coppola, Neil Jordan, etc.) ständig neu interpretiert und inszeniert wird. Schließlich inkarniert Dracula uralte menschliche Anliegen wie die tiefe Angst vor dem Tod - vor allem vor dem unerwarteten und grausamen Tod - , die Sehnsucht nach Unsterblichkeit sowie interne Konflikte zwischen zivilisatorischer Vernunft und natürlichen unverständlichen Impulsen. Andere wichtige Themen sind die sexuelle Unterdrückung in der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft und die transzendente Dimension der Liebe. Aus der mythokritischen Perspektive besteht das Potenzial der Dracula-Erzählung in der modernen Weiterentwicklung kleinerer „ mythologischer Einheiten “ wie der Erzeugung einer neuen Spezies durch einen Biss, der teuflischen Besessenheit oder der relativen Unsterblichkeit, 6 zu denen man noch die unsichtbare Todesdrohung und die freiwillige Selbstaufopferung zählen kann. Sowohl in Nosferatu als auch in modernen filmischen Vampir- Erzählungen sind diese „ mythologischen Einheiten “ nachvollziehbar, fungieren aber in unterschiedlicher Weise. Literarische Vampire erobern die filmische Landschaft In der Literatur tauchten fantastische Vampir-Erzählungen im späten 18. und frühen 19. Jahrhundert auf und wurden vor allem durch die Versionen von John William Polidori (The Vampire, 1816), E. T.A Hoffmann (Vampirismus, 1821) und Sheridan Le Fanu (Carmilla, 1872) popularisiert. Dazu könnte man auch Mary Shelleys Roman Frankenstein (1816) zählen, welcher auf den berühmten Leseabenden von Byron, Polidori und Shelley im sogenannten düsteren „ Jahr ohne Sommer ” entstand. 7 Diese und viele andere Geschichten bildeten den Nährboden für die bis heute bekannteste und beliebteste Vampir-Erzählung von Stoker. 8 6 In Bezug auf den Dracula-Mythos zählt Losada (2015: 216) diese mythologischen Einheiten (auf Spanisch mitemas) auf. 7 Dies bezieht sich auf das äußert kalte Wetter und die Dunkelheit in der nördlichen Hemisphäre aufgrund des Ausbruchs des indonesischen Vulkans Tambora. Vgl. Ángela Pérez (2020). Edición y prólogo. La noche de los monstruos. Mary W. Shelley, Lord Byron, John William Polidori. Barcelona: Edhasa, 11. 8 Stoker schöpfte seine Inspiration aus sehr vielen Quellen, darunter slawischen Sagen, dem Fortsetzungsroman Varney the Vampire, Tausend und eine Nacht, Macbeth und dem Abenteuerroman Ella von Rider Haggard. Vgl. Molina Foix (1993: 37 - 40). Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien 155 <?page no="156"?> Der große Sprung auf die Leinwand 9 erfolgte 1922 mit der auf dem Roman Stokers basierenden Verfilmung von Nosferatu, die dem Vampir ein konkretes visuelles Bild von großer Auswirkung gab. Allerdings erscheint Murnaus Vampirfigur wesentlich animalischer und leichenhafter als in der Beschreibung von Stoker. Angeblich reagierte das Publikum des beginnenden 20. Jahrhunderts beim Anblick des Nosferatu mit Furcht; einige Zuschauer wurden sogar ohnmächtig. 10 Aufgrund seiner Neuartigkeit und Originalität wurde das expressionistische Bild des murnauschen Vampirs zu einem kollektiven Stereotyp, der nun zum populären Filminventar gehört. An dieser Stelle greifen wir die Frage nach der Bedeutung des „ expressionistischen Bildes “ und seiner Charakteristika auf. Thomas Elsaesser beschreibt den expressionistischen Filmstil, der sich durch den künstlerischen Einsatz anspruchsvoller visueller Mittel für gotische oder fantastische Figuren wie Tyrannen, Vampire, Roboter, Zauberer und Golems kennzeichnet. Die Kulissen und das Schauspiel wirken durch den häufigen Einsatz von Helldunkel- Beleuchtungen und Schatten stilisiert, hyperbolisch bzw. zweideutig; winkelförmige Außenszenen und klaustrophobische Innenräume schaffen unheimliche Atmosphären symboltragenden Inhalts. In Bezug auf die Handlung mangelt es oft an kausaler Logik, es ist nicht immer klar, was passiert, denn es wird eher suggeriert als erklärt. 11 Dem expressionistischen künstlerischen Stil liegt offenbar der sozial-historische Hintergrund zugrunde, der durch einen strukturellen Wandel der öffentlichen Ordnung, der Politisierung der intellektuellen und politischen Klasse und einer tiefen sozialen und psychologischen Krise, die durch die deutsche Niederlage im Ersten Weltkrieg ausgelöst wurde, gekennzeichnet ist. Siegfried Kracauer weist darauf hin, dass in vielen Nachkriegsfilmen die Spekulation der deutschen Gesellschaft hinsichtlich der Tyrannei latent ist, die sich auch mit der Frage beschäftigt, was geschähe, wenn Despotismus als Lebensprogramm zurückgewiesen würde. 12 Gleich wie in der expressionistischen Literatur wurden im Film dieser Zeit die existentielle Angst und das Unverständnis in Bezug auf die Umwelt abgebildet. Ein paralleles literarisches Beispiel für das unerklärliche abstrakte Gefühl der Angst, welche die menschliche Unzulänglichkeit angesichts der Gewalt der Natur reflektiert, findet man im Gedicht Heyms „ Die Dämonen der Städte “ . Die 9 Eigentlich gibt es frühere Versionen: La Manoir du Diable (Georges Melies, 1896) und The Vampire (Robert G. Vignola, 1913). 10 Inoue, Yoshitaka (2011: 88). 11 Elsaesser, Thomas (2018). Cine expresionista - estilo y diseño en la historia del cine. Revista de la Asociación Argentina de Estudios de Cine y Audiovisual 18, 366 - 400, 370. 12 Kracauer, Siegfried (1985). De Caligari a Hitler. Una historia psicológica del cine alemán. Barcelona: Paidós, 88. 156 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="157"?> Bedrohung des menschlichen Lebensraums wird in der Gestalt gigantischer Dämonen ausgedrückt, umgeben von den ansonsten in der Poetik vertrauten und harmonischen Naturelementen wie Mond, Himmel und Sterne, die aber hier eine Art „ mythologisierter Gewalt “ ausüben. 13 Sowohl in der Literatur als auch im Film findet sich die irrationale Angst der Menschen in schrecklichen Spukgestalten 14 wieder und die mythologische Figur des Vampirs wird zum ästhetischen Nährboden, der seit Nosferatu und besonders seit den sechziger Jahren, immer weiter kultiviert und erweitert wurde. In Einklang mit Pérez und Canet vertreten wir die Ansicht, dass es im Vampir- Genre zwei grundlegende Filme gibt, die zu zwei verschiedenen Tendenzen geführt haben, nämlich Murnaus Nosferatu und Ted Brownings Dracula (1931). 15 Nosferatu repräsentiert das Horror-Genre und stellt den Vampir als fürchterliches unersättliches Ungeheuer dar, das aus seiner unterdrückten Unterwelt in die zivilisierte Oberwelt aufzusteigen versucht, um alle Lebensräume zu verseuchen, was durch die Metapher der Pest bzw. Epidemie zum Ausdruck gebracht wird. 16 Dagegen wird Brownings Dracula als humanisierter Vampir mit Gefühlen dargestellt, der eigentlich Opfer seiner unveränderbaren dunklen Natur ist, die er zu überwinden versucht. 17 Vampir-Serien in Streaming-Diensten Die beiden genannten Vampir-Subtypen -den monströsen und den humanisiertenfinden ihren Niederschlag in den neuen Streaming-Diensten wie Netflix, HBO Max oder Prime Video. Der vermenschlichte Vampir scheint eine vorherrschende Metapher für diejenigen zu sein, die sich in der Gesellschaft ausgegrenzt fühlen, insbesondere aufgrund ihrer unterschiedlichen Geschlechtsidentität, Gruppenzugehörigkeit bzw. instabiler Emotionalität. Da die meisten ein jugendliches Publikum ansprechen, dreht sich der Plot um 13 Gómez-García, Carmen (2022). La angustia como manifestación de lo unheimlich en el decenio expresionista: Kafka & co. A vueltas con Kierkegaard. Revista Sigma 31, 415 - 435, 420. 14 Vgl. andere filmische Schreckensgestalten in Das Cabinet des Doktor Caligari (1920), Der Golem (1920) oder Faust (1926). 15 Pérez, Héctor J./ Canet, Fernando (2018). Evolution in Vampire-Centred TV Ecosystems. In Paola Brembilla/ Ilaria A. De Pascalis (Hrsg.) Reading Contemporary Serial Television Universes. New York: Routledge, 43 - 56. 16 So nach Sánchez-Biosca, Vicente (1990). Sombras de Weimar, Contribución a la historia del cine alemán (1918 - 1933). Madrid: Verdoux, 320. 17 Bekannte Beispiele von humanisierten Vampiren findet man in den Filmen Interview mit dem Vampir (Neil Jordan), Dracula (Francis Ford Coppola) oder in der Twilight Saga. Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien 157 <?page no="158"?> Identitäts- und Liebessuche, das sexuelle Erwachen und um die Überwindung der daraus entstehenden Konflikte, wobei die Geschlechtsidentität oft eine Rolle spielt. Beispiele dafür sind True Blood (Allan Ball, 2008 - 14), The Vampire Diaries (Kellie Williamson/ Julie Plec, 2009 - 17), The Originals ( Julie Plec, 2013 - 18) und A Discovery of Witches (Sarah Walker / Alice Troughton / Juan Carlos Medina, 2018). Viele andere Serien legen den Schwerpunkt auf den dämonischen Vampir und reflektieren dystopische, postapokalyptische und fantastische Welten, in denen eine untergehende Menschheit gegen die übernatürliche Schreckenswelt der Vampire um ihr Überleben kämpfen muss. Hier seien an erster Stelle Penny Dreadful ( John Logan, 2014 - 16), The Strain (Guillermo del Toro/ Chuck Hogan, 2014 - 17) und Van Helsing (Nail LaBute, 2016 - 21) zu nennen. Und natürlich gibt es auch Vampir-Komödien. Wie einst Cervantes Ritterromane parodierte, wird das Vampir-Genre durch den systematischen Gebrauch von satirischen und spöttischen Elementen dekonstruiert, um die moderne Gesellschaft anzuprangern und das westliche Kulturerbe in Frage zu stellen, so wie es in What We do in the Shadows ( Jemaine Clement, 2019) der Fall ist. Uns interessieren die monströsen Vampir-Serien und inwieweit das Nosferatu-Muster in ihnen wiederzufinden ist. Für die Analyse haben wir hauptsächlich Vorbilder aus den Serien Penny Dreadful und The Strain entnommen, da wir der Ansicht sind, dass sie sich an ein breiteres Publikum wenden und ästhetische und narrative Innovationen hervorbringen, unabhängig davon, dass hinter der Produktion kommerzielle Interessen stehen. Zudem haben Online- Filmportale ein neues Unterhaltungsmedium mit eigenen Regeln und Merkmalen geschaffen, die hier kurz nach Maireke Jenners Konzeption zusammengefasst werden. 18 Um eine Kontinuität zu garantieren und die Gewohnheiten der Zuschauer zu prägen, fördern Online-Plattformen Serien, die man à la carte jederzeit und ohne Werbung abrufen kann. Mit dem Ziel Spoiler zu vermeiden, und einen gewissen Erwartungseffekt unter den potenziellen Zuschauern zu schaffen, werden die Inhalte simultan in allen Ländern mit Untertiteln und Synchronisierung veröffentlicht. Durch die Technik der cliffhangers und der relativ kurzen Dauer jeder einzelnen Episode (ca. 50 Minuten) hat sich die Gewohnheit des sogenannten binge watching etabliert, wobei die Zuschauer Informationen über ihre Konsumgewohnheiten an die Industrie weitergeben. Ferner werden für die internationale Vermarktung der Produkte „ länderübergreifende “ Inhalte erzeugt, was teilweise durch eine Konzeption der „ Vielfalt “ erreicht wird. 18 Jenner, Mareike (2018). Netflix and the Re-invention of the Television. Palgrave Macmillan, 265 - 66. 158 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="159"?> Diese Diversität fußt auf dem neuesten Wandel der globalisierten Gesellschaft wie die Ermächtigung der Frauen; die ethnische, sprachliche und kulturelle Vielfalt und die Infragestellung der Heteronormativität. Globale Probleme wie etwa der Klimawandel und die mit ihm verbundenen Naturkatastrophen, Flüchtlingskrisen oder die rasante Technologisierung der humanen menschlichen Aktivität sind Fragen, welche auch transnational behandelt und gestaltet werden. Die audiovisuellen Horror-Vampir-Erzählungen des 21. Jahrhunderts, egal, ob sie in der Vergangenheit (Penny Dreadful), in der Gegenwart (The Strain) oder in der Zukunft (Van Helsing) angesiedelt sind, projizieren die existentielle Angst der westlichen Gesellschaft vor einer Natur, die sich gegen das anthropogene Handeln zu wehren scheint, sowie die mentale Dissoziation des Menschen in der Auseinandersetzung mit sich selbst und den Stellenwert sozialer ethischer Grundsätze (Konflikte zwischen familiären, sozialen und beruflichen Pflichten; ethische Grenzen der Wissenschaft, der Technologisierung und der Wirtschaftswelt; Grenzen der Solidarität im Zusammenhang mit sozialen Ungleichheiten; Geschlechtsidentität, usw.). In vielen Serien erscheinen Vampire mit physischen Eigenschaften nach dem Vorbild Nosferatus. 19 Die murnausche Gestalt weist menschliche und tierische Merkmale auf und erscheint deshalb ambivalent. 20 In seinem Schloss und mit einer Kopfbedeckung versehen, zeigt sich Nosferatu getarnt als Graf Orlok. Später aber verraten seine krallenartigen Hände, seine scharfen Zähne, seine großen spitzen Raubtierohren, sein bleicher, kahler Kopf mit großen dunklen Augenhöhlen, die ihn leichenhaft und totengleich wirken lassen, seine animalische Natur. In der berühmten Schiffszene wirkt er unheimlich groß und suggeriert eine enorme lebensbedrohende Kraft. Die Dualität und die physischen Merkmale Nosferatus sind auch in der Figur des Hauptvampirs - genannt The Master - in The Strain zu finden. Die Serie beginnt mit dem Ausbruch einer Pandemie, die die Welt in ein apokalyptisches Szenario verwandelt hat. Ein Epidemiologe (Ephraim Goodweather) versucht den Ursprung der Infektion zu identifizieren und wird in einen Kampf gegen die sich ausbreitende Vampirspezies verwickelt, die durch die Beherrschung einer satanischen Figur ihr 19 Das ästhetische Konzept des Films ist auch dem Künstler Albin Grau zu verdanken. Er entwarf nicht nur die Dekorationen, Kostüme und Werbeplakate, sondern war auch Gründer der Produktionsfirma Prana, die Filme über das Okkulte drehen sollte. Grau war von den esoterischen Theorien Rudolf Steiners und der magischen Mathematik Hoënë Wronskis beeinflusst. Er war Großmeister der Loge „ Lichtsuchende Brüder “ von Berlin und veröffentlichte esoterische Werke im Pansophja Verlag. Vgl. Berriatúa, Luciano (2009). Nosferatu. Un film erótico-ocultista-espiritista-metafísico. Valladolid: Divisa Red, 50 - 53. 20 Die meisten der hier erwähnten Autoren unterstreichen die duale Eigenschaft von Dracula sowie seine Kapazität, diese auf andere zu übertragen. Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien 159 <?page no="160"?> Selbstbewusstsein verliert. The Master wird als prähistorischer Vampir mit außergewöhnlicher Macht vorgestellt, dessen Ziel die Vernichtung allen menschlichen Lebens ist, das durch seine Unterwelt ersetzt werden soll. Der Master wirkt monströs und ekelerregend, zumal aus seinem Mund eine riesige schlangenartige Zunge schnellt -die sehr an Ridley Scotts Alien erinnertdurch die er das Blut eines Menschen komplett aussaugen kann. Gleich Nosferatu kann er menschlichen Geist und Wille telepathisch kontrollieren. Bei Tageslicht benutzt er zur Tarnung den Körper des skrupellosen Unternehmers Eldritch Palmer, Präsident der Firma Stoneheart Investments, welcher den Master in seinen dunklen Absichten unterstützt, in der Hoffnung die Unsterblichkeit zu erlangen. Die Dracula-Gestalt erscheint in der gotischen Horror-Serie Penny Dreadful erst in der letzten Folge. Die Hauptfiguren werden mit übernatürlichen Kräften konfrontiert, müssen Geheimnisse aus der Vergangenheit enthüllen und mit innerlichen Spannungen kämpfen, die bis zum Wahnsinn führen. In einer postmodernen Alliance mit dem Werwolf, Dorian Gray, Dr. Frankenstein und dem Hämatologen Abraham van Helsing kämpft die Hauptdarstellerin Vanessa Ives im viktorianischen London gegen eine bösartige, nicht definierbare Macht, die sich sowohl in ihrem Innern als auch in der Unterwelt der Stadt eingenistet hat. Vanessa verliebt sich in den verführerischen und charmanten Zoologen Alexander Sweet, der sich am Ende als gefallener Engel mit vampirischem Aussehen entpuppt. Dieser Dracula (auch Dragon genannt) erstrebt die Vernichtung der Welt durch Vanessas seelische Beherrschung. Die physischen Merkmale Nosferatus, nämlich die klauenartigen Hände, spitzen Ohren, raubtierartigen Zähne, die todesartige Gesichtsbleiche, die Alopezie und die tief eingesunkenen Augen, die in den neuen Serien oft rötlich erscheinen, sind Züge vieler Vampire wie sie auch in The Strain, Penny Dreadful und Van Helsing erscheinen. Um die Macht des Masters in The Strain optisch zu untermalen, trägt er einen großen Ring und einen langen Mantel, der adlige Herkunft suggeriert, obgleich sein sonstiges Äußeres dekadent, abgenutzt und uralt wirkt. 21 21 In einem Interview erklärt der Produzent Guillermo del Toro, dass die Kleidung des Masters den Verlauf der Jahrhunderte in Form von „ Lumpenhaufen “ widerspiegeln sollte. Siehe Sr. Watanabe (19. 9. 2014). The Strain. Entrevista completa a Guillermo del Toro y Carlton Cuse para filmmaker. Hablemos en serie. Revista Digital. Abrufbar unter: http: / / hablemosenserie.blogspot.com/ 2014/ 09/ the-strain-entrevista-completa_78.html. 160 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="161"?> Fig. 5. Nosferatu (Murnau, 1922). CC by 2.0. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.flickr.com/ photos/ guadalajaracinemafest/ 5533034753 (Stand: 01/ 09/ 2022) Fig. 6. The Master in The Strain (Guillermo del Toro/ Chuck Hogan, 2014 - 17). Abrufbar unter: https: / / the-strain.fandom.com/ wiki/ Master? file=NIK_0292_small.jpg (Stand: 01/ 09/ 2022) Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien 161 <?page no="162"?> Fig. 7. Vampir in Penny Dreadful (John Logan, 2014 - 16). Abrufbar unter: https: / / penny-dreadful.fandom.com/ wiki/ Vampire? file=Penny_Dreadful_Vampire.jpg (Stand: 01/ 09/ 2022) In Bezug auf das narrative Muster wird die „ mythologische Einheit “ der freiwilligen Selbstaufopferung, welche im Grunde die kosmische Wiedergeburt symbolisiert, auch in den Vampirserien verwendet. Nosferatu und Ellen sind durch unsichtbare alte Bande vereint und können sich über weite Entfernung spüren. Ellen ist sich bewusst, dass nur ein Blutopfer die Welt von der Pest befreien kann und gibt sich hin. Dafür gibt es unterschiedliche Deutungen. Rickels sieht hier einen Parallelismus mit den deutschen Soldaten, die im Ersten Weltkrieg aufgeopfert wurden. Auch die Szene, in der die Matrosen nach und nach aus dem Schiff verschwinden, könnte in diese Richtung interpretiert werden. 22 Ellens Hingabe trägt auch christliche Konnotationen, in der Art und Weise, wie sie ihren Tod erwartet: erschöpft und gleichzeitig hingerissen ruft sie das Bild von Jesus am Kreuz auf. 23 In Penny Dreadful ist Vanessa Ives die Frau, die sich aufopfert. Ein langer quälender Weg der Erkenntnis führt sie zum unweigerlichen Ende. Vorerst hat sie aber Zuflucht im Schoß des Glaubens gesucht, um das Böse in ihrem Inneren, 22 Rickels, Laurence A. (1999). The Vampire Lectures, The University of Minessota Press, 96. 23 So der anonyme Autor (1976) des Artikels „ Murnau I: Nosferatu “ . In Film Comment 12: 3, 5 - 9, 8. 162 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="163"?> das sie immer wieder lockt, zu beschwichtigen. Vanessa Ives reagiert erschreckt auf ihr Bosheitsgefühl; es ist das Ergebnis vergangener Taten, die sie bereut. Vergebens versucht sie, diese Erinnerungen zu verdrängen, die schließlich zum Vorschein kommen und sie in Form von Dämonen verfolgen. Weder der Glaube noch die Liebe oder der offene Kampf gegen Dracula vermögen ihr Schuldgefühl zu mildern. Letzten Endes erkennt sie, dass es für sie keine Rettung gibt und opfert sich umringt durch einen Feuerkreis, 24 der Dracula daran hindert, von ihr Besitz zu ergreifen. Die Hingabe hat hier nihilistische Konnotationen der vitalen Resignation vor unlösbaren Konflikten aufgrund vergangener Taten und ihrer Folgen; die Selbstaufopferung hat eher mit der Fähigkeit des Menschen zu tun, innere Ängste zu überwinden und eine widerstandsfähige eigene Individualität zu entwickeln. In The Strain versucht der Epidemiologe Ephraim Goodweather, eine Pandemie unbekannten Ursprungs durch seine Wissenschaft zu bekämpfen, greift aber schließlich zu esoterischen Methoden, als er entdeckt, dass sich hinter der weltweiten Ansteckung ein uraltes Ungeheuer versteckt. Unternehmen mit unbegrenztem Ehrgeiz, die Menschen zum eigenen Nutzen ausbeuten, verkörpern das Böse. Die Gier der Unternehmen breitet sich wie eine Epidemie von Vampirautomaten aus und spiegelt so die Unzulänglichkeit der Menschen gegenüber der Macht des ungezügelten Kapitalismus wider. Als alle Mittel, das Ungeheuer zu besiegen, ausgeschöpft sind, tötet Ephraim den Master, muss sich aber dabei aufopfern. Er tut dies, um seinen Sohn, der vom Master beherrscht wird, zu retten. Die väterliche Liebe ist die Triebkraft, die das Böse besiegt und projiziert den Glauben an eine bessere Welt durch den Generationswechsel. Darüber hinaus liegt dem Kampf gegen die Bestie eine Skepsis gegenüber den Grenzen der Wissenschaft und des Fortschritts zugrunde, die verdeutlicht, dass der Mensch eine Spiritualität benötigt, um das Unbegreifliche zu fassen. Schlussfolgerungen Im Laufe der Zeit ist das visuelle Bild von Nosferatu durch ständige Wiederholung standardisiert worden und gehört zur filmischen Bilderwelt als bekannter Stereotyp. Lippmann behauptet, dass diese Bilder unsere Wahrnehmung bestimmen und widerstandsfähig sind, d. h. sie ändern sich nicht, weshalb sie Bestandteile von Traditionen werden. 25 Und diese Tradition wird durch die 24 Das Licht als Symbol des Schutzes wird in der Kunst und in der Literatur oft verwendet. 25 Lippmann, Walter (1922). Public opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 81, 104. Nosferatu als ästhetisches und kosmogenetisches Muster für Vampir-Serien 163 <?page no="164"?> genannten Vermarktungsregeln der audiovisuellen Serien in Online-Plattform transnational gefördert und genutzt. Dabei spielt die Intertextualität mit früheren Vampir-Filmen und Serien eine große Rolle, die oft als metafiktionales Spiel eingeführt werden und so die Zuschauer in eine unheimliche, aber gleichzeitig vertraute Fantasiebzw. Sciencefiction-Welt untertauchen lässt. Im Stereotyp bleiben Teile des Originals beibehalten, zu denen neue hinzugefügt werden, und diese Varianten bilden die meistens makabre und grausige Ästhetik der Horror-Vampirfilme in der Pop-Kultur. Diese Ästhetik ist nicht nur ein visueller Anreiz für Vampir-Fans, sondern hilft auch dabei, den Anforderungen des modernen Lebens zeitweise zu entfliehen. Existentielle Unsicherheiten werden in der gruseligen Vampirwelt projiziert und ergeben als Kontrast ein Gefühl der relativen Sicherheit in der realen Welt. Das Motiv der entgegengesetzten zusammenstoßenden Mächte, die sich zugunsten einer neuen Welt aufopfern, verweisen auf die Kosmogonie, die in vielen antiken Vorstellungen als Verwandlung eines anthropomorphen Wesens dargestellt wird, so wie es in der nordischen Mythologie der Fall ist. 26 Aus dem Körper des Riesen Ymirs werden Erde, Himmel, Berge und Meere kreiert. Der Kosmos ist ständig unter dem sich ausbreitenden Chaos gefährdet und infolgedessen muss dieses auch kontinuierlich bekämpft werden. 27 Das Chaos wird meistens als Dunkelheit, Nacht, Leere, Abgrund oder dämonisches Wesen in Form eines Drachens, Schlange oder uralten Riesen repräsentiert. Die Harmonie ist erst wiederhergestellt, wenn „ die Dunkelheit in Licht, das Wasser in Festland, die Leere in Substanz, das Formlose in Form und die Vernichtung in Schöpfung verwandelt wird. “ 28 Die Niederlage des kosmischen Dämonen symbolisiert den Triumph der zivilisierten Welt und gibt Hoffnung für ein neues Leben. Dieses uralte Motiv liegt den Vampir-Serien zugrunde und wird nach den aktuellen Richtlinien des anthropogenen Zeitalters neuinterpretiert. Exogene Faktoren wie Klimawandel, Technologisierung oder Infragestellung der kapitalistischen Wirtschaft sowie endogene Faktoren wie Identitäts- und Geschlechtskonflikte werden in Form eines Chaos erzeugenden Ungeheuers (Dracula) symbolisch dargestellt, die der Mensch in der Wiederherstellung des Gleichgewichts bekämpfen muss. Die Themen der globalisierten Welt stehen nun im Mittelpunkt der Vampir-Folgen, die durch ihre „ unsterbliche Natur “ die Unterhaltungsbedürfnisse moderner Zuschauer zu befriedigen suchen. 26 Meletinski, Eleazar M. (2001). El mito. Literatura y folclore. Madrid: Akal, 191. 27 Bernárdez, Enrique (2017). Mitología nórdica. Madrid: Alianza, 36. 28 Meletinski (2001: 195). Übersetzung ins Deutsche von der Autorin. 164 Ingrid Cáceres-Würsig <?page no="165"?> Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films: Nosferatu: a Symphony of Horror by Friedrich Wilhem Murnau (1922) and Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola (1992) Jorge Marugán Kraus Introduction This paper aims to contrast Murnau ’ s 1922 film Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror with Coppola ’ s version of Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula 1 (70 years after Nosferatu) from the lens of psychoanalysis. I will take as my primary reference the reading of Sigmund Freud ’ s work by psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan 2 ; in particular, the transcription of his Seminar X entitled Anguish, which he delivered between 1963 and 1964 3 . Through a global analysis of their works, we can start from the premise that for both Freud and Lacan, the speaking being, to constitute itself as a subject, has to face two challenges: firstly, fulfilling a consistent and differential identity of its own, which is attained through identifications mediated by language and, 1 Coppola, Francis F. (1992). Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula. Columbia Pictures. Screenplay by James V. Hart, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897), with music by Wojciech Kilar. Running time: 128 minutes. 2 Jacques Lacan (1901 - 1981) revises Freud ’ s work and attempts to formalise his conceptions considering contributions from other disciplines such as linguistics, structuralism and topology. 3 Lacan ’ s teaching was established, above all, through annual courses generically called “ Seminars ” , which were recorded and transcribed by several students. Since 1953, there have been a total of 26 seminars. In Seminar X, Anguish, given in the academic year 1963 - 1964, Lacan deals with the relation of the subject to its most primitive objects and to the figure that provides them. <?page no="166"?> secondly, to achieve an adequate satisfaction of its driving claims 4 or, in Lacan ’ s terms, its forms of jouissance 5 . To do so, the speaking being must learn to channel this satisfaction. Since jouissance exceeds the capacity of language to signify it, it tends to overflow and requires certain limits to be endured by the speaker. This channelling, this necessary limitation of jouissance, will take place through certain objects, understanding the term ‘ object ’ broadly. According to psychoanalysis, the object of satisfaction or jouissance can be any element, be it a thing or a person, in a real or fantasised situation. The limited use and enjoyment of jouissance through objects will allow the speaking being to subjectivise itself, that is, to become a subject. However, the speaking being, having to achieve an identity through language and to limit a jouissance that exceeds what language can signify, will always be an incomplete subject: never a master in its own house, Freud would say; a split subject, Lacan would say. The Five Primitive Objects of Jouissance and the Particularity of Oral Jouissance according to Lacan In his works Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality and The Infantile Genital Organisation, Freud proposes three fundamental objects in infantile development: the oral object, the anal object and the phallic object. They are objects whose value is indicated by the interest and attraction they cause. The phallic object, penis or clitoris, is of particular importance because its stimulation is signalled in the body through an erection, which confers a signifying function to this signal, a bridging function between language and jouissance 6 . The fact that 4 Freud replaces the prevalence of instinct (Instinkt) with the prevalence of drive (Trieb) in the speaking being. In his 1915 text Triebe und Triebschicksale he defines the concept of the drive as a force of internal origin and constant thrust, the goal of which is the satisfaction achieved through an object that becomes attached to the drive during development. Unlike instinct as a biological function to which we can attribute a general, fixed, totalitarian and cyclical character in a species, the drive manifests a particular character in each being, variable and not predetermined as to its object, partial in its location in different areas of the body and constant as a force that pushes it. Freud, Sigmund (1924); “ Triebe und Triebschicksale ” . Gesammelte Schriften. Vol. 5. Vienna: Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag, 443 - 465. 5 “ Jouissance ” , the usual translation of joissance, is a term introduced into psychoanalysis by Lacan. Rather than satisfaction induced by pleasure, jouissance alludes to a state beyond pleasure in which the subject is confronted with pain or excess. 6 Lacan, Jacques. (1999). “ La signification du phallus ” . Écrits 2. Paris: Seuil, 665 - 675 166 Jorge Marugán Kraus <?page no="167"?> the phallus object acquires this role will turn it into a reference of jouissance for the rest of the objects. As for Lacan, in his seminar L ’ angoisse 7 , he adds two more objects to Freud ’ s list: the scopic object (object of the gaze) and the invocatory object (the voice). Five objects, therefore, located in five areas of the body and five localised forms of jouissance. Moreover, for both Freud and Lacan, the key to the management of jouissance is that it circulates and connects the different objects: “ the drives behave like a network of communicating vessels ” , Freud claimed in his Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis 8 ; “ the five levels are united in an intimate solidarity … none of them can be separated from the repercussions one has on the others ” , Lacan states in his Seminar X 9 . The jouissance produced by the fantasy of the vampire also involves the five primitive objects. However, it is above all the jouissance that is produced by the first of these, the oral object, whose model, for Freud, is the sucking of the breast. But what characterises oral jouissance? In the same Seminar, Lacan establishes three fundamental aspects to define jouissance in each of the five objects: first, the type of relationship that the subject establishes with the figure providing the object; second, the desire that characterises the subject in the encounter; and third, the type of anguish that appears. The oral provider of nourishment is someone that the baby distinguishes very early on from itself; the provider is the “ Other ” 10 . The Other whom the baby needs and on whom it depends. Therefore, when jouissance is located in the oral zone, whether in a real or an imaginary way, the relationship established with the Other provider is one of need and dependence. In this case, the possession of the oral object will confer great power on the Other, in accordance with the need and dependence the subject has on the Other. According to Lacan, in the face of the anguish generated by this dependence, the characteristic desire of the oral dimension will arise in the subject: the desire for separation or weaning 11 . This desire for separation is fundamental for 7 Lacan, Jacques. (2004). Le Séminaire de Jacques Lacan. Livre X: L´angoisse. Paris: Seuil. 8 Freud, Sigmund. (1924); “ Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanayse ” . Gesammelte Schriften. Vol.7. Vienna: Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag, 483. 9 Lacan (2004: 263). 10 Lacan makes an operational distinction between the “ Other ” as provider, in upper-case letters, and the lower-case “ other ” , which would be the peer or someone similar, such as a friend or a sibling. 11 Lacan (2004: 354). Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films 167 <?page no="168"?> development because it entails a renunciation of the subject ’ s initial parasitic position. But, in addition, in the face of the dependence and parasitism of the Other at the oral level, a particular type of anguish will arise in the subject: the anguish of the possibility that the Other will be emptied and unable to perform its function 12 . The agony of the emptying of the Other can be terrible, but it also pushes the subject to leave this level and go toward the circulation of jouissance towards other objects. On the other hand, the subject ’ s dependence on the oral dimension confers on the Other a potentially destructive power; “ elephant trampling ” , says Lacan 13 , or also that “ you find yourself in her mouth [of a big crocodile]. You never know what may set her off suddenly, making those jaws clamp down ” 14 . Murnau ’ s Vampire: Between Desire and Anguish at the Oral Level The vulnerability and helplessness of the child before the supplying Other is evident in any fantasy of devouring, not only in that of the vampire, but also in that of the werewolf or zombies. Nevertheless, Lacan relates, more specifically, the fantasy of the vampire to the anguish of emptying at this oral level. It should be noted that fantasy is like a game to deal with anguish: it is a matter, then, of offering the vampire, the Other, our own vital essence so that it is not emptied, thus invoking the anguish of its emptying. The subject imagines itself in the place of the vital object, with its vital fluid; the subject identifies itself with this object: the subject is bitten and sucked, emptied by the Other. An inversion is thus established in which the subject goes from being a parasite to being parasitised. The phantasm of the vampire may frighten, but in a certain way, it calms that anguish by transforming it, for example, into fear. Moreover, if being bitten by the vampire calms the Other ’ s anguish of emptying and this anguish precedes the desire for separation, this desire will also remain in abeyance, since the satiated Other remains full, complete and immortal, and therefore its capacity and power are intact. We can thus appreciate the profound ambivalence in which the speaking being finds itself in the face of the Other. On the one hand, the subject wants to 12 Lacan (2004: 256). 13 Lacan (1999: 793). 14 Lacan, Jacques (1975). Le Séminaire de Jacques Lacan. Livre 17: L ’ envers de la psychanalyse. Paris: Seuil, 118. 168 Jorge Marugán Kraus <?page no="169"?> perceive the Other as powerful, full and complete, in order to ensure its function as the provider and to avoid the anguish of its emptiness. However, this power will evoke the phantasm of the Other ’ s omnipotence, the terror that the Other will become a devouring crocodile or a trampling elephant; that is, it will evoke in the speaking being the terror of becoming the object of the Other ’ s unmeasured jouissance. Therefore, the subject will need to decomplete the Other, to perceive its lack, its impotence, to include it in the net of desire, to make it desire. But confronting the desire of the Other has a consequence: anguish. The anguish of not knowing, in the face of this desire, what object the subject is. One response to this anguish is the desire for separation, which will allow the speaking being to encounter other objects. Another response to this anguish, the one that concerns us now, is the manifestation of the vampiric phantasm: offering oneself to the parasitism of the Other in order to calm the anguish and return to the Other the lost completeness. The vampire, at least Murnau ’ s, fixes and retains the subject in oral jouissance, hence its identification with evil. The vampire bites and sucks; that is to say, it retains and at the same time empties the subject as a prisoner of the oral dimension, like the fly imprisoned by the carnivorous plant in the corresponding scene of the film 15 . This is the aspect that stands out in Murnau ’ s Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, a symphony of horror. Murnau recreates the ancestral oral dimension, the “ mysterious essence of nature ” , as he also puts it. Nosferatu is monstrous and powerful; there is no possible opposition. Neither garlic, crosses, stakes, nor knives work against him. Murnau ’ s vampire does not come from a lineage either, nor does he have a heroic past, he arises directly from the seed or essence of evil; he has no sexuality, he does not arouse phallicgenital jouissance, he only wants to retain and suck. As Ellen ’ s character shows, only sacrifice without coercion (to the point of immolation) is valid in order to invoke the monster. Ellen, the real heroine of the play, operates with her own loss. She receives the vampire “ without coercion ” , that is, without compulsion; she does not identify herself with her object, she asserts her desire for separation, her independence, at the expense of giving up a part of herself for there is never gain without loss. This produces lack, impotence, and the definitive failure of the monster (Fig. 8). Only in this way can the unreality of Nosferatu manifest itself; only then does he disappear into the sunlight and she, beyond oral jouissance, can love Hutter. “ Only love allows jouissance to condescend to desire ” 16 , Lacan states. 15 Murnau (1922: 0: 45: 10). 16 Lacan (2004: 194). Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films 169 <?page no="170"?> Fig. 8 Murnau, the Essence of Expressionism Murnau ’ s Nosferatu is powerful, but also unreal, disembodied: “ a polyp with tentacles [ … ] transparent, almost ethereal [ … ] little more than a phantom ” , as the author shows and writes in the scene in which the polyp retains a living particle with its tentacles 17 . Therefore, Murnau ’ s expressionism is so powerful. One could consider that the author himself defines the essence of expressionism in the opening narration of the film: “ the pictures of life will fade into dark shadows ” , we can read (Fig. 9). Fig. 9 17 Murnau (1922: 0: 47: 05). 170 Jorge Marugán Kraus <?page no="171"?> Isn ’ t that the essence of expressionism? It should be remembered that Lacan stresses the illusory and deceptive value of the images of life, starting with the “ I ” , itself, which is also an image 18 . But Murnau ’ s opening narration continues: “ ghostly dreams will rise from your heart and feed on your blood ” 19 . And we see, from that moment on, the subjugating deployment of expressionist visual elements in the work: the shadows, the fog, the grotesque deformation of figures, gestures, objects, the vampire ’ s features … (Fig. 10). Moreover, we are swept away by the expressive force of the music and struck by the stark desolation in the treatment of the themes: the non-causality of acts, death as a plague exempt from any transcendentality. The expressionism of Murnau ’ s work thus becomes the privileged form of expression of the most primitive oral phantasm. Fig. 10 Jouissance and the Object in Coppola ’ s Version of the Vampire Now, returning to the beginning of our paper, if we can operate with the jouissance of objects, it is through their symbolisation. We lose objects at the real 18 Lacan, Jacques (1999). “ Le stade du miroir comme formeteur de la fonction du Je telle qu'elle nous est révélée dans l'expérience psychanalytique ” . Écrits 1. Paris: Seuil, 86 - 93. In this text Lacan states that the constitutive function of the I, (French Je), as an affirmation of the first person of the subject of an utterance arises from the identification with a mirror image. The function of the I is therefore formative, but also deceptive, illusory and a source of unknowing for the speaking being. Moreover, because it arises from comparison, it establishes a basis of rivalry and aggressiveness in relations with others as mirror images. 19 Murnau (1922: 0: 03: 45). Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films 171 <?page no="172"?> level in order to recover them, partially, through language and symbols; as a child does when it learns to substitute the real presence of its mother for the word that names her: “ mum ” . However, this passage from the real to the symbolic dimension cannot take place through the fixation of jouissance at the oral level. Oral jouissance has no signifier, it does not connect with language. From the oral perspective, the object is unnameable. Therefore, according to Lacan, the speaking being must find “ the correspondence of the various forms of the object a with the central and symbolic function of the minus fi ( −φ ) ” 20 ; that is, to find the connection of the oral jouissance with the phallic jouissance, the only jouissance that, as we said, can be signalled with a signifier. The signifier of phallic jouissance confers the possibility of bearing, supporting, and symbolising the oral object and its provider. As a signifier, the signifier of phallic jouissance will make jouissance enter the language and this will enable operating with jouissance through the signifying chains. And here emerges Stoker ’ s Dracula in Coppola ’ s version. Dracula is a vampire who claims his place in the symbolic dimension, who connects jouissance with signifiers. Dracula has a name, a lineage and a history: Prince, Son of the Dragon and Knight of the Order of the Dragon, tragic hero, a victim of deception, and lover who suffers and defeats death in the search for his beloved. Coppola ’ s vampire both flaunts and responds to symbols. In Coppola ’ s work, the deformation and fading of expressionist images become phallic straightness, straightness of towers, crosses, guns, knives and torches. The evil act that Murnau presents is timeless and has no inscription. It becomes a historicised tale, liberating and, at the same time, repressive of desire. An act legitimised by love. The eroticism of Coppola ’ s work is the manifestation of the phallic jouissance that runs through it. Coppola presents a vampire who sexualises oral jouissance which, to begin with, is not a sexual jouissance. The phallic object not only symbolises but also regulates and limits jouissance by connecting it to the jouissance that is possible in the sexual encounter. When the sexual encounter is mediated by desire, it is at the mercy of temporality and uncertainty as desire, unlike drive, is neither constant nor, of course, subject to the homogeneous pattern of instinct. 20 Lacan, Jacques (1973). Le Séminaire de Jacques Lacan. Livre 11: Les quatre príncipes fondamentaux de la psychanalyse. Paris: Seuil, 118. In his attempt to formalise the fundamental psychoanalytic concepts, Lacan, in this quotation, generically names the primitive object of jouissance as object a, and the phallic object as −φ . He connotes negatively the phallic object to indicate that, as the object of desire, there is always something missing from that object, there is an impossibility of jouissance in that object. 172 Jorge Marugán Kraus <?page no="173"?> Phallic jouissance is a limited jouissance, which is why Lacan ironizes it by stressing its inability to connect man with woman: “ What is it? Nothing more than what underlines the importance of masturbation in our practice: the jouissance of the idiot ” 21 . However, it is important to highlight its social function: it is a jouissance that connects with pleasure, a jouissance that can be shared even in its insufficiency, a jouissance comptable 22 (that can be narrated and enumerated), both in the sense of a story and an account, and a jouissance that can be legislated. Phallic jouissance unifies the partial drives and subordinates them to the primacy of the genitals, states Freud 23 . The phallic jouissance thus retroactively sexualises the rest of the objects; it sexualises the bite and the suction at the oral level. Coppola ’ s vampire thus becomes a seducer; suction and seduction become confused and overlap. Dracula is no longer a “ symphony of horror ” , but a yearning for love, a limitation of jouissance and, because of this limitation, the impossibility of satisfying desire. Dracula is not ghostly, he is carnal, he can be pierced with stakes and beheaded with knives, other phallic symbols that his opponents flaunt. Finally, in this passage from the oral to the phallic level, the character of the woman, Lucy, is also the opposite of Ellen, Murnau ’ s heroine. Lucy becomes a passive object of the Other ’ s desire. And it is precisely Dracula ’ s love that preserves her from being just another object of his oral jouissance: out of love he resists biting her and condemning her to timelessness, to remove her from the circuit of life and desire, from the trivial game of loss and gain of everyday life. Conclusions If the transformation of the speaking being depends on combining the acquisition of identity through language with the appropriate channelling of its energy drive, the creative know-how of an artist can express different passages of this progression. The artist, with his or her own gaze and language, can capture elements that are inaccessible to other languages, including that of science, and connect these elements in a montage. The result, the work, will acquire a value also on these two levels: a signifying value, thanks to which we can ask ourselves about its meaning; and a value of jouissance, a shareable 21 Lacan, Jacques (1975). Le Séminaire de Jacques Lacan. Livre 20: Encore. Paris: Seuil, 99. 22 The term jouissance comptable works in French since it has a double meaning: that can be narrated and enumerated. 23 Freud, Sigmund. (1924); “ Die infantile Genitalorganisation ” . Gesammelte Schriften. Vol. 5. Vienna: Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag, 233 - 237. Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films 173 <?page no="174"?> jouissance that fulfils a social function. The comparison of Murnau ’ s and Coppola ’ s works dedicated to the vampire created by Stoker captures two different times, two passages in the process of possible conjunction between identity and the satisfaction of the speaking being. The darker, more primitive oral jouissance manifested in the biting and sucking of Murnau ’ s vampire will give way to seduction, the desire that limits jouissance and the tragic destiny of Coppola ’ s vampire. Two times of encounter of the speaking being with its objects of jouissance in which desire and anguish alternate so that the process of the constitution of the subject does not stop. When it comes to the oral dimension, the speaking being will have to deal with the need for the Other and the dependence on the Other as the provider of nourishment. And, at a certain point, the speaking being will have to renounce the jouissance that this object procures. How does this renunciation come about? According to Lacan, as we have seen, by the conjunction of two forces: the discomfort produced by the anguish of the emptying the Other and the corresponding desire for separation from that object. The fantasy of the vampire is a product of this anguish and an avoidance of it: if at the oral level the subject parasitises the Other and can empty it, the fantasy of the vampire reverses the roles; the subject is then parasitised; the subject gives the Other its vital essence in order to complete it and ward off the possibility of its emptying. If the provider becomes a parasite, the subject will be paralysed by fear, imprisoned in a closed relationship, like Hutter ’ s character, imprisoned in Nosferatu ’ s castle. Oral fixations can manifest themselves in various forms in the subject ’ s development: dependence or passivity in relationships, exacerbated consumerism, eating disorders, addictive behaviours … The phantasm of the vampire reveals itself and, at the same time, it provides closure to the failure, the lack and the desire that can appear in the Other on whom we depend. Murnau ’ s vampire captures, holds, and sucks the vital essence, that is why he is evil, he embodies the essence of the senseless evil present in nature. The opposition to the vampire, overcoming the oral fixation, turns the subject into a hero through sacrifice for love. Ellen ’ s character gives her being. She gives herself in order to bring the vampire out of the shadows, she tricks him into discovering that he is not so powerful, that he cannot provide for the subject for long and that there are other ways of operating with jouissance. Coppola ’ s Dracula provokes a different jouissance, mediated by an object that Freud called the phallus, yet without being able to specify its function. The phallus represents what one does not have, what is missing; it limits jouissance and connects it with sexual pleasure and desire, which is why its success is guaranteed: a non-devouring jouissance, the essence of good because it makes one believe in the union of bodies. But since, despite good intentions, bodies do 174 Jorge Marugán Kraus <?page no="175"?> not unite, it is necessary to transcend to attain the union of souls. Dracula, the romantic hero, renounces God and human life for love: “ I have crossed oceans of time to find you ” 24 . Such a line ensures seduction, and, in the same scene, for love, he limits his enjoyment, and renounces suction; he renounces possessing that object. 24 Coppola (1992: 0: 50: 25). Vampires, Oral Fixations and their Connection with Sexuality in Two Films 175 <?page no="176"?> The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle Feminine vampiric duality Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez Introduction If an idea has terrified humanity, it is that of a being who has crossed the threshold of life, but who is nevertheless capable of returning to suck the energy of those who have remained in this dimension of existence. Even worse than the fact that the vampire has -apparentlydied, the circumstance that he is in charge of snatching the weak lives of his relatives in order to quench his insatiable thirst and fulfil his diabolical curse. On the other hand, if there has been something capable of intimidating patriarchal society it is the idea that death has traditionally been typified as a female being 1 , named as such and drawn according to its appearance and character as the bearer of the scythe. 2 However, we must clarify that the representation of femininity that we intend to analyse does not have a single aspect. On the one hand, the female vampiric figures that Coleridge (it has been stated that Le Fanu could have been inspired by “ Christabel ” to model his vaporous Carmilla), Keats (let us remember his two main contributions to the genre: the ethereal and mysterious -and therefore enigmatic and attractivebelle dame sans merci and her seductive lamia in the two homonymous compositions), Bürger or Tieck will evoke emanate from the purest delight of the male imagination, not being human beings but the embodiment of the desires and passions of man more innate as well as hidden and / or repressed. On the other hand, the most archetypal vampires of Le Fanu or Stoker reflect the new feminine airs and impetus. The vampires created by 1 Opposed to the Germanic tradition, for example, in which death is a masculine entity, as the languages of this field show (der Tod in German). 2 Davies, Douglas J. (2005). A Brief History of Death. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. <?page no="177"?> these authors being precisely the channelling vehicles of the society of the moment. The female vampire: the rise of a myth When one thinks of vampires, horrifying figures for many, fascinating for others, we immediately imagine a creature waving its cloak through the corridors of a castle located on some rugged mountain in Eastern Europe. It is a primal reaction rooted in the depths of our cultural heritage, being conditioned, in filmic and cultural terms, by Hollywood. The folkloric history of the survivor, that being from beyond the grave that sucks the blood of humans in order to survive, has been present in the history of man and all civilizations with different manifestations for centuries. From the Sumerians to Romantic England, from China to the Malay or Filipino peoples, from the Greeks and Hebrews to the popular superstitions that spread throughout Central European countries, the vampire is part of the popular tradition. 3 This legend has its origin in the borders that divide two cultures, in the limits between the living and the dead. At first, this being appears confused among the vast legion of demons loaded with human and animal attributes, capable of transforming into other beings. Over the centuries, the vampire was losing the animal qualities that it possessed for the classical Jewish and Mesopotamian world. With the arrival of the Church, the ancient demons were Christianized. During the 18th century, the vampire was not yet a proper literary figure. The circumstances that motivate its rebirth on the European scene are marked by superstition. Precisely, in the era of rationalist scepticism, the vampire was linked to epidemics, to the plague. 4 There was talk of a new, hitherto unknown epidemic that puzzles as well as attracts a large part of European society. For a long time, these occurred in Prussia, Hungary, Serbia, Wallachia and Russia. According to reports, all the cases have their own names, and the investigations were assigned to trusted men. The most widely known event reportedly occurred near Belgrade. Mass hysteria gripped the entire town to such an extent that the Austrian go- 3 Stephanou, Aspasia (2014). Reading Vampire Gothic Through Blood. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. 4 Williamson, Milly (2003). Vampire Transformations: From Gothic Demon to Domestication? In: Carla T. Kungl (ed.) Vampires. Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil. Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 101 - 107; Beresford, Matthew (2008). From Demons to Dracula. London: Reaktion Books. The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle 177 <?page no="178"?> vernment, whose army had occupied most of Serbia, was forced to intervene, and in December 1731, an order signed by the emperor opened an investigation into cases of vampirism. The undead represents power. We envy and identify with its ability to dominate. Vampire fiction provides the reader with the opportunity to submit (sexually) to the other who is repressed. The figure of the stranger from the Victorian imagination became a sexual force in Dracula. The figure of the vampire revolves around the polysemy of his message and the ambiguity of his figure. It brings, in equal parts, horror and fascination. He can even be judged as a proselytizer who elevates his victims, who rips them out of the everyday to make them exceptional. Like any group or sect, it is qualified as prestigious by the mere fact of establishing the seal of difference among its members. With vampires the attractions of nocturnality, stealth and the refined choice of prey are added. Hence, the prize of a culmination is so stimulating that it consists neither more nor less than of immortality. 5 The vampire image has undergone substantial changes throughout history, going from folklore to being in the pantheon of Gothic literature. This type of literary fiction provided the more than adequate substrate for the vampiric typology to develop. The gloomy castles, the chilling howls, the overwhelming chiaroscuro, the looming shadows and the menacing evildoers, these and all the other elements shown constituted the perfect framework for the undead to show itself in all its splendour. 6 But at the same time, the process of falling in love, the attraction of evil, the morbid spell, the voluptuousness of the irremediable stalking, the ethereal of the apparitions, all these ingredients make Victorianism and fin-de-siècle art productions the ideal catalyst to express the most palpable and pressing desires. 7 We must not ignore that in fact, from a folkloric, historical and biblical point of view, women have been an obligatory protagonist as a vampiric and vampirized being. 5 Cavallaro, Dani (2002). The Gothic Vision: Three Centuries of Horror, Terror and Fear. Cornwall: MPG Books.; Cooper, L. Andrew (2010). Gothic Realities. The Impact of Horror Fiction on Modern Culture. London: McFarland & Company. 6 Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (2005). Encyclopaedia of Gothic Literature. New York: Facts on File; Killeen, Jarlath (2009). History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1825 - 1914. Cardiff: UWP; Smith, Andrew (2013). Gothic Literature. Edinburgh: EUP; Bacon, Simon (ed.) (2018). The Gothic: A Reader Synopsis. Oxford: Peter Lang Ltd.; Hogle, Jerrold E. & Miles, Robert (eds.) (2019). The Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion. Edinburgh: EUP; Punter, David (ed.) (2019). The Edinburgh Companion to Gothic. Edinburgh: EUP. 7 Sully, Jess (2010). Challenging the Stereotype: The Femme Fatale in Fin-de-Siècle Art and Early Cinema. In: Hanson Helen, O ’ Rawe Catherine (eds) The Femme Fatale: Images, Histories, Contexts. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 178 Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez <?page no="179"?> Without having to fall into archaic examples such as the well-known Lilith, mother of demons and other horrifying creatures, 8 without focusing our attention on Eve, a disobedient woman, with a fragile will and bad intentions, Pandora, Phaedra, Medea, the queen stepmother of Snow White and other -feminine figures chosen as symbols by patriarchal society to denounce the feminine conditionwomen have represented the dark or negative side of the universe. History has been written by men; literature, at least in ancient times, was also almost exclusively or mostly written by men. It was John Polidori who marked a milestone by writing his story The Vampyre around 1816, inspired by Lord Byron. Since then, the vampire was included in the stereotypical Gothic, reaching its maximum glory when Dracula appeared in 1897. Many important stories, precursors of this great novel, have been almost generally relegated to the shelves of oblivion until relatively recent times. One of them could be considered as the most important literary influence on Stoker ’ s work: Carmilla. “ Carmilla ” is presented to us as a masterpiece of lesbian eroticism, subtle, but powerful enough for the time in which it was written. Carmilla is a maiden shrouded in mystery, sensual, feline, beautiful, who is easily related to the archetype of sorceress attributed to women throughout history. She offers a promise of love that is perpetuated in death. The vampire, by the fact of being a female vampire, becomes a more ambiguous character. The activity/ passivity relationship with the masculine/ feminine is upset in this case. Let us recall the sorcerer archetype (Hecate) of the vampire. In this way, she presents herself in all her femininity. Her vampiric nature gives her an active role, associated with masculinity. It is impossible to ignore from a symbolic point of view the phallic association of a pair of fangs penetrating the skin. Gothic literature has been dominated by the masculine; it is a patriarchal, misogynistic, fiefdom, even regarding most works written by women, where such traits are enhanced (with exceptions such as Zofloya, or the Moor, by Charlotte Dacre). However, stories like “ Carmilla ” manifest a disturbing and ambiguous presence of the female in literature of this type. 9 It is not the only representative, of course, nor was it the first. At the end of the 18th century, Coleridge published his poem “ Christabel ” , where we meet a woman with 8 Eetessam Párraga, Golrokh (2009). Lilith en el arte decimonónico: Estudio del mito de la femme fatale. Signa, 18, 229 - 249; González López, Arantzazu (2013). El mito de Lilith Evolución iconográfica y conceptual. Revista Legado de Arquitectura y Diseño 14, 105 - 114. 9 Wallace, Diana & Smith, Andrew (2009). The Female Gothic. New Directions. Basingstoke: Palgrave. The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle 179 <?page no="180"?> vampiric overtones, who also seduces another woman. The vampire, be it a European nobleman or a sensual and spectral lady, was considered from the beginning as an oblique reflection of society, of its taboos. It is the otherness, if we may use this cacophonic term. And the incorporation of this figure -initially folkloric and now literaryin daily events such as television, as an object of worship, is an unequivocal symptom of an openness -more than outwards, inwardstowards what inhabits the darkest and stormy areas of our intimacies. Anyway, the vampire would not have imposed itself for so many centuries if he did not sink his roots into the most ancient human beliefs, nor did he answer for it to an anthropological archetype of the collective unconscious. Therefore, it is easy to see to what extent a figure of the imagination persists in our culture. It seems that its possibilities are inexhaustible, as shown by the literary and cinematographic production of the last two centuries. The vampire bursts into the past, in a current of thought that extols the exotic, inaugurates the beauty of the grotesque, the attraction to death, and promotes passions over reason. The character of the vampire is, consequently, mysterious, seductive, and owner of supernatural powers. However, on the opposite side of his character, he is tormented by the irrepressible need to feed on human blood. The folklore tradition concerning vampires was much bloodier than that of literature. Rather than merely exerting its lethal wiles, the monster often raged savagely on its victims 10 . In many languages, the word for vampire and werewolf is the same or similar. Let ’ s not forget that it was believed that vampires could transform into wolves, just as a person who had been a werewolf in life would become a vampire after passing to the afterlife. The vampire is presented as a Victorian being, and not as the traditional cadaverous beast. The original was easily detectable, since it represented a corpse or a zombie. As society began to increase its repression of sexuality, the obviously supernatural and erotic nature of the vampire was proportionately increased. If at first the sensual pleasure of the original vampires was the last thing that their contemporaries or their victims would fixate on, vampiric literature and filmography would greatly influence eroticism rather than bloodthirsty. 11 The ancient vampire did not have any kind of preference with respect to his victims, since he only looked for food in them. The literary vampire (masculine or feminine), on the contrary, is very selective; he has become a master of seduction, his victims are captivated. It would not be unreasonable to check if 10 Shildrick, Margrit (2002). Embodying the Monster: Encounters with the Vulnerable Self. London: Sage Publications; Mittman, Asa Simon (2013). Introduction: The Impact of Monsters and Monster Studies. In: Mittma, Asa Simon & Dendle, Peter J. (eds.) The Ashgate Research Companion to Monsters and the Monstrous. London: Routledge, 1 - 14. 11 Smith, Andrew & Hughes, William (eds.) (2012). The Victorian Gothic. Edinburgh: EUP. 180 Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez <?page no="181"?> the concept of victim is the most appropriate here or if a symbiotic relationship is established in which the two parties obtain something: one of the opponents quenches his thirst for blood, while the other reciprocally quenches his sexual or at least erotic thirst. Count Dracula is portrayed as a sexually avid man who chases young women. In the Hammer films, female vampires were portrayed as lustful and voluptuous women waiting for unwary victims. The vampire is an example of horror, but it is also a symbol of the need and desire to shed all the burden of guilt that is associated with sexuality. But if the vampire is hideous, an example of evil, this quality has traditionally been attributed to females by patriarchal authority. Evil women are present in historical and literary traditions. In most vampiric stories, terror emerges in a more or less veiled way not towards women in general, but more specifically towards assertive women, emancipated women - not only, but in a marked way - sexually, the unscrupulous, sensual woman, destroyer of society and its most deeply rooted values, and who has to be annihilated by a paternal figure, experienced, inflexible, and who will see that her act serves as an example to the possible followers of the forbidden rites. 12 In every culture and historical moment, emotions have been embodied in art. In this way, the women who have been passing through these pages were not such, but images of a misogynistic time that, unfortunately, is not over yet. They are the portraits exhibited by the dominant gaze, the male. The history of women is the history of a reification, of a body. But of a body that men have imagined and recreated, subjecting it to violent changes, translating different anxieties in the prevailing morals in a way that shaped, cinched and dressed that material. The female body has not been allowed to exist on its own, but only in opposition to the male. 13 What turns the female vampire into a truly monstrous being can be summed up in three ideas: women operate outside the realm of men, female vampires no longer reproduce with men, and women no longer represent -and far from fulfillingthe social roles held by men. 14 The move from the monstrous to the sexually threatening and destructive is what turns females into beings that must be fought and eradicated. 15 The 12 Punter, David (2016). The Gothic Condition: Terror, History and the Psyche. Cardiff: UWP. 13 Girard, René (2005). Violence and the Sacred. London & New York: Continuum. 14 Nemes, Anca (2017). The Social Background of the Literary Gothic. In: Iulian Boldea (ed.) Literature, Discourses and the Power of Multicultural Dialogue. Tîrgu Mure ș : Archipelag XXI, 394 - 399. 15 Hayles, Gledhill E. (2019). Deviant subjectivities: monstrosity and kinship in the Gothic imagination. Reading: UR. The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle 181 <?page no="182"?> difference between the vampire and many other monsters is that while the latter operate in the intellectual sphere (and even though they may be real, they would influence the strictly physical, traits all of them that turn a woman into an extremely attractive being, affected qualities such as strength, courage, terror), the first is not only limited to that facet, but goes a step further, directing its attack towards (and using) sexuality. If that threat translates into harassment of one of the basic patriarchal social pillars such as sexuality, the alarm is more than justified. And even more threatening data is the one that shows that the object of attack and the weapons used are at least terrible and even worse, similar. Therefore, defending against Dracula may be feasible if we see him as a mere folk monster: disgusting, smelly and ragged), but when the threat is sexual, his destruction is more complex. However, if the threat comes from a female being (attractive, assertive, ethereal) and, even worse, with their tricks that share this type of seduction, it is almost impossible to combat it, since the victim is susceptible to falling prey to their charms. The vampire belongs to that type of female character who tricks her male victims, men to lead them astray. She is the product of male phobias and their object of desire. 16 From ancient times to present day, female characters such as nymphs, undines, mermaids, sphinxes, witches and vampires have paraded through world literature. Their power of seduction has not diminished, and these transgressive figures end up being much more interesting than their male opponents; and as we have mentioned above, the move that is observed starting from this reality to the other more apparent reality of the femme fatale is minimal. 17 Readers and writers view the vampire ’ s otherness and sexual ambiguity as appealing. In the male case, the vampire is generally incapable of traditional sexual intercourse. In the feminine version, the vampire is a transgressor, a usurper of masculine roles, who, although she seems to deny her femininity (phallic features, anti-maternal feelings, denial of her fertility), she is not someone who renounces her charm, her seduction, her attraction -characteristics unequivocally typical of the femme fatale 18 to deceive her victims, be they male or female. The men become symbolic females when they are penetrated by the phallic fangs of the vampires; women devour infants rather than feed them. Bisexuality, as well as alienation, contribute to the terrifying threat that authors and readers can see in vampirism. 16 Davison, Carol M. (2009). The Female Gothic. In: History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1764 - 1824. Cardiff: UWP. 17 Wester, Maisha & Aldana Reyes, Xavier (eds.) (2019). Twenty-First-Century Gothic: An Edinburgh Companion. Edinburgh: EUP. 18 Tardío Gastón, Francisco J. (2011). Femme fatale. Verba Hispanica 19: 1, 89 - 100. 182 Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez <?page no="183"?> The beautiful but evil woman, attractive and yet deadly, watches us from all corners. She has crept through all speeches and ages. The beautiful but fatal woman has been gaining ground, permeating our history. From her most ancient origin, she has survived more effectively than her own male companions. Firstly, their prestige as mythical entities, with an origin whose roots sink and are lost in the chronology of our memory, makes them as old as the great cultures, and they have accompanied man in his earthly wanderings, and even more important, in his fall to the most abysmal hell. To this sublime reputation is added her seductive nature, companion of the most carnal love and at the same time the most destructive. As monsters and feminine, they unite within themselves the metaphor of desire and fear, transporting and projecting the image of the bestial and heart-breaking Eros together with that of the adorable and irresistible Thanatos; monstrosity and beauty, concepts both inextricably linked to this being. 19 In it we can affirm that the concepts of beauty and the beast merge. 20 The creation of the visual archetype of the vampire The female vampire in the literary world is consolidated throughout the nineteenth century, especially in its second half and, especially, in the Anglo-Saxon sphere. 21 However, the image of the sensual woman with bat wings will be a product of the evolution of the vampire in the cinema as early as the 20th century. Nonetheless, we have some notable examples in turn-of-thecentury European art that somehow predate that iconic figure. However, in this contribution we focus only on the iconography of the fatal woman that could influence the later image of the vampire, and vice versa. To contextualize the emergence of this female and perverse icon, we must turn to a gender phenomenon that occurred since the end of the 18th century and that will develop throughout the 19th century, especially in its second half. It is about the migration of the evil characters from the figure of the monstrous Satan to the woman, while the devil (more Lucifer than Satan) will experience a rebellious and beautiful angel personality. That is, the depository of the evil of 19 Ingebretsen, Edward J. (2001). At Stake: Monsters and the Rhetoric of Fear in Public Culture. Chicago: UCP. 20 Schoch, Sara (2012). Gothic Monsters and Masculinity: Neutralizing the New Woman in Victorian Gothic Literature. Explorations 15, 1 - 15. 21 Ballesteros González, Antonio (2000). Vampire Chronicle. Historia natural del vampiro en la literatura anglosajona. Zaragoza: Ediciones Una Luna. The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle 183 <?page no="184"?> the world becomes the woman (the femme fatale), while the characters and values of the enemy of God are softened. 22 In this context of the woman as the depository of all the evil of man, several women personified as evil appear with somewhat iconographic success. The first of them would be Eve, who, between the 18th and 19th centuries, is represented next to the serpent tempting Adam with the apple of the Tree of Science. The union between woman and snake is going to be an unequivocal symptom of female fatality. Eve is followed by Lilith, Lamia and other literary women also linked to this snake, such as the woman who dances with Baudelaire ’ s serpent or Gustave Flaubert ’ s Salambô. 23 The case that interests us the most, a priori, is that of Lamia. This mythological character, brought to the British context of the 19th century by the hand of Keats, will enjoy great success in the painting of one or two generations later in time, already mired in the Victorian era. Here she appears as a figure with a female body and a serpent ’ s tail. Other versions depict Lamia as a woman of extreme beauty but without obvious serpentine attributes (although she crawls on the ground) that tempts with her beauty the clean-spirited gentleman. It is worth mentioning Lamia by John William Waterhouse (1909) or The Temptation of Perceval by Arthur Hacker (1894), in which the two women offer themselves to the pure-hearted gentleman who seems to manage to overcome temptation. In the same context we have a series of Victorian canvases dedicated to another poem by Keats, already mentioned: “ La belle dame sans merci ” . This subject caused a furore among Victorian painters, portraying again that femme fatale with the face of a girl and pure beauty that is nothing more than a mask that hides the terrible fate that awaits the knight: death followed by a mortal sentence propitiated by that lady without mercy. 24 In the Victorian sphere we have a direct representation of the female vampire: The Vampire (1897), by Philip Burne-Jones, brother of the famous Pre-Raphaelite painter. The canvas shows a man and a woman on a bed: the man is lying in a horizontal position (of submission), while the woman is on top, in a vertical position (of domination). This is, without a doubt, the first Victorian work of art dedicated to the female vampire theme and as such it holds great significance. However, we find the contemporary vampire prototype in a sculpture by George Frampton, again on the theme of Lamia (1899 - 1900), but breaking with 22 Myers, Helene (2001). Femicidal Fears. Narratives of the Female Gothic Experience. Albany: SUNY P; Nabi, Asmat (2017). Gender Represented in the Gothic Novel. Journal of Humanities and Social Science 22: 11, 73 - 33. 23 McCracken, Peggy (2003). The Curse of Eve, the Wound of the Hero. Philadelphia: UPP. 24 Bronfen, Elizabeth (2004). Femme Fatale: Negotiations of Tragic Desire. New Literary History 35: 1, 103 - 116. 184 Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez <?page no="185"?> the idea of his Victorian colleagues. Frampton creates a female bust in which the woman wears a leather dress, a black cape and a strange hat with bulbs on top and blue trim, which gives her a totally sinister appearance. Although vampire wings do not mediate, this Lamia has a very modern leather aesthetic that could serve both for the formation of the vampire iconography and for the sadomasochistic aesthetic that will begin to be consolidated in the 20th century. Conclusion Vampire fiction has updated a fascinating myth. 25 The survivor represents much more than what until then was understood by vampire: an evil supernatural being, a living corpse, that sucks the blood of people. The spell that unfolds from the Gothic setting of its gloomy castle is more than macabre, it is voluptuous. It is still attractive and irresistible: the victim falls into a sweet unconsciousness that clouds him. He is aware of the danger that his fateful embrace entails, but at the same time he is attracted by the ecstasy and passion that he can provide. In Francis Ford Coppola ’ s 1992 film, the vampire symbolizes love that transcends time and space. And when this character is female, the attraction is even more irresistible, at least obviously for the man. For centuries, therefore, the mythical idea of the vampire as a creature that lurks at night to suck blood has weighed heavily on cultural and sexual mores. But the vampire as a cultural phenomenon seeks in its prey much more than the red vital fluid. 25 Tiziani, Moreno (2009). Vampires and vampirism: pathological roots of a myth. Antrocom 5: 2, 133 - 137. The femme fatale in Victorianism and the fin-de-siècle 185 <?page no="187"?> 4.2 The Myth of the Golem and the Artificial Intelligence <?page no="189"?> Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus Zur Faszination einer Filmfigur Roland Innerhofer Der künstliche Mensch ist eine Figur, die den Stummfilm seit seiner Frühzeit begleitet. Der Golem, Frankensteins Monster oder die Androide verkörpern Sehnsüchte und Ängste der Zuschauer*innen. Diese Figuren sind aber auch Mittel einer Reflexion des Films auf das eigene Medium. In ihnen manifestiert sich die Eigenschaft und Fähigkeit des Films, die Schauspieler-Personen medial zu reproduzieren und damit Leben technisch zu imitieren. Die filmischen Figurationen des künstlichen Menschen in Paul Wegeners Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam (1920) und Fritz Langs Metropolis (1927) besitzen eine bis heute anhaltende Strahlkraft. Der künstliche Mensch als fremde, bedrohliche wie verführerische Lebensform erweckt Affekte und Emotionen, Phantasien und imaginative Potentiale, die im Medium des expressionistischen Stummfilms unmittelbarer und wirkungsvoller mobilisiert werden als in der Romangattung, deren mediale und ästhetische Voraussetzungen distanzierende und reflexive Effekte nicht tilgen kann. Der Golem Im Talmud wird die Erschaffung Adams wie die eines Golems aus Lehm beschrieben. 1 Golem bedeutet „ formlos “ , und die Gestalt des Golems wird oft als unförmig und klumpig dargestellt. Die Fähigkeit, einen Golem herzustellen, wird in der jüdischen Tradition nicht als Hybris gedeutet, sondern als Zeichen göttlicher Erwähltheit, denn allein mit Gottes Hilfe kann dies gelingen. Die 1 Vgl. Völker, Klaus (1994). Nachwort. In: Ders. (Hrsg.) Künstliche Menschen. Über Golems, Homunculi, Androiden und lebende Statuen. Frankfurt/ M.: Suhrkamp, 425 - 496, 430 - 431. <?page no="190"?> Schöpfung aus Menschenhand kann sich dabei nicht mit der göttlichen messen. So fehlt etwa dem Golem die Sprachfähigkeit. Der durch einen unter den Mund gesteckten Zettel mit einem magischen Wort aktivierte Golem fungierte als Diener und Wachmann. Nach einer Variante der Legende wurde der Golem durch ein Siegel auf der Stirn zum Leben erweckt. In Gustav Meyrinks Erfolgsroman Der Golem erscheint dieser als ein Doppelgänger des Protagonisten und Erzählers Athanasius Pernath. Dabei bleibt es offen, ob dieser Doppelgänger im Roman real erscheint oder als Projektion Pernaths zu verstehen ist. Am Anfang überbringt der Golem, der vom Erzähler nicht als solcher erkannt wird, diesem ein Buch: Da öffnete sich die Tür und er trat ein./ Nur wenige Schritte trat er auf mich zu und nahm weder den Hut ab, noch sagte er ein Wort der Begrüßung./ So benimmt er sich, wenn er zuhause ist, fühlte ich [ … ]. 2 Später heißt es explizit: „ Ich war es selber geworden [ … ]. “ 3 Diese Erscheinung des Golems als Doppelgänger demonstriert, dass Meyrink besonders an inneren, psychologischen Phänomenen interessiert ist. Das Doppelgängermotiv verbindet sich mit der Erfahrung des Erzählers, dass ihm der eigene Körper fremd wird. Roman wie Film spielen im Prager Ghetto. Doch während seine verwinkelte, unüberschaubare Architektur im Film die Gefahr des Kontrollverlusts über den Golem veranschaulicht, spiegelt dieser Schauplatz im Roman den Seelenzustand des Erzählers, in dem sich Traum und Wirklichkeit unentwirrbar verflechten. Was den Golem als Figur für den Stummfilm besonders qualifiziert, ist seine Stummheit. Die Erschaffung des Golems kann als Metapher für das Filmschaffen verstanden werden, nämlich als ein der Filmästhetik analoger Vorgang: Der Film haucht seinen Figuren Leben ein. Der Schöpfer des Golems erscheint so als Doppelgänger des Künstlers. Paul Wegener hat als Regisseur und Golemdarsteller zwischen 1914 und 1920 drei Golemfilme realisiert: Der Golem, der 1915 gezeigt wurde und der heute nur mehr in Fragmenten erhalten ist, Der Golem und die Tänzerin von 1917, der ebenfalls verschollen ist, und Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam von 1920. In diesem letzten, weit über Deutschland hinaus erfolgreichen Film ist auch die expressionistische Ästhetik am deutlichsten ausgeprägt. Regie führte neben Paul Wegener Carl Boese, am Drehbuch war außer Wegener auch Henrik Galeen beteiligt. Der 86 Minuten lange Film ist in 5 Kapitel gegliedert. Rabbi Löw erweckt in Prag mit Hilfe schwarzer Magie den aus Lehm geformten Golem 2 Meyrink, Gustav (1995). Der Golem. Roman. Mit 25 Illustrationen von Hugo Steiner-Prag. Frankfurt/ M., Berlin: Ullstein, 22. 3 Meyrink (1995: 60). 190 Roland Innerhofer <?page no="191"?> zum Leben, um das Ghetto vor dem von der Sternenkonstellation prophezeiten Unheil zu beschützen. Der Golem ist mit seiner übermenschlichen physischen Stärke ein Instrument des Rabbi, dessen Befehle er ausführt. Tatsächlich will der Kaiser die Juden aus der Stadt vertreiben. Als sein Bote, der Junker Florian, mit dem entsprechenden Dekret im Ghetto eintrifft, verliebt sich Mirjam, die Tochter des Rabbi, in ihn. Der Rabbi bittet erfolgreich um Audienz beim Kaiser. Er nimmt den Golem zum Kaiserpalast mit. Rabbi Löw zeigt dem Hofstaat in einer magischen Projektion, einem Film im Film, die Leidensgeschichte des jüdischen Volkes. Als die Zuschauer statt Mitleid zu empfinden über die Qual des ewigen Juden Ahasver lachen, stürzt der kaiserliche Palast ein. Der Golem rettet auf Geheiß des Rabbis den Kaiser und seinen Hofstaat, indem er die einstürzenden Balken abstützt. Im Gegenzug verspricht der Kaiser, von der Vertreibung der Juden abzusehen. Dass der Golem nicht nur einem Befehl gehorcht, sondern auch aus Mitleid handelt, deutet sich zuvor in einer Szene an, bei der auf den verhärteten Gesichtszügen des Golems ein Lächeln erscheint, als eine der Hofdamen, anstatt in Grauen vor ihm zu fliehen, ihm eine Rose überreicht. Der Golem zeigt sich so als mitfühlender denn die Hofleute, die für die Leiden der Juden nur Verachtung und Spott übrighaben. Während der Vorgänge am kaiserlichen Hof haben der Junker Florian und Mirjam die Abwesenheit ihres Vaters für eine geheime Zusammenkunft in dessen Haus genutzt. Der Rabbi kehrt ins Ghetto zurück und deaktiviert den Golem, indem er den lebensspendenden Stern von seiner Brust entfernt. Als aber der Gehilfe des Rabbis die Anwesenheit Florians in Mirjams Kammer entdeckt, erweckt er aus Eifersucht den Golem zum Leben, sodass dieser Florian in den Tod stürzt. Der Golem bemächtigt sich Mirjams, und als der Famulus sie ihm entreißen will, steckt er das Haus des Rabbis in Brand. Am Ende wird dem Golem außerhalb der Mauern der Judenstadt abermals das Leben genommen, diesmal von einem kleinen christlichen Mädchen, das ihn nicht fürchtet. Er hebt es in die Höhe und aus spielerischer Neugierde nimmt das Mädchen dem Golem den Stern von der Brust, wogegen dieser, anders als bei seiner Deaktivierung durch den Rabbi, sich nicht wehrt. In diesem zärtlichen Umgang mit dem Mädchen wird die zerstörerische Energie des Golems zurückgenommen, er findet ein sanftes und versöhnliches Ende und wird gerade in seinem Tod vermenschlicht. Wie der Golem so kommt auch der Film zu einem glücklichen Ende, nachdem Mirjam den Gehilfen um Verzeihung gebeten hat. Zugleich wird im Ghetto die Errettung der Juden vor ihrer Vertreibung und vor dem Golem gefeiert. Béla Balázs betont in seinem Essay Der sichtbare Mensch (1924) die Fähigkeit des Stummfilms, die Dinge zum Sprechen zu bringen: „ In der gemeinsamen Stummheit werden sie mit den Menschen fast homogen und gewinnen dadurch Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus 191 <?page no="192"?> an Lebendigkeit und Bedeutung. “ 4 Ganz in diesem Sinne gelingt es Wegeners Golem-Film, „ to animate the inanimate world, to reveal the physiognomy of the visual surface. “ 5 Gerade weil der Golem das Automatische mit dem Primitiven vereint, demonstriert er das utopische Potential des Films, Modernität und Ursprünglichkeit zu versöhnen. Die Materialität des aus Ton gekneteten Golems spiegelt sich in der realistischen, massiven Bauweise der von Hans Poelzig entworfenen Filmkulissen. 6 Vorherrschend sind in Poelzigs Bauten geschwungene, organisch und dynamisch wirkende Formen. Fassaden, Innenräume und die in ihnen agierenden Figuren sollten einander in ihrem fantastischen Pathos entsprechen. Wegener äußerte dazu: „ [ … ] es ist eine Stadt-Dichtung, ein Traum, eine architektonische Paraphrase zu dem Thema ‚ Golem ’ . Diese Gassen und Plätze sollen [ … ] die Atmosphäre schaffen, in der der Golem atmet. “ 7 Besonders die höhlenartigen, großteils in Schatten gehüllten Innenräume vermitteln eine unheimliche Stimmung. Der Golem wirkt gerade mit seinem kantigen Gesicht und seinen plumpen, abgezirkelten Bewegungen berührend. Zum einen bewegt sich der überlebensgroße Koloss mechanisch, wie ein aufgezogenes Uhrwerk. Zum anderen stattet ihn Wegener mit einer ausdrucksvollen Mimik aus. So beängstigend die archaische Gewalt des Golems in der Auseinandersetzung mit den ihn für ihre Zwecke instrumentalisierenden Erwachsenen ist, so sanftmütig erscheint er im Umgang mit dem neugierigen Kind. Wegeners Golem kombiniert die in der deutschen Literatur bereits etablierte Figur des Automaten, wie sie am prominentesten E. T. A. Hoffmann in Der Sandmann (1816) gestaltet hat, mit der des Primitiven, des edlen Wilden, die um 1900 en vogue war. Der künstliche Mensch, der gespenstische Golem wirkt dabei individueller und menschlicher als die Menschen, die in ihrer reflexartigen Abscheu vor ihm den Eindruck des Automatenhaften erwecken. 4 Balázs, Béla (2001). Der sichtbare Mensch oder die Kultur des Films. Frankfurt/ M.: Suhrkamp, 31 - 32. 5 Barzilai, Maya (2016). Golem: modern wars and their monsters. New York: New York University Press, 44. 6 Vgl. Clarke, John R. (1974 - 1975). Expressionism in Film and Architecture. Hans Poelzig ’ s Sets for Paul Wegener ’ s The Golem. Art Journal 34: 2, 115 - 124. 7 Ein Gespräch mit Paul Wegener. Einführendes zum „ Golem “ . Film-Kurier 244, 29.10.1920. Abrufbar unter: https: / / www.filmportal.de/ node/ 8589/ material/ 754176 (Stand: 21/ 12/ 2021). 192 Roland Innerhofer <?page no="193"?> Maschinen-Maria Mit dem Automaten wird ein Motiv angesprochen, das von Anfang an mit dem Medium des Films verbunden ist: das Unbehagen gegenüber den stummen, leblosen, aber doch bewegten Doppelgängern der Schauspieler auf der Filmleinwand. Denn die Figuren auf der Leinwand sind technische Reproduktionen der Schauspieler, die vom Filmemacher und von der Filmkamera zum Leben erweckt werden. Wenn die Filmfiguren als technisch produzierte erscheinen, so verringert sich auch ihre Differenz zu den ebenso replizierten Bauwerken. Wie in Wegeners Golem spielt auch in Fritz Langs Metropolis das Wechselverhältnis von künstlichem Menschen und Filmarchitektur eine zentrale Rolle. Die Stadt der Zukunft wird im Roman wie im Film als ein riesiger Maschinenorganismus dargestellt. Lang ordnete in seinen Filmen die Figuren einer suggestiven räumlichen Imagination unter. In ihr kollidieren Moderne und Archaik. Schon die Montagesequenz zu Beginn des Films, in der die Bilder der Großstadt mit denen sich bewegender Kolben, Schwungräder, ineinandergreifender Zahnräder und einer Zehn-Stunden-Uhr abwechseln und überblendet werden, zeigt die Dominanz der Maschinen in Metropolis. Zunächst erscheint die Stadt als ein reibungslos funktionierender Maschinenkomplex. Indem in der Folge die unterirdische Stadt ins Bild rückt, wird die Gefährdung, die dieser auf den ersten Blick harmonischen Maschinerie innewohnt, deutlich. In der unterirdischen Stadt sind die Menschen zu Bestandteilen des Produktionsmechanismus reduziert. Die ausschließlich männlichen uniformierten Arbeitermassen bewegen sich im Gleichschritt, als wären sie ferngesteuerte Roboter, und marschieren in militärischer Formation auf. Sie erscheinen als dehumanisiert und fügen sich nahtlos in die geometrische Struktur der Großstadt ein. Diese Geometrisierung des Kollektivs der Arbeiter kann der Film unmittelbarer als eine literarische Beschreibung ins Bild setzen. Die Uniformierung beschränkt sich nicht auf die Kleidung, sie umfasst auch den Körper und das Gesicht. Die Arbeit, die die Männer verrichten, wird nicht nur als monoton, sondern auch als außerordentlich anstrengend dargestellt. So ist das ungestörte Funktionieren der Stadt-Maschine ständig von menschlichem Versagen aufgrund von Erschöpfung bedroht. Die Maschine wird als Dämon, als menschenverschlingender Götze hypostasiert. Freders Vision, welche die Maschine als Moloch zeigt, ist kein Wahnbild, sondern offenbart die Wahrheit über die mörderischen Arbeitsbedingungen in den unterirdischen Produktionsstätten. Die Beziehung zwischen Mensch und Maschine erfährt eine doppelte Inversion: Das Herr-Knecht-Verhältnis wird umgekehrt und der Mensch maschinisiert. Während die Maschine anthropomorphisiert wird, vollführt der Mensch als standardisiertes Glied der großen Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus 193 <?page no="194"?> Arbeitsmaschine nur noch stereotype Bewegungen. Lebende Tote und totes Leben: der Moloch Maschine saugt dem Menschen das Leben aus. Die apokalyptische Vision einer alles verschlingenden Maschinerie kontrastiert mit der Entfesselung vitaler Kräfte durch den Maschinenorganismus. Der Welt der Arbeit, zu der die Unterschicht verdammt ist, steht der Rausch der Sinne gegenüber, dem sich eine in Luxus lebende Oberschicht hingibt. Der Film steigert also nicht nur die zerstörende, sondern auch die belebende Kraft der Maschine ins Mythische. Dieser Dualismus einer heilsversprechenden und einer apokalyptischen Maschinenwelt ist sozial codiert. Der soziale Konflikt wird aber erst handlungsrelevant, indem er ins Private transponiert wird. In Metropolis wird er zum Auslöser eines Vater-Sohn-Konflikts. Freder Fredersen, der Sohn des Diktators, verliebt sich in die edle Samariterin Maria. Sie kümmert sich aus Nächstenliebe um die verwahrlosten Proletarierkinder, spendet Trost und predigt den Arbeitern Demut und geduldiges Warten auf einen „ Mittler “ , der sie erlösen soll. Freder begibt sich aus Liebe zu ihr in das Milieu der Arbeiter. Um seinen Sohn zu ‚ heilen ’ , sucht Joh Fredersen den verruchten Erfinder und Konkurrenten Rotwang auf. Dieser stellt gerade einen Automaten her, der seine ehemalige Geliebte Hel ersetzen soll. Rotwang hatte Hel an Joh Fredersen verloren. Hel war bei der Geburt ihres und Johs Sohn Freder gestorben. Fredersen überzeugt Rotwang, dem Automaten das Aussehen Marias zu verleihen. Die ‚ echte ’ Maria wird gefangen genommen und durch den Roboter ersetzt. Das Double ist auf sexuelle und politische Verdorbenheit programmiert. Es soll nach dem Wunsch Fredersens nicht nur Maria in den Augen seines Sohnes desavouieren, sondern das Vertrauen der Arbeiter in die echte Maria erschüttern, sie zu einem Aufstand provozieren und ihm damit den Vorwand für die endgültige Unterdrückung des aufrührerischen Geistes liefern. Rotwang aber, der in Wahrheit allein die künstliche Maria steuern kann, verfolgt mit ihr das Ziel, sich an Fredersen zu rächen, indem er seinen Sohn ins Verderben stürzt und seine Stadt vernichtet. Bei der Erschaffung der künstlichen Maria, an deren filmischer Realisierung nach Langs eigenem Zeugnis der Kameramann Günther Rittau maßgeblich beteiligt war, greifen Technik und Magie ineinander: Durch elektrische Spannungen und Strahlen wird nicht nur das Aussehen, sondern auch die Lebenskraft von der echten Maria auf ihr Double übertragen. Äußerlich sind die beiden Marias identisch, aber sie unterscheiden sich in ihrem Verhalten, ihrer Körpersprache und ihrem Blick: Lang emphasizes the anomaly of Machine-Being Maria ’ s gaze, altering the actress ’ s left eye with heavy, black makeup that transforms Brigitte Helm ’ s face into an unsettling and perverse mask. The contrast between the one made-up eye and the 194 Roland Innerhofer <?page no="195"?> other, less made-up eye is furthermore a kind of symbolic objectification of the doubleness of Maria ’ s physical figure. 8 Die Art, wie die künstliche Maria zum Leben erweckt wird, erinnert daran, wie das Medium Film funktioniert: nach Eva Horn „ ein Medium, das künstliches Leben herstellt, indem es starre Bilder in Bewegung bringt. Und diese Bilder bewegen, elektrisieren, erschüttern - wie Maria - das Publikum, das auf sie schaut. “ 9 Damit erscheint das Kino selbst als eine Alternative zur rationalen, autoritären Führerschaft eines Joh Fredersen, ein Medium, das die Zuschauer*innen emotional bewegt, sie durch Licht und Elektrisierung verführt. Die künstliche Maria wird von Fredersen nicht nur eingesetzt, um die Arbeiter zu täuschen, sie führt auch einen erotischen Tanz für die männliche Elite auf, der sie zu hypnotisierten Voyeuren reduziert. Der Roman richtet dabei seinen Fokus auf die tanzende Maria: Die schmalen Hände berührten sich über dem Scheitel. Über die Schultern, die Brüste, die Hüften, die Knie lief unablässig ein kaum merkbares Zittern. [ … ] Kein Tanz, kein Schrei, kein Brunstschrei eines Tieres kann so aufpeitschend wirken wie dieses Zittern des schimmernden Körpers, der in seiner Stille und seiner Einsamkeit jedem einzelnen im Saale die Wellen seiner Erregung mitzuteilen schien. 10 Diese Reaktion des Publikums kann der Film eindrücklicher ins Bild setzen als der Roman. Die stilisierten Aufnahmen der zuschauenden Männer mit ihren vor Leidenschaft entsetzten Gesichtern werden von einer Einblendung unterbrochen, die eine Montage von einem Dutzend Augen in extremen Nahaufnahmen zeigt. Der Tanz Marias vor der männlichen Elite von Metropolis ist in der Schuss-Gegenschuss-Montagetechnik dargestellt; zusätzlich sind Fiebervisionen Freders einmontiert. Die Tanzsequenzen zeugen, wie Peter Marks schreibt, [ … ] to the homogeneity of the men ’ s lust and the centrality of vision to gratification. Simultaneously, the sequence alerts the audience to their own voyeuristic tendencies, the power of the image, and the problematic pleasure surveillance can galvanise. Metropolis examines links between pleasure, vision and eutopia as well as control, monitoring and dystopia. 11 8 Bertetto, Paolo (2015). Metropolis and the Figuration of Eidos. In: McElhaney, Joe (Hrsg.) A Companion to Fritz Lang. Chichester: Wiley, 392 - 421, 404 - 405. 9 Horn, Eva (2012). Die doppelte Maria. Weibliche Führerschaft in Fritz Langs Metropolis. In: Krammer, Stefan/ Löffler, Marion/ Weidinger, Martin (Hrsg.) Staat in Unordnung? Geschlechterperspektiven auf Deutschland und Österreich zwischen den Weltkriegen. Bielefeld: Transcript, 25 - 46, 43. 10 Harbou, Thea von (1984). Metropolis. Roman. Hrsg. und mit einem Nachwort von Herbert W. Franke. Frankfurt/ M., Berlin, Wien: Ullstein, 100. 11 Marks, Peter (2015). Imagining Surveillance: Eutopian and Dystopian Literature and Film. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 57. Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus 195 <?page no="196"?> Dieser Szene geht ein Besuch Freders im Dom voraus, bei dem ein Prediger Auszüge aus der Johannes-Apokalypse zitiert. Das wird im Film durch das Bild einer aufgeschlagenen Bibel illustriert: Die Zuschauer*innen sehen einen Holzschnitt der Hure Babylon und den erläuternden Bibeltext. Der Holzschnitt wird dann im Film nochmals gezeigt, diesmal als eine Vision des im Delirium befindlichen Freder. Dieses Bild erscheint in Juxtaposition mit dem Tanz der künstlichen Maria, die auf einem Podium steht, das so geformt ist wie das siebenköpfige Tier aus der Bibelillustration. Der Automat wird also mit der Hure Babylon und dem von ihr ausgelösten apokalyptischen Geschehen gleichgesetzt. Das Biest, das die künstliche Maria reitet, ist zum einen die Elite von Metropolis, zum anderen und noch wichtiger aber die Masse der von ihr aufgehetzten Arbeiter und deren Frauen. Die Revolte breitet sich durch die agitatorischen Reden der ,falschen ‘ Maria explosionsartig aus und erhält eine von Joh Fredersen nicht erwartete destruktive Dynamik. Die Wut der Arbeiter und ihrer Frauen richtet sich gegen die Maschinen. Als die „ Große Maschine “ , die Produktionszentrale von Metropolis, zerstört wird, droht die Stadt im Chaos unterzugehen. Freder und die inzwischen geflüchtete ‚ echte ’ Maria retten im letzten Augenblick die Arbeiterkinder aus der überschwemmten unterirdischen Stadt vor dem Ertrinken. Der Automat Maria wird von der reuigen Menschenmenge verbrannt. Dabei zeigt sich unter ihrer menschlichen Haut der künstliche Mechanismus, aus dem sie besteht. Das Verhalten der Arbeitermasse folgt der Logik des Sündenbocks. Mit der Zerstörung der künstlichen Maria wird der Weg in ein harmonisches Ende geebnet. Der zweite Sündenbock im Film ist der dämonische Erfinder und Techniker Rotwang, der die künstliche Maria zum Leben erweckt hat. Am Ende bemächtigt er sich der echten Maria im Wahn, sie sei die wieder zum Leben erwachte Hel, die Mutter Freders. Einer zutiefst ambivalenten Logik entsprechend besiegt Freder am Ende Rotwang auf dem Dach der Kathedrale im Zweikampf und gewinnt damit Maria als Geliebte wie als ideale Mutter für sich. Langs „ engineer, Rotwang, marked as a Faustian scientist in the tradition of Rabbi Loew in Paul Wegener ’ s 1920 film The Golem, is simply eliminated “ 12 . Wie Anton Kaes weiter ausführt, wird die Figur des Ingenieurs, der wie Rabbi Löw bei Wegener mit Hilfe der Magie technische Innovationen schafft, in Metropolis, anders als in Der Golem, am Ende durch den Erlöser Freder ersetzt. 13 Er repräsentiert das Herz, das zwischen Hand und Hirn vermittelt - eine Forderung, die dem Film schon 12 Kaes, Anton (2009). Shell Shock Cinema: Weimar Culture and the Wounds of War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 172. 13 Ebd. 196 Roland Innerhofer <?page no="197"?> als Motto vorangestellt und am Ende erfüllt wird. „ Hirn “ meint den Unternehmer als Führer, „ Hände “ die Arbeiter. Die gefühlsmäßige Bindung an den Führer erweist sich als effektiver denn die ‚ herzlose ’ Beherrschung der Arbeitermasse. Die am Anfang demonstrativ illustrierte Macht der Maschinen scheint damit gebrochen zu sein. Die Arbeiter versöhnen sich mit den Machthabern, der Klassenkampf wird beendet. Die Klassenharmonie und die Unterordnung unter einen Führer sind die Basis für das neue, noch prächtigere Aufblühen der Stadt. Joh Fredersen repräsentiert, wie Eva Horn darlegt, 14 eine Form patriarchaler Herrschaft, die auf rationaler Steuerung und Kontrolle von oben, von einer Kommandozentrale aus beruht. Dabei bedient sich seine Herrschaft der modernsten Medien und Maschinen. Sie liefern die jeweils aktuellen Informationen, die unmittelbar in Steuerung und Kontrolle umgesetzt werden. Eine konträre Art der Führung verkörpert die echte Maria: Durch ihre Worte und ihre Erscheinung als Heilige vereint sie die Arbeiter zu einer Gemeinschaft, die Hoffnungen und Ängste miteinander verbindet. Anders als ihr männliches Pendant führt die Charismatikerin diese Gemeinschaft nicht durch die Bindung an die eigene Person herbei, sondern durch die Auslöschung der eigenen Person. Die echte Maria ist die jungfräuliche Vermittlerin, welche die Individuen in einer Gemeinschaft vereint. Dieser echten Maria ist die Maschinen-Maria insofern ähnlich, als auch sie ihre Führerschaft auf die Mobilisierung von Affekten gründet. Erzeugt die echte Maria Rührung, Hoffnung und das Gefühl von Einigkeit, gespiegelt in den Gesichtern ihres Publikums, so erzeugt die Automaten-Maria Begierde, sexuelle Erregung, Eifersucht, Wut und Zerstörungslust - wiederum gezeigt im Blick der lechzenden Zuschauer. 15 Beide Marias sind dabei weniger Führerinnen als „ Teil der Masse “ 16 . Wie die Automaten-Maria durch Licht und Elektrizität zum Leben erweckt wird, so elektrifiziert sie die Masse durch affektive Aufladung. Die Belebung der künstlichen Maria durch Elektrizität wird als mystisch-auratischer Vorgang dargestellt, der wie der gesamte Film die Mitte zwischen Märchen und Hochtechnologie hält: Fortschritt und Modernisierung werden als Einbruch des Unheimlichen und Schrecklichen inszeniert, die Moderne wird mit einer mythischen Dimension aufgeladen. Wenn auch der Aufstand gegen die Maschinen als verheerend dargestellt wird, wendet sich der Film doch mit seinem sentimentalen Plädoyer für das Herz und die Gemeinschaft gegen die gren- 14 Vgl. Horn (2012: 34). 15 Horn (2012: 38). 16 Horn (2012: 39). Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus 197 <?page no="198"?> zenlose Herrschaft instrumenteller Vernunft und gegen eine als grausam und unmenschlich erfahrene Moderne, deren emanzipatorisches und utopisches Potential verschüttet wurde. Metropolis ’ s proclaimed utopian humanism was an answer to the rapidly increasing pace of modernity in Germany after the war. Yet the film ’ s religious inflection and strained monumentalism also suggested the perceived impossibility of such an enterprise in an advanced capitalist society. 17 Doch nicht die Abschaffung des Kapitalismus, sondern dessen Transformation ist das utopische Telos, das der Schluss des Films suggeriert. Die zu diesem Ziel führende Katastrophe wird als erhabenes Schauspiel und zugleich als notwendiger Impuls des Fortschritts inszeniert. Die Masse der Arbeiter spielt dabei eine durchgängig passive Rolle. Gerade beim katastrophalen Maschinensturm wird sie als Opfer der Manipulation durch einen weiblichen Automaten dargestellt und damit entmündigt. Die Rettung der von der Überflutung der Unterstadt tödlich bedrohten Arbeiterkinder verdankt sich allein Freder und Maria, während sich die zügellose Masse einer Orgie der Zerstörung hingibt und dabei eine bestialische Einheit mit einem entfesselten Maschinen-Menschen bildet. Im Schlusstableau wird dagegen die Masse befriedet, sie nimmt in ihrer ornamentalen Formation die Haltung des andächtigen stummen Zuschauers ein und kehrt zu uniformer Anonymität zurück. Siegfried Kracauer schreibt über das „ Ornament der Masse “ : „ Als Massenglieder allein, nicht als Individuen, die von innen her geformt zu sein glauben, sind die Menschen Bruchteil einer Figur. “ 18 Die Masse ist die Statisterie des quasireligiösen Erlösungsschauspiels, das vor dem Dom stattfindet - am Schauplatz, an dem Rotwang, als Erfinder der künstlichen Maria der Inbegriff des Bösen und der Spaltung, ebenso sein Ende findet wie die auf dem Scheiterhaufen verbrannte Maschinen-Frau, die die Arbeiter verhetzte. Fazit Vergleichen wir abschließend die beiden Filme und ihre Figurationen des künstlichen Menschen, so ist nicht zu übersehen, dass sich in den sieben Jahren, die sie trennen, nicht nur in der Filmästhetik, sondern auch in der Problemlage Wesentliches geändert hat. In beiden Filmen kommt die Erschaffung des künstlichen Menschen nicht ohne Zauber aus. So wenig der künstliche 17 Kaes (2009: 188). 18 Kracauer, Siegfried (1977). Das Ornament der Masse. In: Ders.: Das Ornament der Masse. Essays. Frankfurt/ M.: Suhrkamp, 50 - 63, 51. 198 Roland Innerhofer <?page no="199"?> Mensch ein reines Produkt rationaler Technik ist, so wenig lässt er sich vollständig beherrschen. Die Schöpfung, gedacht als Werkzeug ihres Schöpfers, emanzipiert sich, entzieht sich ihrer Steuerung und gerät außer Kontrolle. Während Wegeners Golem aber nur durch dilettantischen Missbrauch zerstörerisch wird und die von ihm ausgehende Gefahr durch ein unverdorben menschliches Verhalten gebannt werden kann, ist Langs Maschinen-Maria von vornherein auf Destruktion hin programmiert und kann nur gewaltsam vernichtet werden. Sie ist nicht nur in ihrer technischen Konstruktion, sondern auch in ihrer sozialen Funktion das Emblem einer entfesselten Moderne. Kann im Golem das als fremd Wahrgenommene noch in einem vormodernen Schutzraum gerettet werden, so kommt die Gefährdung in Metropolis aus einer der Technik und den Massen der Industriegesellschaft innewohnenden Dynamik, deren Beherrschung und Steuerung durch charismatische Führung nichts Gutes verheißt - auch wenn sich diese Führerin zuletzt nicht als apokalyptisches Ungeheuer, sondern als Erlöserin entpuppt. Der künstliche Mensch im Expressionismus 199 <?page no="200"?> Conflicting Narratives The Otherness within Expressionist Approaches to the Golem vs Cynthia Ozick ’ s Affirmation of the Myth ’ s Jewishness 1 María Jesús Fernández-Gil Introduction Originating in Jewish folklore, the golem has long been the object of interest among artists. In the modern era, a first major revival of the figure occurred in Europe in the late 19 th century and early 20 th century. In this period, the narrative underwent a series of transformations whereby Jewishness was put centre stage, which is the reason why this myth is a good source to investigate how ideas about Jews, who at the time were plagued by increasing levels of anti- Semitic attitudes, were constructed in the discourse of the era. Proving its morphogenic potential to maintain cultural relevance as it transforms to suit the needs of the societies that construct it, the golem legend has gained popularity again in recent decades. 2 Although contemporary golems seem to have little to do with each other and many of them are Judaically marginal (e. g., the golem in Pokemon Go is a bipedal tortoise-like creature that makes Jewish and Japanese culture converge), there are a number of works that deploy the legend as a vehicle to explore Jewish identity. Cynthia Ozick, who 1 This research is part of the project entitled “ La españolización del Holocausto en la literatura, el cine y el teatro ” (EP U-INV/ 2020/ 015) and was funded by la Comunidad de Madrid (Convenio Plurianual con la Universidad de Alcalá en la línea de actuación “ Estímulo a la Excelencia para Profesores Universitarios Permanentes ” ). 2 Some of today ’ s golem-related representations are the video game Golem (2019), developed by Highwire Games for PlayStation 4, and James Sturm ’ s 2001 graphic novel The Golem ’ s Mighty Swing. The golem has also featured in films, the latest being The Golem (Paz 2018), and in TV shows such as The X-Files and The Simpsons. It is, furthermore, a recurrent figure in contemporary literature, appearing, among others, in Margy Piercy ’ s He, She and It: A Novel (1991), Michael Chabon ’ s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (2000) and Thane Rosenbaum ’ s The Golem ’ s of Gotham (2002). <?page no="201"?> has fashioned one of the few female golems in history, can be counted among the writers that have participated in the ongoing cultural resurgence of this figure. Her golem creation distinguishes itself from other modern approaches because it is innovative while paying homage to the traditional Jewish clay creature. Also, it breaks from past popular imaginings of this anthropoid as a destructive being by focusing on this figure ’ s protective side. Building on this premise, this study will firstly examine two of the most influential representations of the golem (and also controversial because of their allegedly anti-Semitic undertones): Gustav Meyrink ’ s 1915 novel of a sinister and otherworldly Prague, which was accompanied by illustrations by Hugo Steiner-Prag, and Paul Wegener ’ s silent Expressionist film, released in 1920. Considering the scarcity of visual details contained in the original Jewish sources and the cluster of anxieties that surround the image in Judaism, the primary focus will be understanding the meaning that can be ascribed to the Expressionist-edge of the images through which the Czech-German illustrator and the German filmmaker gave visual form to the golem. In the second part of the paper, a connection will be established between these castings of the golem, which highlight the creature ’ s Otherness, and the golem narrative created by Ozick, whom I argue presents a counternarrative to negative discursive configurations of the Jews through the golem. In order to establish a relationship between these approximations and to explain the particular manner in which the golem legend is reframed in each case, a lens comparative analysis, which provides the capability to look into a text through earlier cultural representations and to identify the causal conditions under which the differences and similarities between the texts being compared occur, will be undertaken. The analysis of intermedial relationships will help determine the ways in which Ozick moulded her golem narrative so as to confront - even if her short story is in no way a direct response to the work of Meyrink, Steiner-Prag or Wegener - the foreignising traces of the visual construction of Jewishness popularised in the Western tradition in the early twentieth-century. Furthermore, a Proppian narrative analysis, centred on studying aspects of myth subversion (variations of constituent components), will be invoked to examine the discourse on Jewishness that prevails in Wegener ’ s and Ozick ’ s golem rewritings. The Golem as a Signifier of Jewish Otherness Since Steiner-Prag ’ s configuration of the golem is artistically indebted to Meyrink, whose novel he was asked to illustrate, I will begin by devoting Conflicting Narratives 201 <?page no="202"?> brief attention to Der Golem, which has gained a reputation as the ur-text for golem fiction. Contrary to what may be inferred from the title, the golem is not the main focus of the novel; he is simply an intermittent presence, to the point that he “ appears in no more than one-fifth of the pages ” . 3 Despite not being the main character, the golem plays an important meaning-giving function in the construction of the Josefov, which is Meyrink ’ s true concern. He is, in fact, “ central to the novel as a representative of the ghetto ’ s own spirit and consciousness ” . 4 One of the ways in which Meyrink makes the ghetto-resident connection explicit is through the selection of adjectives he uses to describe the character: Always it happens that an apparition makes its appearance - an utterly strange man, clean shaven, of yellow complexion, Mongolian type, in antiquated clothes of a bygone day; it comes from the direction of the Altschulgasse, stalks through the Ghetto with a queer grouping, stumbling kind of gait, as if afraid of falling over, and quite suddenly - is gone. 5 It is easy to see that Meyrink presents the golem as a markedly alien cultural entity, maximising the creature ’ s difference and deepening thereby prejudiced attitudes towards the community he belongs to. This conceptualisation of the golem is reproduced faithfully in Steiner-Prag ’ s illustrations for Der Golem (2021 [1915]), which may - on the basis of Roman Jakobson ’ s (1997 [1959]) tripartite division of translation types - be considered a case of intersemiotic translation. 6 Before going any further with this matter, I would like to note that the reason for adopting a translational word-to-image approach is to describe the terms of the interdependent relationship between the verbal and visual strands in each work. It is a fact that the use of a different language of expression moved Steiner-Prag to create his own semiotic space (he establishes, for example, a point of view) and that this involved transforming the source text in some degree. Despite the existence of changes, the two forms of expression reinforce each other; they are, putting it in translation terms, equivalent. 3 Goldsmith, Arnold L. (1981). The Golem Remembered, 1909 - 1980: Variations on a Jewish Legend. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 96. 4 Meyrink, Gustav (2021 [1915]). The Golem. Illustrated. Pemberton, Madge (trans.). Strelbytskyy Multimedia Publishing, n. pag. 5 Meyrink, Gustav (1986 [1915]). The Golem. Pemberton, Madge (trans.). New York: Dover Publications, 27. 6 Jakobson, Roman (1997 [1959]). On Linguistic Aspects of Translation. In: Venuti, Lawrence (ed.) The Translation Studies Reader. London: Routledge, 113 - 118. 202 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="203"?> Equivalence is most singularly manifest in the central artistic aim of the works: to characterise the golem as “ the demon of the city [Prague] ” . 7 As far as the visual demonisation of the character is concerned, the lithograph that accompanies the interior title page (see Figure 11) contains revealing details: it offers a close up in profile of the golem, from which it is possible to see that the golem is given a stereotypical Mongoloid facial physiognomy with demonic features. More specifically, Steiner-Prag presents the golem as a bald and cleanshaven man with slanted eyes, a long thin nose with wide nostrils, big ears, dark lips and pointed chin. In short, text and image stand in a complementary relationship. Fig. 11. Litograph by Hugo Steiner-Prag offering a close-up of the golem 7 Wistrand, Sten (2020). Gustav Meyrink ’ s The Golem: A Sensationalist Shlock Novel or an Esoteric Vision of the World? LIR.journal 12, 11 - 52, 17. Conflicting Narratives 203 <?page no="204"?> The photographic genre, environmental portraiture, used for capturing the personality of the golem plays an equally significant role in the construction of a faithful text-image relationship. This type of portrait, which is “ created in an environment that is significant to the subject ” , brings information about the way in which the background relates to the subject. 8 In this particular case, Steiner- Prag uses the visual dimension of the environment, a locale identified by Emily D. Bilsky as “ the distinctive silhouette of Prague ’ s Altneuschul ” , to draw a correlation between a landmark building, Prague ’ s Old New Synagogue, and the subject being portrayed. 9 Insofar as location places the golem at the Josefov (the heart and soul of the Jewish community), all the layers of meaning beyond the denotative side of the illustration affect not only the golem but also the Jews. Like the old Jewish quarter, they too are enshrouded in mystery and bound to notions of the alien and foreign. Apart from playing a major role in anticipating aspects of the golem and thus in determining how this character (and, by extension, Jews, whom he represents) is to be viewed in the rest of the novel, the title-page illustration is relevant because of its stylistic techniques. One of the most remarkable aspects of the lithograph is that Steiner-Prag resorts to some of the hallmarks of German Expressionism to portray the tangled plot of deeply psychological dimensions that Meyrink builds up to describe the Jewish quarter of Prague. Through expressionist techniques (namely, chiaroscuro lightning and a grotesque character), viewer attention is directed to the creature ’ s mouth and nose. These two facial components are brought into sharp light using a high-contrast arrangement of white and black. Other than this portion of the face, shown in right profile, light is only used to mark the lines of the golem ’ s almond-shaped eyes and the crooked, menacing architectural structure in whose interior he is lurking. As a result, dark-pitch black prevails, surrounding the image with a sinister, macabre atmosphere that dark mirrors the ills of the space inhabited by the golem. Briefly put, Steiner-Prag uses chromemes ( “ elements of colour perception ” ) and formemes ( “ geometrical-typological elements ” ) in conjunction in order to place emphasis on the creature ’ s Eastern origins and on his connection with the decadence that prevails in the part of the city where he appears every 33 years. 10 8 Davis, Harold (2011). Creative Portraits: Digital Photography Tips and Techniques. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 72. 9 Bilsky, Emily D. (1988). The Art of the Golem. In: Bilski, Emily D. (ed.) Golem! Danger, Deliverance, and Art. New York: The Jewish Museum, 44 - 111, 59. 10 Nöth, Winfried (1990). Handbook of Semiotics. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 452. 204 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="205"?> This foreignising approach is dominant within another of the most resonant portrayals of the golem to date, Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam. 11 Like in the case of Steiner-Prag ’ s illustrations, the visual configuration of the golem - a role enacted by Wegener himself - is subject to an overtly racialised characterisation that conjures up an oriental aesthetics (see Figure 12). In Walter Turszinsky ’ s opinion, the actor ’ s Slavic facial features ( “ Mongol head ” , “ Moorish mouth ” , “ wide-nasal flat nose of a Hun ” ) lent themselves particularly well to emphasising an eastern construction of Jewishness 12 - though “ his hairdo ” , Cathy S. Gelbin notes, “ recalls that of an Egyptian mummy ” . 13 Fig. 12. Scene from Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam offering a close-up of the golem Racial characterisation is constructed, therefore, on the basis of the Western, Darwinian-based superior/ inferior trope of the East as inferior - as per Edward Said ’ s (1978) analysis of the stereotypes, distortions and fantasies used by hegemonic culture to represent the non-Western world. 14 Added to the notion of cultural inferiority ascribed to the golem is Wegener ’ s imposing body and glacial expression, which contributed to casting the character in the light of a tyrannical monster and to establishing, thereby, a link between this monstrous, dangerous outsider and the racial Other ( Jews) in our cultural imagination. Another factor that combined to impose a monstrous quality upon the cinematic rendition of the golem is Wegener ’ s performance: through the stiff movements, Wegener presented the legendary creature as a threatening and ominous figure, obscuring the image of the homunculus as a heroic and helpful servant. Finally, 11 Wegener, Paul (2019 [1920]). Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam. Universum Fil GmbH. 12 Barzilai, Maya (2016). Golem: Modern Wars and Their Monsters. New York: New York University Press, 33. 13 Gelbin, Cathy S. (2011). The Golem Returns: From German Romantic Literature to Global Jewish Culture, 1808 - 2008. Ann Arbor: Michigan University Press, 117. 14 Said, Edward (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books. Conflicting Narratives 205 <?page no="206"?> the clay wig, built-up costume, platform-soled shoes and grotesque makeup also played a fundamental role in rendering the golem ’ s silhouette menacing. The process of visual Self/ Other distantiation to which the golem is subject goes hand in hand with discursive othering of the Jews, as may be inferred from the manner in which Jewish cultural elements and practices are depicted. Clothing, for example, is used to portray Jews as diametrically opposed to the emperor ’ s courtiers. The pointed witches ’ hats, which many of the inhabitants of the ghetto wear, signal hostile medieval Jewish-Christian relations, extending the unremitting history of religious confrontation to modern times. Even if not all of medieval art used conical hats in a pejorative manner, the different variants on the shape and colour of these hats stood for something outside the Christian faith; this ultimately codified these hats as a sign of opposition to Christianity. 15 Such symbolism is at work in the film, where Wegener draws, in addition, a formal correlation between the costumes and the sets. As can be seen in Figure 13, the pointed towers, turrets and architectural cones of Hans Poelzig ’ s medieval city are reminiscent of the wizard-like hats, so that the setting symbolically represents the pairing of race and attire. Fig. 13. Jewish ghetto contours designed by Hans Poelzig for Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam 15 Lipton, Sara (1999). Images of Intolerance: The Representation of Jews and Judaism in the Bible moralisée. Berkeley/ Los Angeles/ London: California University Press, 16. Stein, Wendy A. (2016). How to Read Medieval Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 50. 206 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="207"?> Wegener, furthermore, organises discourse around a binary opposition between Jews, depicted as “ they ” , and non-Jews, depicted as “ us ” , by ascribing a clearly demarcated time realm for each group. While the film ’ s visuals and the golem character itself, who has a zombielike gait that resembles the soldiers coming back from war, are aimed at evoking, albeit implicitly, the horror of World War I, action takes place in a fantastic sixteenth-century Prague; that is, at a spatial and temporal distance from the difficult inter-war period that both the narrative and the images restage metonymically. 16 The film, therefore, connects the audience experientially with the psychic problems assaulting their present-day Germany (trauma of war and envy of the economic and cultural success of Jews in Weimar Germany). 17 However, it creates a psychological distance with the group through which the monstrosity of war is criticised, as it portrays the Jewish community prior to its Emancipation rather than showing the reality of Jews in the Weimar Republic, when they were thoroughly acculturated and lacked overt characteristics that permitted differentiating them from the gentile majority. The Golem as a Signifier of Renewal Already suffused with rich cultural values, the golem legend has taken on new meanings in our present rapidly globalising world. Various contemporary approaches restage the authorial treatment given to the mythic creature by Expressionists artists, mobilising the golem as a destructive force, a deterrent avenger or an all-powerful monster. This is the case of Quentin Tarantino, who evokes the legend in the context of Jewish revenge in Inglourious Basterds (2009). By contrast, there are modern incarnations of the golem that avoid the images about the legendary figure popularised in early twentieth-century representations. Ozick ’ s narrative golem can be included in the group of modern golem texts that envision the creature as a protector and guardian of the Jews. In the remainder of this paper, I will look into the manner in which Ozick, whose work is characterised by making a definite attempt at negotiating innovation and tradition, revitalises Jewishness in the Diaspora. In order to unveil the particulars of her “ commitment to a pervasive Jewish spirit ” in “ Puttermesser and Xanthippe ” (1997), I will first identify - through the lens of 16 Barzilai, Maya (2020). The Golem, How He Came into the World. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 44 - 55. 17 Niewyk, Donald L. (1971). The Economic and Cultural Role of the Jews in the Weimar Republic. The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 16: 1, 163 - 173. Conflicting Narratives 207 <?page no="208"?> Vladimir Propp ’ s (1928) methodology - constant elements in the legend. 18 In the second place, I will compare the sequence of functions and actions found in Ozick ’ s rewriting - which affords a high degree of continuity with the traditional golem narrative - and the way those functions and actions are expressed as well as what they represent in Wegener ’ s cinematic rendition, criticised for departing from the original tale. 19 In a study tracing the evolution of the golem narrative, Encarnación Varela Moreno deciphers the constant elements of the story of the clay man fashioned by rabbi Loew according to the functions and actions of these two characters. 20 She argues that the overall narrative structure consists of four basic units: first, the rabbi creates a human-like figure out of clay/ earth and performs a ritual - involving the mystical combination of holy letters - to infuse the golem with life (golem creation process); second, the golem is used to serve the Creator as a personal servant or, in a time of need, for protection (golem function); third, at some point the golem ’ s heroic qualities are no longer deemed necessary or the golem runs amok (the golem becomes useless/ dangerous); fourth, the rabbi determines that the spirit of life is to be removed from the golem, whose tragic ending is completed either by erasing one Hebrew letter from his forehead or by removing the shem from his mouth (golem deactivation process). Ozick pays homage to the original version of the legend by leaving constant elements intact. Even though her short story is set at a remove from Central Europe, Ozick, Anolik argues, “ explicitly indicates ” that New York, which is “ marked by patronage and corruption ” , is “ as dark and threatening as medieval Prague ” . 21 Therefore, the setting changes but its attributes (degeneration and corruption) remain the same. The deviation caused by the inversion of genders is more significant because it affects the qualities of both the creator and the creature. In particular, Puttermesser is granted the powers of a rabbi and Xanthippe possesses the gift of speech, contradicting the rule that establishes that golems are created by men and that they are mute. These changes are to be 18 Harap, Louis (1987). In the Mainstream: The Jewish Presence in Twentieth-century American Literature, 1950s-1980s. New York: Greenwood Press, 186. Propp, Vladimir (1968 [1928]). Morphology of the Folktale. Wagner, Louis A. (trans.). Austin: Texas University Press. 19 Baer, Elizabeth R. (2012). The Golem Redux: From Prague to Post-Holocaust Fiction. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 65. Davidowicz, Klaus (2013). The Golem of Prague and His Master. In: Seidler, Meir (ed.) Rabbinic. Theology and Jewish Intellectual History: The Great Rabbi Loew of Prague. London: Routledge, 213 - 220, 218. 20 Varela Moreno, Encarnación (1995). La leyenda del Golem. Orígenes y modernas derivaciones. Miscelánea de Estudios Árabes y Hebreos 44, 61 - 79, 71 - 72. 21 Anolik, Ruth B. (2001). Appropriating the Golem, Possessing the Dybbuk. Modern Language Studies 31: 2, 39 - 55, 45. 208 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="209"?> interpreted as part of Ozick ’ s efforts to eliminate the barriers that have traditionally hampered women ’ s full participation in Judaism. Leaving aside these innovative variations, the animation of the golem in “ Puttermesser and Xanthippe ” is closely informed by research into Jewish lore. Puttermesser fashions her golem from the soil in the houseplants that adorn her Manhattan apartment and does so using one of the many formulas for creating a golem stemming from the Kabbalah: [ … ] you spoke the Name of the Giver of Life. You blew in my nostril and encouraged my soul. You circled my clay seven times. You enveloped me with your spirit. Your [sic] pronounced the Name and brought me to myself. 22 In short, Jewish mysticism provides Ozick with a platform for embarking upon a modern version of the ancient legend. Wegener ’ s film breaks with the traditional method of making golems by introducing innovations into the emet motif. Most notoriously, rabbi Loew is turned into “ an occult master ” 23 . He does not, Barzilai notes, consult “ any Jewish mystical treatises ” but rather reads books on necromancy. 24 As part of the ritual, he conjures up the demon Astaroth (spirit of violence and vengeance), who appears from the mist and reveals the magic word to its invoker amid a sea of smoke. In short, cinematic artistry is used to equate Jewish mysticism with horror. In Ozick ’ s rewriting, Xanthippe starts playing the role of a domestic assistant - though she soon rebels against cooking, cleaning and shopping and pleads with her master to use her for more important responsibilities. Puttermesser, although reluctantly, eventually agrees to take her to her office. Once there, Xanthippe, who is modelled to serve, sits at the typewriter all day long and gives form to her Creator ’ s vision of “ [a] city washed pure ” . 25 The golem starts then to act as a social redeemer: she assists in her master ’ s ascent to the mayoralty of the city of New York, placing Puttermesser at a position to ensure the transformation of the city “ into Paradise ” . 26 This golem plays, therefore, a pivotal role in reversing the double marginalisation of modern Jewish women - first within Judaism and second within patriarchy. In that sense, she can be viewed as the personal guardian of Jewish women, whom Ozick 22 Ozick, Cynthia (1997). The Puttermesser Papers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 21 - 101, 42. 23 Barzilai (2020: 41). 24 Barzilai (2020: 42). 25 Ozick (1997: 64). 26 Ozick (1997: 72). Conflicting Narratives 209 <?page no="210"?> proposes, as quoted by Charlotte Fonrobert, should be allowed “ the same relation to history and Torah as Jewish men ” . 27 Wegener ’ s golem, described via an intertitle as “ my [rabbi Loew ’ s] new servant ” , is initially shown running errands for his master: he chops wood, draws water from a well and goes shopping. 28 Such duties of servitude are followed by the visit to the Emperor ’ s castle, where the golem saves the courtiers by preventing the throne room roof from collapsing; indirectly, he also saves his own people, who are pardoned from expulsion. But this saviour image is only appearance. Signs of the threat posed by his exaggerated strength become from then onwards clear indicators of his destructive powers. Reanimated to take revenge on the emperor ’ s messenger (Florian) for having slept with Miriam, he is now a terrorising figure: he throws the knight off a high rooftop, drags Miriam by her hair through the streets, wilfully sets the ghetto on fire and batters down the ghetto door. That is to say, Wegener turns conventions on their head by transforming the “ golem from a servant-guardian into a ‘ weapon ’” that endangers the lives and property of his fellow men. 29 In accordance with the conventional narrative structure, the golem also turns into a threat in Ozick ’ s golem rewriting. Interestingly, Xanthippe ’ s excesses involve no danger for the creator ’ s life nor for the life of others, as the creature does not resort to violence when she runs amok. Her rebellion is of a sexual nature. Like other golems that have been imagined as having sexual urges (including Wegener ’ s golem), Xanthippe ’ s body and desire for sex grow apace, to the point that her incapacity to control her female libido explicitly immobilises the Administration: There are curious absences, reports of exhaustion, unexplained hospitalizations. The new Commissioner of Receipts and Disbursements whispers to Puttermesser, in confidence, that he will divorce his wife. His eyeballs seem sunken, his lips drop back into a hollow face. He has lost weight overnight. He will not say what the trouble is. He resigns. 30 Even though the idea of women being predators who lead men to perdition is problematic, the subplot of the golem ’ s sexuality is interesting from a feminist perspective, as it allows Ozick to explore the taboo topic of female sexual autonomy. Moreover, her analysis avoids unsettling the conflation of sex and race - two aspects that are seen to interplay in the construction of the meaning of 27 Fonrobert, Charlotte (1996). Women ’ s Bodies, Women ’ s Blood: The Politics of Gender in Rabbinic Literature. Berkeley, CA: California University Press, 64. 28 Wegener (2019 [1920]: 35: 24). 29 Barzilai (2020: 48). 30 Ozick (1997: 85). 210 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="211"?> Jewish identity in Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam. In effect, upon discovering that Miriam and Florian have spent the night together, Famulus (rabbi Loew ’ s assistant) brings the golem - the creature had been deactivated after the emperor had removed the decree of expulsion - to life again and he instructs him to kill the gentile knight. Noah Isenberg has studied the harmful racial discourse (played out via the erotic desires between Jews and Christians) underlying this storyline, which, as he argues, activates the long-standing association of racial hybridity and sexual aggression. 31 Gelbin goes a step further and states that this lends credence to anti-Semitic views based on “ the destructive potential of Christian-Jewish sexual and cultural encounters ” . 32 The golem deactivation process begins in “ Puttermesser and Xanthippe ” when Puttermesser returns from a meeting and finds Xanthippe in bed with her ex-lover, Rappoport. As the list of men of high rank that fall prey to the golem ’ s sexual passion grows, the urban paradise created by the mayor deteriorates into dystopia. This has an epiphanic function: Puttermesser realises the underside of ambition: “ Eden disintegrates from too much Eden. Eden sinks from a surfeit of itself ” . 33 Put differently, she has overreached herself in two senses: first, she has usurped God ’ s role as a life giver and, second, she has appropriated his function to create paradise on earth. In the process, she has become “ the golem ’ s golem ” , as she is no longer the master but rather her golem ’ s captive. 34 This serves, moreover, to make her aware that she has transgressed her Jewish heritage because she has engaged in a form of idol worship. Understanding that her appetite for power makes her corrupt, Puttermesser decides to deactivate her surrogate daughter, which she does by kabbalistically circling around her seven times and by erasing the “ aleph ” letter from her forehead and leaving the word met, “ death ” . In short, the golem deactivation process also follows the traditional Jewish version of the golem legend precisely. True to the conventional manners of bringing a golem ’ s existence to an end, golem decommissioning in Wegener ’ s rewriting occurs when the slip of paper with the word emeth is removed from the capsule in the golem ’ s chest. This basic narrative element is, however, strikingly twisted, since it is a Christian, fair- 31 Isenberg, Noah William (2009). Of Monsters and Magicians. Paul Wegener ’ s The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920). In: Isenberg, Noah William (ed.) Weimar Cinema: An Essential Guide to Classic Films of the Era. New York: Columbia University Press, 33 - 54, 44 - 49. 32 Gelbin, Cathy S. (2008). The Monster Returns: Golem Figures in the Writings of Benjamin Stein, Esther Dischereit, and Doron Rabinovici. In: Herzog, Hillary H., Herzog, Todd and Lapp, Benjamin (eds.) Rebirth of a Culture: Jewish Identity and Jewish Writing in Germany and Austria Today. New York: Berghahn Books, 21 - 33, 24. 33 Ozick (1997: 99). 34 Ozick (1997: 79). Conflicting Narratives 211 <?page no="212"?> haired child (not rabbi Loew) who assumes the role. Fascinated by the capsule on the golem ’ s chest, the girl toys with the-star encased magic word and pulls it from the clay body. The creature immediately falls lifeless on the ground and it is soon after discovered by the Jews from the ghetto. They all kneel in prayer and then hurriedly take him within the ghetto. The final shots show the ghetto ’ s door shutting and a Star of David. Tesler-Mabé reads this as meaning that in Wegener ’ s view social peace is achieved when Jews and Germans remain apart, as the former “ are seemingly only secure in their separate sphere behind the safety of the ghetto ’ s walls ” . 35 Conclusion The intersemiotic analysis has revealed that Meyrink ’ s, Steiner-Prag ’ s and Wegener ’ s representations of the golem are closely connected. The most remarkable common aspect is the use of techniques consistent with the aesthetic and conceptual tropes of Expressionism (distortion and chiaroscuro lightning) for the portrayal of the golem. Leaving aside the as yet unresolved question of whether Der Golem, wie er in die Welt kam was influenced by the illustrations created for the eponymously titled novel by Meyrink or by the text itself, it is possible to conclude that stylistic similarities owe much to the fact that the Jewish legend is used in these cases to express personal inner feelings; namely, fear. Faithful to Meyrink ’ s construct of Prague as a “ lasting sign of the uncanny sexual, racial, and mental corruption in modernity ” and to the belief that the golem/ Jews - its quintessential resident/ s - is/ are beset by the same malaise as the city, Steiner-Prag visualises the golem as an oriental monstrous Other. 36 Wegener, confirming Expressionists ’ fascination with primitive art, builds upon similar visual imagery: he also offers an Orientalist view of the golem aimed at reimagining this figure as a dangerous monster that instils fear. In the environment of political chaos, existential anxieties and economic hardship that prevailed in the early twentieth century across Central Europe, emotions of fear had their roots in a multifarious range of conditions, including the trauma of war, the insidious dehumanising effect of technology and the threat posed by members of outgroups to national identity. It is this latter issue that resurfaces - though the terms of the dichotomy of Self and Other within majority-minority relations are reversed so as to present American life as a 35 Tesler-Mabé, Hernan (2020). Mahler ’ s Forgotten Conductor: Heinz Unger and His Search for Jewish Meaning, 1895 - 1965. Toronto: Toronto University Press, 105. 36 Gelbin (2011: 100). 212 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="213"?> major peril to meaningful Jewishness - in Ozick ’ s 1997 retelling of the golem narrative, “ Puttermesser and Xanthippe ” . In particular, the famous figure is reanimated to reflect on today ’ s most serious threat to the survival of the Jewish people: assimilation. In the same vein as Meyrink ’ s, Steiner-Prag ’ s and Wegener ’ s approach to the legend, which is informed by the feared invasion of Jewish masses from the East into the city, Ozick ’ s rewriting is, therefore, shaped by the sociocultural context in which it emerges. This confirms the capacity of myths for opening up a perspective to understand contemporary problems. There are practically no further similarities between the golem constructions under study here. One first major difference concerns Ozick ’ s distancing from the Expressionist-edge (valorisation of the ugly and monstrous) that prevails in Steiner-Prag ’ s and Wegener ’ s visual representations. In contrast to their depiction of the figure as a fear-inducing creation (an icon of Otherness), she complies with the tradition that conceives of the creature as a protector of persecuted Jews from potent enemies. To this intent and purpose, she exploits the golem as a symbol of redemption. Note that it is Xanthippe who makes Puttermesser aware that her craving to ascend and gain status within American society has become corruptive. The golem, whose narrative function is to enact the “ Reformation, Reinvigoration & Redemption of the City of New York ” , serves extra-narrative purposes, which are likewise oriented to redeem Jews from the distortion caused by assimilation and to affirm allegiance with Jewishness. 37 In effect, Ozick uses her golem narrative to warn against the cultural vulnerability of Jews within the open, free and welcoming lifestyle that characterises modern secular America. In “ Puttermesser and Xanthippe ” , Jewishness is affirmed not only by presenting the golem figure in an unambiguously positive light but also by retelling the myth in a manner that remains faithful to the original source. This is the second and striking difference detected between Ozick ’ s golem narrative and Wegener ’ s recreation of the Jewish folktale. Basing myself on Propp ’ s scheme of the morphology of a text, I have described the narrative structure of the two works and I have found significant variations - even if they share the basic constant elements of the myth identified by Varela Moreno (2015). Ozick ’ s most outstanding innovation is the feminisation of the story and the modernisation of the setting. Except for these deviations, the narrative develops according to the conventions of the literature of the golem. Wegener ’ s modifications push the limits from the dimension of innovative renewal to the area of transgression. There is no denying that Der Golem, wie er in die Welt 37 Ozick (1997: 75). Conflicting Narratives 213 <?page no="214"?> kam, with its fairly innovative close-ups, lighting techniques and symbolic sets, played a pioneering role in German film development. Yet, Wegener ’ s treatment of the golem legend affects the attributes associated with Jews, as they are likened to black magicians and are accused of “ disregard[ing] the holy Christian festivities, lust[ing] for property and blood of their fellow men ” . 38 This way, the film evokes blood libel accusations, perpetuating traditional negative valuations of Jewishness. As a final remark, explanations regarding the differences and similarities between the belief systems underlying a specific cultural artifact need to account for various influencing factors. In this paper, I have focused on the figure of the golem and, more specifically, on variations in its potential as a signifier of Jewishness by bringing into dialogue three early twentieth-century approaches to the legendary clay man and a feminised late twentieth-century golem incarnation. Four different perspectives (synchronic, diachronic, intercultural and intermedial) have been taken to conduct the contrastive analysis. While communication scholars such as McLuhan (1964) assert that the medium is the channel, differences between the four reworkings of the golem under study here emerge not so much by the constraints of the media but rather by shifts in attributes over time (diachronically-oriented changes) and by intercultural negotiations over the meaning and uses of the golem (socioculturallyoriented changes). 39 In addition, the analysis has allowed me to examine the nature of the allegedly anti-Semitic rendering of the golem put forward by Meyrink, Steiner-Prag and Wegener within the context of the discriminatory discourse in the early twentieth century. Similarly, Ozick ’ s Jewish-affirming representation of the golem is to be understood as part of her commitment with Jewish survival and the integrative problems of multicultural societies. 38 Wegener (2019 [1920]: 6: 56 - 7: 01). 39 McLuhan, Marshall (1964). Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. London: Routledge. 214 María Jesús Fernández-Gil <?page no="215"?> 4.3 The Myth of Faust <?page no="217"?> Faust in Murnau and Sokurov From Cinema to the Sense of Myth Emilio Sierra García Introduction Why myth? What can a medieval story like Faust say to us in the 21st century? This article sets out to explore the above topics in two ways. Firstly, it would show how art and philosophy converge in myth when they respond to the ultimate questions of the human person. Second, it will affirm that from the universality of the myth of Faust, from the hand of Murnau and Sokurov, we can access, through the trauma of reason, the ecstasy of reality, the mystery of evil, of beings, and of God. Furthermore, this article postulates that despite the differences between Murnau and Sokurov and analysing their parallels and their points of nonconvergence, we ought to seek to readdress the meaning of the myth of Faust (the mystery of reality, evil and the existence of man) to the religious character that has the myth of Faust constituting a dialogue between Faust himself, the devil and God, about the freedom of man, and his destiny. In the end, this article will postulate that the solution to this mystery lies in love, as both films show, and supported by Goethe ’ s text. It is worth adding that the privileged place where philosophy and art meets are in myths. Mythology are those human sayings with which we explain the origins of our being, the problem of evil and the human joys and sorrows sublimated in the infinite and the divine. In the films, we observe a communication between philosophy and poetry around the figure of the myth of Faust. A myth therefore is reworked in the light of a modernity that, heir to a late romanticism, goes beyond this to the perpetual sense of the faustic. It discovers that it is possible to distinguish between myth and mythology, between the romantic and idealistic program of a mythology that fuses myth and reason, and the position that recognizes myth as the origin to which the logos tends and from which it is nourished without being confused in an open dialectic. <?page no="218"?> We require a fair deal of openness to be able to enter into the sense of the myth that Murnau and Sokurov dealt with. Once in, it leads us to a form of ecstasy that takes us outside of itself and enables us, at least, is some way, become Faust ’ s of the XXI century. Despite the differences between the two filmmakers, the myth of Faust gives us an ecstasy. The images of Murnau and Sokurov bring our reason to the potency of the negative in pain and tragedy 1 . The ecstasy of reason opens reason beyond it. It takes man beyond himself 2 . The myth of Faust is an ecstatic myth that shows that the ecstasy of reason contains a negative nuance. Human reason, its intelligence, is not enough. Not only because of the supernatural interventions, nor because it refers to the platonic thaumatsein that precedes the wonder. The stupor of the ecstasy of the myth of Faust offers a kind of enchantment on reason, it supposes a state inferior to wonder because things appear as inaccessible and produces an infinite existential boredom. In this sense Faust states: “ I am too old to limit myself to playing and too young to die without desire, what can the world offer me? ” 3 Faust knows that the experience of lack is remedied with the supernatural and with the revelation of the New Testament 4 , but in turn the accusation of Mephistopheles is true: “ He tends to the unattainable, he demands from Heaven the most beautiful stars and from the Earth the highest joys, and yet nothing near or far satisfies his deeply agitated chest ” 5 . 1 Kierkegaard, Soren (2014). Apuntes sobre la Filosofía de la Revelación de F. W. J. Schelling (1841 - 1842). Madrid: Trotta. It is interesting, in this regard, to consult Kierkegaard ’ s notes on Schelling ’ s philosophy of revelation. The young Kierkegaard attended Schelling ’ s lessons in 1841 and 1842. These would serve him to carry out his critique of Hegel and emphasize the importance in philosophy of the necessity of mythology, a true philosophy of history, the importance of Revelation and anguish as a phenomenon originating in the drama of freedom. 2 Lanceros, Patxi (1997). La herida trágica. El pensamiento simbólico tras Hölderlin, Nietzsche, Goya y Rilke. Barcelona: Antrophos, 118. It is the attempt at a true philosophy in which nothing in the abyss is subjected to being taken, captured (capio, greifen) and frozen as a concept (Begriff ). When Hölderlin affirms that poetry is the beginning and the end of philosophy, when Novalis proposes the primacy of the imagination (imagination has come or become the beginning and very easily. The reason perhaps later), when Schelling and Schlegel defend that all knowledge has emerged from poetry and must return to it. 3 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (2018). Fausto. Madrid: Austral, 91. But he is not a postmodern in depression. Mephistopheles himself describes him as someone who disdains appearances and seeks to deepen the depths. 4 Goethe (2018: 83). 5 Goethe (2018: 57). 218 Emilio Sierra García <?page no="219"?> Parallel differences between Murnau and Sokurov When comparing the two filmmakers, in the first place, it should be noted that Murnau ’ s Faust is more faithful to the work of Goethe and reinterprets the story of an old alchemist who seeks to transform metal into gold and finds the health of humanity for the plague; after its failure, agrees to a pact with the devil to be able to find such a cure and achieve good through evil. Faust is repudiated by the citizens before the impossibility of making his remedy work before a cross and, from that moment, he gives himself to the pleasures of the world, leading to perdition and abandonment to his beloved and his own son. In Murnau there is a more metaphysical interest in the struggle between good and evil in a supernatural way. This is reflected in legendary images of the film that maintain the sacred character of the paintings of Rembrandt, Munch or the Pre-Raphaelites. Note: Murnau had always dreamed of being a painter. On the other hand, Faust is more human, as is his demon. Humans to human, one could add. Faust in Sokurov seeks and finds no meaning in existence. Between his studies of physiology and reading the Bible, nothing seems to make sense. At one point, he finds in the Gospel the quote that affirms that in the beginning he was the Word 6 and, from there, he tries to find something that gives foundation to his life. He finds nothing. Faust does not know what the Word is, he does not know what he refers to, he has not experienced the transcendence of the Word uttered from eternity. Therefore, the principle refers to action, movement, and feverish activity. Everything that moves is moved by another while we move through our desires. Faust does not know what to expect, what he can want. Faust does not know what to expect, what he can want. The devil will be the one who teaches you or, at least, shows you a wide range of desires and senses, a particular itinerary that puts you in a position to agree on the sale of your soul. Sokurov ’ s Faust probes the darkest of the human soul, doubts, perversion, and the ability to attain the noblest and highest. I think we can safely opine that Sokurov ’ s view of Mephistopheles is ambiguous. This is one of the great differences between Murnau and Sokurov. In Russian the devil is intelligence, verbiage and cynical. In Murnau the demonic appears clothed with power and a certain supernatural character. The secularization given over the years is noticeable in the difference of concepts about the same being. It is clear that the two are faithful to Goethe. The devil: “ he is not omniscient, but he knows many things ” 7 . The images of Murnau in which the 6 New International Version Bible. (2021). Zondervan, Jn 1: 1. 7 Goethe (2018: 92). Faust in Murnau and Sokurov 219 <?page no="220"?> devil is represented are the expressionist images par excellence. Some examples of this would be the lines of escape that redirect the gaze to the mephistophelic face or its presence, the use of light in which Murnau ’ s theatrical stage influenced so much in the company of Reinhardt who worked with painters such as Edvard Munch for his sets. The supernatural in German expressionism seeks to convey concrete emotions. The flight of the demonic being over Parma to spread the plague or the invocation at the crossroads by Faust or the horsemen of the apocalypse at the beginning of the film are a sample of the impossible angles, of the unfolding of reality, of the impression of movement, of the power of gestures or of the play of light that is capable of moving or suffocating. The sense of the myth Stupor and boredom in the face of reality is the trauma of reason. The plague in Murnau and the nonsense in Sokurov show a reality that is revealed as a foundationless foundation because the concept does not come to probe precisely, it does not come to grasp the foundation of being, the Being itself 8 . This is a form of dialectic that can lead to God, the foundationless foundation of reality and the real par excellence 9 , but ends up leading to the demonic. God, who constitutes the pure existent without foundation, is an abyss for human reason. Faust is the new Prometheus, the image of a superman capable of coping with the sense of nothingness. As the chorus of the spirits in Goethe states: You have succeeded in destroying, To ravage and bring down This splendid world. A demigod ravaged it And we will take it Its ruins into nothingness [ … ] Endowed with great power, Scion of the earth, You return to build it, With a greater splendour 10 . The mystery of the human being, the terrifying emptiness of nothingness or his anguish, awakens the question that is always proposed under emotional and 8 Brito, Emilio (1999). Heidegger et l´hymne su sacré, Leuven: Leuven University Press, 678 - 681. 9 De Vitiis, Pietro (2000). Filosofia della religione fra ermeneutica e postmodernità, Milano: Morcelliana, Milano, 111 - 131. 10 Goethe (2018: 93). 220 Emilio Sierra García <?page no="221"?> existential tones. The abyss seduces, the precipice fascinates. There we peek through myth. We look out at night, before the immensity of what it is and its infinite mystery as in the triptych of the University of Vienna that G. Klimt painted and that was destroyed in 1945. The time has come to recover the original mythical nature of art. In it arises inexhaustible the discourse that is decisive for existence. Myth occurs as a possession of truth in the sense of acceptance of a radiant and revealing mystery. There is perhaps greater depth in Murnau and a notable difference from the character of Faust. For Murnau, Faust tries to achieve his own salvation, at first through the salvation of others by trying to remedy evil. It shares traits with the book of Job. For Sokurov, Faust is more individualistic since he only thinks about his own interest. This is an attitude that accentuates the postmodern reading of myth which ends in the liquefied character of the satisfied desire. In this instance, even at the gates of hell happiness is not found. The mythic Faust transcends the explanation of modern life and carries out a search which starts from the crisis of the supposed belle epoque (Murnau makes his work and premieres it in 1926) until the recent 2011 of Sokurov. It is not enough to live well, to overcome the two great Wars and the post-apocalypse of the personal relationships of postmodern emotivism. We discover that Greece philosophy and science had separated themselves from myth by their search for the final why. This same quest has been reproduced in our civilization. Science would seek an explanatory why and philosophy an implicative why, of an encounter of the Being in the being 11 . The sciences seize the truth of being in some of its aspects (physical, chemical, economic) and reduce it to that. They do not let the truth of being speak its revelation to our listening. We can agree that this is the goal of art. Going on, the hermeneutics of the myth of Faust invites us to listen to the truth of man who is not in the invention or construction of things, but in being able to welcome the abyssal being that comes from outside and is born from within. The person is the revealing organ of that event. Faust himself realizes that science is not enough. In this sense, to interpret the Faust of Murnau and Sokurov is not to resort to an auxiliary and parasitic technique or to a derived and supplementary knowledge that repeats and interprets reality in a sterile way according to a mimetic instance. Rather it is a yearning of wanting to probe the message of the images that reinterpret the myth that shows us who we are today. It should be noted that failing in an interpretation is not something trivial, 11 Cruz, Ramón (2005). La primera hermenéutica. El origen de la filosofía y los orígenes en Grecia. Barcelona: Herder, 56. Philosophy, for this very reason, is beyond a deductive method. Aristotle would be one of the great culprits of the loss of the sense of myth. Faust in Murnau and Sokurov 221 <?page no="222"?> it is losing the truth that, against Nietzschean or deconstructionist statements, is the only thing that can be interpreted. Finding the truth of the ancient Caustic myth is a matter of life and death, as is a decision you have to make if you should sign the contract with Mephistopheles. This is the tragic thickness of the hermeneutics of myth. It is a decisive choice in which one chooses to be faithful to the truth or betray it, listen to the being, or silence it 12 . Denying the truth not only produces an expressive thought typical of an era, but also hides the person ’ s being, his vocation and deeper destiny. Cinema, religious experience and evil Cinema through myth as a religious experience opens the history of thought to the prospect of a new conquest. Functional and dominant knowledge gives its place to the sacred and ritual that participates, in the sense of surrender, in the silence and depth of the abysses beyond reason, of the primeval logos. Pure intelligence does not arise from the intelligible, nor does pure reason from the reasonable 13 . Therefore, immeasurable reality can only be fully accepted by one decision: to be Faust, Mephistopheles, or God Himself. The challenge of Murnau ’ s demon is to annihilate the divine in Faust, but does he succeed? we wonder. In one of the first posters written on the screen of Murnau ’ s version, this dilemma is exposed: “ All things of heaven and earth are wonderful, but the most supreme wonder is the freedom of man capable of distinguishing between good and evil. ” We ask: In the freedom of man who decides good and creates evil, how is it directed through all its impulses? I think it is important to point out that to interpret myth is not to demythologize it 14 , rationalize it or translate it into logos falling back into an objectifying metaphysics or an aesthetic of schemes and schools. Cinema as an interpretation of myth is an extension of the original thought that operates 12 Pareyson, Luigi (1971). Verità e interpretazione. Milano: Milano, 145. 13 Aristóteles (2019). Ética a Eudemo. Madrid: Gredos ,1248. In this sense, Aristotle affirms: “ Lo mismo que en el universo, también en el alma, Dios mueve todas las cosas. El punto de arranque del razonamiento no es razonamiento, sino algo más grande. ¿Qué habrá, pues, más grande que el conocimiento y el intelecto sino Dios? [ … ] Por esta razón, son llamados afortunados aquellos que, sin ser buenos, en el razonar tienen éxito en cualquier cosa que emprenden. Y la deliberación no les supone ventaja, pues poseen dentro de sí mismos un principio que es mejor que el intelecto y la deliberación. Tienen inspiración, mas no pueden deliberar [ … ]. Por eso hay hombres melancólicos, los soñadores de lo que es verdadero. En efecto, el principio motor parece adquirir mayor fuerza cuando la facultad de razonar está relajada ” . 14 Pareyson, Luigi (1995) Ontologia della libertà. Il male e la sofferenza. Torino: Einaudi, 144. 222 Emilio Sierra García <?page no="223"?> and resides in it, it is a re-enviral to the existential experience lived in it, the experience of truth 15 . In the specific case of Faust there is a metaphysical element that refers to the millenary complaint of Job with which the myth begins. Murnau ’ s Faust burns the Bible out of rebellion and invokes darkness at the crossroads. The images speak for themselves. On the other hand, Sokurov ’ s Faust does not resemble the protagonists of Moloch or Taurus. The filmmaker makes a slight anamorphic deformation of the image and uses a palette of dark colours and gloom. The surreal and the dreamlike go hand in hand in a landscape full of magic such as Bohemia and Iceland and references to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the nineteenth century. If in Murnau, Rembrandt was the pictorial reference, in Sokurov we could speak of Brueghel, Vermeer and the Flemish painters. The taverns, the grotesque men, the alchemist ’ s cabinet, the forests, and the lakes reflect the philosophical and moral duel between Faust and the devil. A duel in which the human never gives up. Even Sokurov ’ s Faust lost in hell, rebels against the devil and refuses to relent in his search with his unwavering inner doubts, such as the “ cursed questions ” of which Dostoevsky spoke. So far philosophy, science and all human knowledge would have proved insufficient in probing the problem of evil and freedom 16 , but this is the crucial question with which, sooner or later, every man must face. This question moves from: why is there being and not nothingness? To: why is it that in being there is nothingness and evil. An answer that lurks in the background is because, in fact, we see that evil is among us. We discover that the things that are, and rest on the generous act of being that sustains them, are also repudiated, and preserved in their failure and imperfection. Faust begins and refers to that evil that inhabits us in the form of plague, boredom, life failure, failed love, or sterile knowledge. We ask ourselves: But what is evil? Why does it exist? Where does it come from? Does it have anything to do with God? 17 These questions point to being from a peculiar perspective, they do not have to do only with ethics. Man perceives evil as a suffering that is the absence of a good that he should possess, but he also realizes that it is not a 15 Pareyson (1995: 161 - 168). 16 Pareyson (1995: 151). Pareyson affirms: “ Nell ’ affrontare il problema del male la filosofia si è dimostrata nel corso dei secoli straordinariamente manchevole se non addirittura insufficiente [ … ] È solo a partire da Kant, con la sua critica della teodicea e la sua teoria del male radicale, che la situazione è migliorata, attraverso i fruttuosi scandagli di Hegel giovane, la robusta meditazione di Schelling maturo, l ’ ampia sistemazione di Schopenhauer, le scomode provocazione di Nietzsche; ma molto resta da fare ” . 17 Henry, Michel (2013). La fenomenología radical, la cuestión de Dios y el problema del mal. Madrid: Encuentro. Faust in Murnau and Sokurov 223 <?page no="224"?> mere deprivation 18 , that in him a certain dark revelation occurs that points beyond the being 19 and can lead to the ‘ Lord of being ’ who from that beyond lords over all things. God is present in evil. The question of evil and pain in the world are inseparable from the question of a God who is not fully understood or a God who is beginning to be absent. Evil in Faust not only appears as a principal opposite to being in the Manichean sense. It ’ s not just Mephistopheles. It is its essence. The whole force of evil is not enough, however devastating to diminish the being minimally. Rather, it appears as an incarnation of the ‘ spirit of non-being ’ , what Evdokimov calls “ spirit of destruction ” or “ spirit of self-destruction and nothingness ” 20 . With words that Goethe puts in the mouth of Mephistopheles: “ I am the spirit that always denies. And I do it with full rights because everything that is born deserves to be annihilated, it would be better than if it were not born. Therefore, my true nature is what you call sin and destruction, in a word, Evil ” 21 . Ontologically, evil consists of nothing, not being, non-existence. That is its essence. But to exist it needs an ontological support, it needs to rely on a being. It cannot be realized in the absolute because it is pure being and excludes it as nonexistent. Evil must therefore nest in the finite that its reality lends it. Only there can evil settle in and exercise its negative action. Thinking of evil on the finite plane without possible remission to the infinite, concludes in the absurdity of bare finitude; or in the nonsense of allusion to a possible absolute that has previously been denied, or in which no meaning can be found to evil since in its absolute infinity it does not suffer any deprivation. The decisive question is how the perspective of the finite connects with the 18 Neusch, Marcel (2010). El enigma del mal. Cantabria: Sal Terrae, 39 - 53. The triple general distinction of St. Augustine that Leibniz will strictly formulate is known: moral evil, physical evil and metaphysical evil. One could speak of three conditions of evil: that of moral evil (evil will), that of physical evil (suffering) and that of metaphysical evil (finitude). Here we look at these three aspects of evil through the prism of their mere existence. I come back to the fact that evil happens as it is, that it exists, and it must have an origin and a certain type of identity. 19 Cerezo y Galán, Pedro (1963). Arte, verdad y ser en Heidegger. La estética en el sistema de Heidegger. Madrid, 210. In Heidegger this is negative and impossible, a postulate that would be reached from freedom: “ From freedom we link with the Self, as we were promised in Sein und Zeit, but it escapes us and reserves despite its gift. We only know of him that he is the source of all the senses. The rest remains in the gloom of mystery. Why has this bankruptcy occurred? Here ’ s why. It was impossible to try to reveal the totality of the Self from the horizon of the finitude of Dasein ” . 20 Evdokimov, Paul (1978). Dostoievsky et le probléme du mal. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 127. Evdokimov observes that, in Schelling, evil is not and yet strives to be. Philosophy has been summarized since Parmenides in talking about being, but not about non-being. 21 Goethe (2018: 87). 224 Emilio Sierra García <?page no="225"?> absolute plane, that is, how suffering and evil can fit into God so that man is not “ left of his hand. ” Where does Faust find the infinite? Where is it offered to him? What infinity is the one he ends up embracing? Conclusions The solution of the problem of evil is given from the practical field and not from the theoretical. So does Murnau ’ s Faust in his final embrace. Therefore, the conclusion of the myth is a praise to the reality of the real, to the mystery of the being that encompasses everything and that surpasses everything thinkable that is filled with the very mystery of God. In being, creatures can participate in the divine reality, given the freedom of the creative foundation as a bottomless love that illuminates them in their emptiness and insubstantiality. Hand in hand with Murnau and Sokurov we return to myth to return to a reason that is beyond and further inward than reasoning or understanding 22 . To return to the myth is to return to the place of the original cogito, the most distant and deepest place where the truth takes place. Make no mistake, the myth of Faust, like any myth, is a religious question because it invites us to re-read (it is Cicero ’ s religio-relegere) one ’ s identity and one ’ s own existence in its light. Thus, Murnau and Sokurov ’ s art is not directly social change, politics, or philology. The theme of these two films is the theme of meaning, a theodicy, and an anthropology. All this thrown into the whirlwind of tragedy, but always with a sketch of light. Sokurov ’ s tetralogy closes with a ray of clarity, with a glimmer of hope, because power is not everything, neither the verb nor the darkness. In aesthetics, Sokurov turns to a palette of cool and muted colours, almost like Murnau ’ s black and white. Some close-ups of Margaret, her fall into the water with Faust are images of an epiphanic beauty. Expressionism is shown in the chiaroscuros that reflect the tragedies of history. Sokurov detaches Faust within his tetralogy of power. In it there is humanity and accessibility. The seduction of the devil that leads to condemnation does not 22 Lanceros (1997: 141). Not surprisingly, Hegel claimed that only Kant accurately highlighted the distinction between intellect and reason, establishing that the intellect has as its object the finite and the conditioned, while reason, on the other hand, deals with the infinite and the unconditioned. There is a beyond experience from experience, which Kant did not know how to see or do, although in the long run Hegel did not either. Therefore, for Hölderlin - as for Schelling and Novalis - the West lives in the oblivion that poetry is the beginning and end of philosophy. The result of this forgetfulness is the alienation of philosophy in science, the selfless search for empirical endorsement, the instrumentalization of thought, reduced to pure understanding (Verstand). Faust in Murnau and Sokurov 225 <?page no="226"?> distance him from us. The devil is the great co-star of the film. Human and charlatan makes Faust descend to the bottom of the abysses. An Abysses that will only be illuminated by Margaret, just like Murnau ’ s Gretchen. She is condemned by the people because of the death of her son (a bastard) in an oversight in the snowstorm. From hell Faust goes to the bonfire where he is going to be burned. Cursing from his youth, Mephistopheles makes him old and ends his days hugging his beloved as fire devours them both. The devil demands the supernatural light represented by the archangel to give him the earth for his victory over the contract that Faust had signed. However, the angel makes the devil see that he did not win the bet, that there is something that overcame his dark purposes: love. God ’ s final invitation in the introduction to Goethe ’ s Faust seems true: “ But you, true children of God, enjoy the living and rich beauty. May the changing, that which always acts and is alive, enclose you in the soft confines of love, and fix upon eternal ideas that which floats in oscillating appearances ” 23 . Cocteau stated that: “ Literature is impossible. We have to get out of it. Literature is powerless; only love and faith allow us to come out of ourselves ” 24 . The same can be said of artifice or merely commercial cinema. The nostalgia that is revealed in twentieth century thinking and in many postmodern thinkers demonstrates the destitution of a spiritual impulse. Today ’ s world sharpens in the artist and in every man who dares to think of a craving from beyond. Like the dream of reason, while its lack of use produced the monsters of superstition, ignorance, and inauthenticity; the dream of reason, as its excess, had severed our eyelids to capture the breadth of all that is there. Open reason cries out and its cry is always directed beyond itself: to God, to the devil or to nothingness. Reflecting on the meaning of myth in the light of Murnau and Sokurov leads us to speak of a fundamental archetype of our cultural world: Faust, the man capable of knowledge, glory, pleasure and riches who ends up winning his condemnation. To speak of this man is to listen to ourselves in the sound that our being makes when it opens to mystery. 23 Goethe (2018: 58). 24 Maritain, Jacques (1955). La poesía y el arte. Buenos Aires: Emecé, 219. 226 Emilio Sierra García <?page no="227"?> 5 The Expressionist Aesthetic outside Europe <?page no="229"?> Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos Introduction In 1922, in an article published in the Berliner Börsen-Courier, the director Robert Wiene reflected on the foundations of Expressionism. In his opinion, the aim of the Expressionist artist was to reproduce “ das Innerliche ” , to find “ den stärksten Ausdruck [finden] für das, was er erlebt hat ” 1 . Likewise, on the screen, Expressionist filmmakers aspired to reproduce the most intense emotions that were being experienced in German society at the time. Using symbolic language and the technical tools available to them, these films reflected the feelings that surrounded their creators: the uncertainty and anguish of individuals faced with the experience of war, with an overwhelming economic crisis or with the political chaos into which German society had been plunged once the only world that they had known had come to an end. Thus, the unease and restlessness of inter-war society materialized on the screen through images of terror and the portrayal of tormented characters who found themselves trapped in dreamlike and fantastic scenarios, in which their anguish and confusion were revealed 2 . Throughout the last century, numerous filmmakers have repeatedly employed these same visual devices to give shape to dystopic narratives, as shown by Manuel Maldonado in his chapter in this volume. In the case of the film in question, Persepolis (Satrapi/ Paronnaud, 2007), its creators also made use of aesthetic resources employed by Expressionist filmmakers to transfer, with the same intensity as Wiene had suggested, the experiences and emotions lived, in this case, by its author Marjane Satrapi, to the medium of film, 1 Wiene, Robert. (1922). “ Expressionismus im Film ” . In: Berliner Börsen-Courier. 2 Cf. Hake, Sabine (2005). Expressionism and Cinema: Reflections on a Phantasmagoria of Film History. In: Donahue, Neil H. (ed.) A Companion to the Literature of German Expressionism. Rochester: Camden House, 321 - 341. <?page no="230"?> or, more specifically, to an animated picture. However, in addition to employing many aesthetic elements of the Expressionist tradition, which will be examined later in the chapter, Persepolis also aligns with Expressionist proposals, as the film narrates in autobiographical terms the childhood and adolescence of its protagonist, a young woman of Iranian origin, in the context of the Islamic revolution of 1979, of the war between Iran and Iraq and of the experience of exile in Europe. It is, therefore, a story of anguish, fear and displacement, which shares with Weimar cinema the wish both to show the world in a liminal space - where dreams and fantasies may briefly be reconciled with harsh realities 3 - and to explore those fears and ghosts inherent to the human condition. Indeed, as Sánchez Noriega suggests, aesthetics in Expressionist films do not solely obey a purely visual motivation, but must in fact be understood as a reflection of the inner worlds of the characters: their states of mind, their psychological processes and even mental illnesses - and, ultimately, of a society under threat or in some degree of collective neurosis 4 . Persepolis: turning vignettes into animation Born in Iran, Marjane Satrapi became a successful author thanks to the excellent reception of the homonymous autographic on which the film Persepolis is based. Autographic - a term which was coined by Gillian Whitloc in 2006 5 - defines those graphic novels that belong to the field of narratives of memory. Comics or graphic novels of autobiographical content, such as Satrapi ’ s Persepolis, have existed for almost as long as comic art has, with well-known examples of the genre being Art Spiegelman ’ s Maus (1977), whose influence on Satrapi ’ s work has often been pointed out by the author (e. g. Satrapi, 2003), I never liked you (Chester Brown, 1994) or, more recently, Smile (Rana Telgemeier, 2010). Published in four volumes, Persepolis was soon translated into other languages, although its characteristic visual language needs almost no words: the black and 3 Roberts, Ian (2008). German Expressionist Cinema. The World of Light and Shadow. New York: Columbia University Press, 8. 4 Sánchez Noriega, José Luis (2016). Sobre el caligarismo y el cine expresionista alemán. Estudios de arte y cultura visual. Icono 14, 401 - 429, 411. 5 Whitloc, Gillian: Autographics: The Seeing “ I ” of the Comics. In: MFS Modern Fiction Studies 52 (4), 965 - 979. Doi: 10.1353/ mfs.2007.0013 In Spanish, this autobiographical genre has been named “ memoria gráfica ” (see Pérez Elena, Elena (2021). Autobiografía y exilio: La novela gráfica iraní. Revista Internacional de Humanidades 8 (1): 107 - 120. 230 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="231"?> white vignettes, sober in style and devoid of superfluous details 6 , capture with enormous communicative force the brutality and senselessness of totalitarianism and war and are capable of conveying the emotional imprint that such sociopolitical events leave on the individual, particularly when that individual is a child. Indeed, as Warren suggests, artists and filmmakers are increasingly resorting to animation to be able to tackle traumatic stories and to make them more accessible 7 . Echoing this notion, Satrapi herself also declared 8 that visual tools enabled her to represent on paper those memories from her childhood and youth that were too difficult to recreate only through words 9 . This is because cartooning can help amplify meaning through simplification. According to McCloud, “ [w]hen we abstract an image through cartooning, we are not so much eliminating details as we are focusing on specific details. By stripping down an image to its essential ‘ meaning ’ , an artist can amplify that meaning in a way that realistic art can ’ t ” 10 . This, again, according to Davis, appears to be even more relevant in the context of a graphic childhood memoir, “ where specific details acquire heightened meaning ” 11 through the games of memory, and the child ’ s voice underscores elements which the adult gaze would consider trivial. In Satrapi ’ s transcultural coming of age, the powerful, symbolic presence of a series of elements and devices contributes to the structure of the narrative through foreshadowing and is a further bond between Persepolis and Expressionistic cinema, with its uncanny reiterations and meaningful imagery. In 2007, Marjane Satrapi, together with illustrator Vincent Paronnaud, presented the film adaptation of her graphic novel at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was a major milestone in animated cinema and earned its 6 In fact, such stylistic devices, which indeed feature in a great number of graphic novels, originated at the time of Expressionism in the so-called “ novel in woodcuts ” , whose precursor was the Belgian artist Frans Masereel. His works, which consist of a series of illustrations that narrate a story without any words at all, made Masereel extremely popular in Germany and a number of studies underscore his influence on Expressionism (see, among others, Willett, Perry (2005). The Cutting Edge of German Expressionism: The Woodcut Novel of Frans Masereel and Its Influences. In: Donahue, Neil H. A Companion to the Literature of German Expressionism. Rochester: Candem House, 111 - 136.). 7 Warren, Kate (2021). Animation, representation and the power of the personal story. Persepolis. Screen Education, 58, 117 - 123, 119. 8 Accomando, Beth (2008). Persepolis/ Interview with Marjane Satrapi. Available under: https: / / www.kpbs.org/ news/ arts-culture/ 2008/ 01/ 17/ persepolisinterview-with-marjanesatrapi (Stand: 25/ 02/ 2022). 9 See also Davis, Rocío G. (2005). A Graphic Self. Prose Studies, 27: 3, 264 - 279, 269. 10 McCloud, Scott. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperPerennial, 1994, 30. 11 Davis (2005: 270). Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 231 <?page no="232"?> creators an Oscar nomination in this category, becoming - due to its transcultural nature -“ one of the most successful French exports of recent decades ” 12 . With regard to the intersemiotic translation undergone by the original text, much of the imagery in Persepolis retains the simple, flattened tableaux style of representation from the comic books and lacks technological advances: no attempt has been made, for instance, to achieve the realism of computergenerated animation, but rather the creators maintain the original ’ s simple and sometimes austere visual style, which also contributes to lending the film a patina of universality 13 . Like the four volumes that make up the graphic memoir, the feature-length film is hand-drawn in a sparse, stark, black-and-white style, and only the frame narration - showing Marjane at Paris-Orly airport, where she recalls her life in black and white - is in color. Besides, the film is not a strict translation of the content of the graphic novel, but rather an independent work, the result of a collaboration between Satrapi and Paronnaud, with material especially made to transfer the images from paper to screen. Nonetheless, like its literary predecessor, the film version revolves around the memories of a young narrator, Marjane/ Marji, who as Satrapi ’ s own animated avatar is able to intertwine different voices: Marji, the candid child voice; Marjane, the rebellious voice of the youngster; and an adult voice-over, which contributes to structuring the narrative of memory, by establishing a three-level chronotopic narrative, and also, as Allen suggests, by reinforcing in the film what is more implicit in the books, namely that the text speaks from a transcultural standpoint, from a position of spatial displacement 14 . This panoply of voices, which is present in both the novels and the film, weaves the history of Iran with the protagonist ’ s own experiences - the fleeting hopes after the fall of the Shah, the concerns after the creation of the Islamic Republic, the terror during the Iran-Iraq war and the painful experience of exile, in Satrapi ’ s case first in Vienna and finally in France - , and, by so doing, it combines political history and memoir, portraying the country ’ s 20 th -century upheavals through the story of one family, thereby underscoring the impact of the public/ political onto the private/ individual, most specifically on a child/ young person. As readers/ viewers, we are not only witness to this series of events, but also become aware of the child ’ s perception of those events, of their expression on the screen. 12 Palmer, Lindsay (2011). Neither Here nor There: The Reproductive Sphere in Transnational Feminist Cinema. Feminist Review, 99 (1), 113 - 130, 49. 13 Cf. Warren (2021: 119). 14 Allen, Steven (2017). Persepolis. Telling Tales of Trauma. In Hodgin, Nick/ Thakkar, Amit (eds.) Scars and Wounds. Film and Legacies of Trauma. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 267 - 289, 273. 232 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="233"?> Persepolis: heir to Expressionist fantasies Satrapi herself has, on numerous occasions, commented on the influence of Expressionist filmmakers on her work; in particular, she has pointed to the influence of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau 15 . As already mentioned above, besides other artistic influences (most notably, Italian neorealism 16 ), the film employs the visual codes of Expressionist film as well as its distinct incorporation of fantasy as a medium for new narrative possibilities. Just like its German predecessors almost a century before, Persepolis uses both the support of fantasy and aesthetic tools to create a dramatic contrast between diverse situations and contexts 17 . On the one hand, just like in Expressionist movies, Persepolis resorts to dream-like, fantastical passages or settings to portray precisely those events or situations which could barely be told by means of the language of realism. This is clearly the case when the protagonist recalls her Uncle ’ s flight or his imprisonment and when she reflects on her time in Vienna. On the other hand, the film also depicts the motivations, the emotions and the life experiences of its characters through the contrasts between black, white and greyscale, between light and dark, in the same manner that Expressionist filmmakers did 18 . Thereby, the scenery and the setting contribute to symbolically translating the state of mind of the characters 19 . While light colors convey an expression of well-being and comfort and predominate in those scenes in which the protagonist is in a safe environment, such as her home, the backgrounds darken, to the point of imprisoning the figures in absolute black when the memory is dominated by feelings of anguish, fear or insecurity. Such nods to the use of contrast in light and shadow in Expressionist cinema recur throughout the film, and the film resorts to fades to black - which are also typical of the beginnings of cinema both for technical and aesthetic reasons - to facilitate transitions, but also as a stylistic device to transfer an emotion to the screen. Thus, black invades the scene, for example, when totalitarianism threatens the protagonist ’ s family, in the war 15 See, Davies, Jon (2008). A Polite Way of Being Desperate: An Interview with Marjane Satrapi. Cineaction, 75, 58 - 61, 60, and also, Tejeda, Carlos (2008). LÁPIZ. Revista Internacional de Arte, 240/ 241, 146 - 153, 153. 16 For a more in-depth analysis of neorealistic influences, see, e. g., the study by Neupert, Richard (2015). French Animated Cinema, 1990 to Present. In Alistair Fox, Michel Marie, Raphaëlle Moine, Hilary Radner (eds), A Companion to Contemporary French Cinema. John Wiley & Sons: 333 - 355, 344 or the interview with Marjane Satrapi in Payvand Iran News, http: / / payvand.com/ news/ 07/ dec/ 1254.html. 17 Davis (2005: 271). 18 Kurtz, Rudolf (2007). Expressionismus und Film. Nachdruck derAusgabe von 1926. Edited by Christian Kiening and Ulrich Johannes Beil. Zürich: Chronos, 123. 19 Cf. Sánchez Noriega (2016: 420). Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 233 <?page no="234"?> scenes, or when Marjane suffers rejection or is the victim of the most brutal marginalization, especially during her Viennese exile. Figures 14 - 17 are examples of the resemblance in the use of light and shadow in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Persepolis. Fig. 14 Fig. 15 Fig. 16 234 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="235"?> Fig. 17 The following sections examine the influence of the aesthetic tools of Expressionism on the film, as a means of expressing the fear and the anxiety triggered by the experience of war, oppression and displacement. War: Fear of losing her world At the beginning of the story, the viewer meets little Marji, a ten-year-old girl, born into an upper-middle class milieu, whose parents, liberal professionals with a political conscience and progressive ideas, welcome with joy the fall of the Shah, which they hope will bring their country the democracy they have longed for. Soon after, however, the introduction of Islamic laws removes any hope of freedom for their family and for most of society. Repression is not only political, but threatens all areas of life, especially for women, whose movements, attire and lifestyles are prescribed to the smallest degree. In this sense, both the film and the graphic novel often dwell on episodes that denounce discrimination and violence against women, so that female existence forms a central aspect of the author ’ s claim in both formats 20 . Although occasionally interrupted by the adult ’ s voiceover, the child ’ s perspective dominates the first part of Persepolis, and this narrative choice is not accidental: although the young girl ’ s story is inextricably intertwined with that of her country, given her grandfather ’ s political involvement in the Shah ’ s government and her parents ’ commitment to democracy, the voice of 20 For a more in-depth reading of Persepolis from a feminist approach, see Miller, Nancy K (2007) Out of the Family: Generations of Women in Marjane Satrapi ’ s Persepolis, Life Writing, 4: 1, 13 - 29. Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 235 <?page no="236"?> Persepolis is that of a child figure who, like other child characters, is able to reconcile the universe of her childhood - family, school, music, or games - with her socio-political concerns, also bringing them closer to the viewers. Thus, it is the child narrator who seems to decide what is told and how it is told, who not only must quickly assimilate the changes she witnesses - the obligation to wear the hijab, the murals and paintings praising the new religious leader Khomeini or the demonization of all Western symbols - but also, who is forced to reunite the contradictions between the official history that she is taught at school and the accounts she hears at home, to face the imprisonment and murder of her uncle Anoush, and the loss, in short, of structures and beliefs that had sustained the world of her childhood. There are no words in the repository of a ten-yearold girl to help to come to terms with or express her puzzlement at the cruelty and unpredictability of historical events. Hence, the child narrator attempts to “ translate ” the events that terrify her with a language and iconography that make them more accessible. The narrator can then resort either to very crude impressions, devoid of all subjectivity or to the language of fairy-tales and fantasy. In most cases, the narrative is stripped of hyper-realistic detail and resorts to a sober, laconic visual language and design that underlines the brutality of the violence. As an example, a scene that evidences the impact of the Expressionist aesthetic in Persepolis draws on the iconic painting “ The Scream ” (1893) by the Expressionist Edvard Munch to illustrate the same anguish and terror that the Norwegian painter wanted to capture. The scene begins with a zoom in on the city bombed by a missile, which has hit Marji ’ s neighbourhood. As she walks with her mother through the rubble-strewn streets and the remains of everyday life, Marji discovers a human hand in the ruins of a building, a luminous white hand that stands out against the dark background. The camera focuses first on Marji ’ s face (fig. 18) and the hand, then moves back as her face transforms, before fading to black, into that of Munch ’ s famous figure, which is also evoked repeatedly in other scenes of the film (fig. 19). Fig. 18 236 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="237"?> Fig. 19 Totalitarianism: the anxiety of the individual repressed by the collective Once again, it is the child ’ s perspective in the film that reveals how totalitarian ideology invades every corner of everyday life. The child Marji knew about political persecution through her uncle Anoush, who was persecuted by the Shah regime for expressing ideas that did ran counter to the prevailing ones. Here, the narrative escapes to fantasy to make the memory more palatable. The most recent theories of narrative advocate that both personal or collective memories, as well as fantasies are equally relevant in the “ creation of meaning around events ” 21 , and animated films appear to be an excellent means to forge historiography through the interweaving of memory, fantasy and experience. As a child is often unable to distinguish between the real and the imaginary, it is natural for these two elements to become entangled when recollecting memories 22 . Thus, accounts from the child ’ s perspective become childhood myths, due to the impossibility of recovering the objective memory. In this regard, the story of Uncle Anoush ’ s flight to Russia in Persepolis is depicted in illustrations that recall the stylistic devices of Expressionism, and challenge reality once again by resorting to the sphere of the imagined and of the fantastical. In this case, this is achieved by the portrayal of unrealistic, disturbing nature, with sharp and curved mountains, and menacing trees that seem ready to attack and that convey the scene with a nightmarish texture (Fig. 20 and Fig. 21). 21 Warren (2021: 119) and Erll, Astrid (2011). Memory in Culture. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 144 - 171. 22 See, among other authors, Coe, Richard (1984). When the Grass Was Taller. Autobiography and the Experience of Childhood. New Haven, Yale University Press. Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 237 <?page no="238"?> Fig. 20 Fig. 21 Later in the film, when the new Islamic government is established, many family members and friends of the Satrapi family leave Iran, dismayed that the joy and hope experienced with the fall of the Shah has been replaced by an equally oppressive regime. The sense of isolation that accompanies these dislocations affects not only the emigrants, but also those left behind. In one scene, Marjane ’ s parents and family members reflect on recent events, debating whether they too should leave. The characters appear one by one, standing in a spot light against a pure black background (Fig. 22), often speaking directly to the camera. Such a scene seems to reflect the snippets of conversations Marji overheard in her home and ends with her, dejected with the weight of anguish and fear for her own existence. The usage of light and shadow resembles once again the style present in Expressionist films, such as The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (Fig. 23). Fig. 22 238 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="239"?> Fig. 23 Oppression and anguish are also reflected through the crudeness of the visual language that dominates the scenes depicting the consequences of the war: the buildings destroyed by bombing, the innocent victims, among whom the death of a young man stands out, after which his blood once again covers the whole image, fading once more into black (7: 53 - 8: 34). Furthermore, those buildings that represent oppression and violence against the Iranian people, such as the Shah ’ s palace, the prison or certain nocturnal landscapes, become dark and haunting locations in the protagonist ’ s imagination. Both the imperial palace and the prison, two imposing buildings, are depicted almost identically, and surrounded by threatening nature. The imprint of Expressionist cinema is present in such depictions of nature, which are linked to scenes of war, exile or death. One striking element in these gloomy landscapes, which denote horror and violence, are the trees. Like the trees in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Fig. 24), those in Persepolis are bare with pointed and sometimes twisted branches that evoke the image of sterile, dead nature, as can be seen in Fig. 25. Such a threatening personification of nature is also employed in Persepolis in the landscapes surrounding the prison; during the war, while tanks launch their torpedoes and soldiers die; or in the mass grave where Uncle Anoush lies. As in Expressionist cinema, Satrapi and Parannoud employ landscapes and scenery and their different representations to represent the emotions and the states of mind of their characters 23 . 23 Kurtz (2007: 122 - 124). Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 239 <?page no="240"?> Fig. 24 Fig. 25 Displacement: chaos and uncertainty in the in-between As already suggested before, the story told in Persepolis is the story of an uprooting: already in her childhood, Marjane ’ s family context - with parents with an intellectual education and a Western way of life - places her on the margins of the small world she shares with her peers and friends in Tehran. This situation will become more tense with the establishment of the Islamic regime, as the young woman is unwilling to give in to the rules that attack her individuality as a person and as a woman, and when she decides to partially accept them, she is met with the contempt of her most relevant role-models - her mother and grandmother - who question her motivation 24 . Her “ voluntary ” exile 24 Cf. Warren (2021: 122). 240 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="241"?> to Europe underlines this rootlessness that has defined her since childhood. In Vienna, Marjane experiences cruel isolation in the form of racism, intolerance and discrimination. This loneliness is compounded by guilt for escaping the war, as well as shame and a sense of betrayal for abandoning her culture and becoming westernized. This marginalized situation does not improve with her return to Iran, where Marjane ’ s attempts to readapt fail. Satrapi equates this inner duality, this liminality, in Van Gennep ’ s words 25 , to being nothing: “ I was nothing. I was a Westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West. I had no identity ” . The feelings provoked by this uprooting lead Marjane, after her return to Iran, to psychic destabilization, plunging her into a state of complete apathy. After she has visited several psychiatrists, a scene is shown, accompanied by gloomy music, in which the protagonist ’ s face appears several times in the foreground. The use of light and shadow is very important in this type of sequence, reminiscent of the use of close-ups of the faces of the characters so characteristic of Expressionist filmmaking. The emotional language of the face is a fundamental aspect of both the novel and the film. Figs. 26 and 27 show the face of Marjane framed in black and from which, against the darkness of the background, emanates the light that captivates the viewer ’ s gaze. Similar shots are to be found in Expressionist films, as can be seen in Figs. 28 - 31, which feature screenshots from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu and Faust. Fig. 26 25 See Thomassen, Bjørn (2009). The Uses and Meaning of Liminality. International Political Anthropology 7, 2(1), 5 - 28; and Malek, Amy (2006). Memoir as Iranian exile cultural production: A case study of Marjane Satrapi ’ s Persepolis series, Iranian Studies, 39: 3, 353 - 380. Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 241 <?page no="242"?> Fig. 27 Fig. 28 Fig. 29 Fig. 30 242 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="243"?> Fig. 31 Marjane Satrapi ’ s story is, hence, a story of displacement and re-placement, which firstly shows the young protagonist ’ s rejection of the Islamic world, opposed to the values in which she has been educated - westernized, from an Islamic point of view - , but also to a cultural tradition - that of her Persian origin - . Secondly, direct contact with the West and the experience of otherness in a country whose values she considered closer to her own, allows the protagonist to rediscover her roots and situate her home in Iran, to “ feel Iranian ” , but at the same time to be critical of the socio-political situation in her country. Nevertheless, Satrapi ’ s film only partly explains how the “ experiencing self ” 26 - the narrated self, so to speak - acquires the necessary in-between position which makes the integration or synthesis between the two cultures possible. It is especially her narrating self - the voice-over mentioned above - who maintains the liminal position between East and West, Iran and Western-European cultures: the self who writes the book and, when remembering her past, “ often indulges in retrospection, evaluation and the drawing of moral conclusions ” 27 . Meanwhile, her experiencing/ narrated self fluctuates, crosses back and forth between social, ideological and cultural positions, and remains in a vacuum of non-belonging between the two conflicting cultures 28 . As a narrative of memory, Persepolis aims to build an existential legacy, but, at the same time, it seeks to represent an image of Iran far removed from Western stereotypes. The author ’ s conscious choice to use Western aesthetic discourses to shape Iran ’ s culture and history reveals her intention to situate her work in a transnational space that will allow global audiences to access the content of her 26 Cf. Fludernik, Monika (2009). An introduction to narratology. London: Routledge, 90. 27 Fludernik (2009: 90). 28 Cf. Klapcsik, Sandor (2016) Acculturation strategies and exile in Marjane Satrapi ’ s Persepolis, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 11: 1, 69 - 83, 70. Expressionistic Trends in Persepolis: The Role of Fantasy in Narratives of Memory 243 <?page no="244"?> proposal, without the need to decode an unfamiliar visual language; besides the choice of genre and content and style, such transnationalism is underscored by the austere visuals, which lend the film a feeling of universality. Thus, in addition to the very choice of the graphic novel genre, which eminently aligns with the western cultural canon, the film employs elements and techniques from different artistic trends, which would be easily recognizable by western viewers, such as heavy-metal music, Italian neorealism, puppet theatre, Lotte Reiniger ’ s cut-outs 29 or famous film icons from the Hollywood of the 1980s, such as Jackie Chan, Rocky or Godzilla. Among them, as this chapter has examined, the influence of Expressionist cinema stands out. In short, the analysis of Persepolis shows how a century later the aesthetic proposals and devices of Expressionist filmmakers are still relevant. In particular, visual codes, such as the play with chiaroscuro and the prevalent presence of angular forms - which now comprise a universal, transnational audiovisual language - are still valid for conveying on screen the same emotions of oppression, anguish and terror that Expressionist artists experienced and sought to portray in their films. 29 Lotte Reiniger (1889 - 1981) was a German film maker and a pioneer in the art of animation. Contemporary to the Expressionist movement and acquainted with some of its artists - most notably, Paul Wegener and Fritz Lang, in whose film Die Nibelungen she partook - , Reiniger ’ s work does not fall into the same category as the films which shaped German film production in the 1920s, since the narrative structure and artistic devices employed by Reiniger (light or movement) differ distinctly. With regard to Persepolis, even though Reiniger ’ s influence is clear in a number of scenes, the tempo and the mood do not allow one to establish the same parallels in terms of fear, anxiety and displacement which can be found between Satrapi ’ s film and those movies by German Expressionist artists. 244 Montserrat Bascoy & Lorena Silos <?page no="245"?> The Failure of the Diffusion of German Expressionist Cinema in Japanese Cinema by Benshi through The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari Satoru Yamada Introduction When German expressionism came to Japan, one of the most influenced art genres was cinema. Above all, the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, released in 1921, had great impact. This film, whose visual style is heavily influenced by expressionist art, has a plot full of metaphors; that is why it stimulated the minds of great cinema personalities such as Tanizaki Junichir ō (1886 - 1965), Kinugasa T ē nosuke (1896 - 1982) and Mizoguchi Kenji (1898 - 1956) to face the challenge of shooting an expressionist film, but all the attempts resulted in failures. The reasons for their failures are varied, but in this article, I want to focus on benshi, the peculiar Japanese system of explaining the film with words to the audience. While benshi explanations are logical, expressionist films try to convey meaning to the viewers metaphysically. Both things are not compatible. Proposing the hypothesis that benshi prevent expressionism from taking root in cinema in Japan, I will investigate the attempts of some leading figures in the filming of expressionism in Japan. If we can understand the influence of the benshi, this will also help us to understand the origins of Japanese cinema in general. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari German expressionism is an artistic phenomenon originated in 1910 and that had already ended by the first part of the 20 th Century. The Germans have just witnessed the fall of their traditional authority after the World War I. The country is totally shrouded in turmoil over the conflict between the right and left wing over the Treaty of Versailles. The citizens are terrified and worried about their future. This state full of fears and worries contributes to create <?page no="246"?> expressionism, the artistic movement that builds a new concept to emancipate from tradition. 1 Robert Wiene adopted the new art tendency to film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in 1919, at the beginning of the Weimar Republic. 2 Its international success produced the expressionism in the cinema. Above all, the thoroughness of the expression of the style of the film Caligari reaches the limit of originality and attracted the Japanese. 3 Tanizaki Junichiro, the film critic and famous writer for the essay In Praise of Shadows (1933), states: 1 Kurtz/ Rudolf (1971), Expressionistischer film Hy ō genshugi eiga. In: Iwabuchi/ Tatsuji (translator). Doitsu hyougen-shugi 3, Hyougenshugi no engeki, eiga. Tokyo: Kawaide- Shuppan: 319. Sabine Hake writes that there are many opinions about the definition of German expressionist cinema, that expressionist cinema is visual phenomenon such as cinematographic direction with the technique of chiaroscuro or the strong contrast of light and shadow, which also deals with the loss of identity. German National Cinema, Hake/ Sabine (2008). Doitsu-eiga (German National Cinema), Suwa-shi: Chou ē -sha/ Rogosu-kikaku, 54, 55. 2 Siegfried Kracauer, linking the film with the Nazis, writes that it strongly criticizes the national absolute power that dominates the system of conscription and the declaration of war, which the German government in World War I is considered the prototype of greedy power. Caligari is a metaphor for national ruthless power, while Cesare is nothing more than an innocent citizen. He symbolizes the citizens compulsorily subjected to the trial of the murderer. But Prawer Siegbert Salomon replies to Kracauer ’ s interpretation, although he recognizes that the film conveys us the social criticism, understanding Caligari as a tyrant is a mistake, because he has a very complex character. Kracauer considers Caligari as Hitler, but the year of the shooting, 1919, one could not yet say that Hitler would be the future dictator. Kracauer ’ s opinion lacks a little bit the arguments. But the very complex character of that film looms. Kracauer, Siegfried (1995), From Caligari to Hitler, Barcelona: Ediciones Paidós, 63 - 77. Siebert Salomon, Prawer (1980), Children ’ s Caligari, London: Oxford University Press, 164 - 200. There is no definite argument that the Japanese understood Caligari as the film to criticize authority. At least, the critics basically write only about its innovative expression. Most probably they did not have the knowledge to understand the social background of the work and the expressionism anymore. 3 Most of the released expressionist films in Japan between 1920 and 1924 are thrillers or horror films. The black and white expressionist cinema took much from the expression of shadows, which are normally used to represent negative feelings in symbolism. But in Japan there is no other film as representative of expressionism for Japanese audiences as Caligari. At that time the film Caligari was expressionism. Playwright Osanai Kaoru writes that this is a confusion, that the film Caligari is only one kind of expressionism. For reviews of these works in Japan, see Hirai/ Tadashi (1985), Sukuri-n j ō no de-mon (III). In: Hirai/ Tadashi (ed). Doitsu Eiga-shi, Tokyo: Tokyo Doitsu Bunka Senta-, 2 - 21. About “ On Von morgens bis mitternachts ” , Kawamoto/ Kazuhiko (1981), Doitsu Hyougen-shugi Eiga. Engeki-gaku 22, Tokyo: Waseda Daigaku engeki gakkai: 72 - 74, 69 - 75. Incidentally, in the Kinema Junp ō film magazine a viewer sends a comment, “ All advertisements in department store windows are influenced by Caligari. ” During this era the notion that German expressionist cinema is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari became widespread. Sas ō / Tsutomu (1991), 1923 Mizoguchi Kenji “ Chi to rei ” , Tokyo: Chikuma-Shob ō , 67, 70. Sasazawa Yoshiaki criticizes that understanding of expressionism in 1925 by commenting 246 Satoru Yamada <?page no="247"?> Surely, shooting a film like this, the product of a madman ’ s illusion, cannot be done on a whim. It requires a great effort, although I have always had the same idea myself. The relationship between illusion and reality is well planned. The director shows us the asylum where Francis is hospitalized in the beginning, then invites us to contemplate Francis ’ illusion to describe the progress of the murders. Finally, he shows us the asylum again at the end of the film. The way it ends is great. 4 Meanwhile, he doesn ’ t forget to make negative criticism about the details. I fear that there is a mismatch between the scene decorations and the actors ’ performances. Since the decoration is so unrealistic, it would be better for the actors to act unnatural and histrionic. Although the decoration in the background is made of shadow paintings that create great deep perspectives, every time the actors walk in front of it, the illusion it creates is broken. [ … ] I think [ … ] that the director should direct in a symbolist way. ” 5 The world of Japanese cinema around 1921 In 1921 cinema was still not an art in Japan, because it just did not have the basis for transculturation of cinema for the Japanese because not even half a century had gone by since the radical westernization. 6 As Japanese people did not know anything about western life, the benshi gave explanations about western objects, customs and other things on the screen; however, they were not specialists on such subjects, just the ones who have good eloquence in order not to break the charm of the film. Japanese cinema only served to spread to the public popular entertainment such as kabuki or shinpa, as narimono live music used in kabuki constantly accompanied films, because there were no good filmmakers to create original that the film Caligari is not the only expression of expressionism. Sasazawa/ Yoshiaki (1925 (04)), Hy ō gen ha ni okeru shi no honshitsu, Nihonshijin, Shinch ō -sha, Tokyo: 50, 50 - 56. 4 Tanizaki/ Junichir ō (2018), Karigari hakase wo miru. In: Nemoto/ Ry ū ichir ō (ed.) Bung ō bunshi ga aishita eiga tachi: shouwa no sakka eigaron korekushon, Tokyo: Chikumabunko, 7 - 10. 5 Tanizaki (2018: 8). 6 The Tokugawa shogunate takes Sakoku, the policy of closing the diplomatic door to foreign countries until 1854. The new Meiji government founded in 1868 ended it for urgent westernization of the country in the face of the threat of western colonialism. In this context, cinema arrived in Japan. In the 1890s, imported film was projected. The first Japanese film Momiji gari was released in 1903. Aoyama/ Takako (2014), Monogataru media to “ koe ” ni yoru minsh ū bunka -Taish ō ki ni okeru katsud ō benshi no “ katachi ” wo ch ū sin ni-. Shougaigakush ū Shakai ky ō iku kenky ū ja-naru 8. Tokyo: Shougaigakush ū shakai ky ō iku sokushin kik ō : 43, 44, 39 - 58. The failure of the diffusion of German cinema expressionism in Japanese cinema 247 <?page no="248"?> Japanese cinema. 7 The problem of shinpa is that they are all very similar and simple, only meant for public entertainment. For example, many shinpa films are about the love of a good couple the bad guys ’ s conspiracy, but most of the stories end happily. Shinpa movies are tear-jerkers, so they “ have no real humans, no real human feelings ” . 8 In addition to all this, theaters in general have a very flat stage, very homogeneous horizontally from the frontal point of view, without an established frame as a cinema, so the rhythm of a play in general is different from a film. Japanese theater moves slowly as emakimono, Japanese roll paintings. For this reason, Japanese films imitate theater in the sense that they have no space to introduce multi-point scenes such as “ close-ups ” or “ general shots ” . Everything is fitted into the same frame, and that is why the benshi played an important role adding character to each film. Shinpa films can carry their own character through the narration of the benshi. Even if the actors play poorly, the benshi can correct it through the narration. On the other hand, the benshi began to take over the dubbing as well. They “ adapted ” silent films and with their words they gave consistency to the plot from their own point of view, adding a rhythm of their own. During this era, when people wanted to go to the movies they said: “ Let ’ s go listen to the benshi. ” 9 Naturally, the benshi is a star, and apart from the films ’ titles it is mainly their names that appear on cinema advertisements in the newspapers. The benshi transformed cinema into another kind of art. Therefore, in 1917, film director Kaeriyama Norimasa put forward the “ purecinema ” movement, stating the need for actresses, expelling the oyama, the benshi, and explanatory subtitles as the external factors of Japanese cinema. 10 In this context, in 1918 Tanizaki wrote a chilling horror novel Jinmenso (The Gangrene of the Human Gesture), in the style of Caligari, but before its arrival. Although the writer hoped for the adaptation of that novel, he understood that this would not be possible. 11 7 Tanaka/ Junichir ō (1975). Nihon eiga hattatsu-shi dai1, Tokyo: Ch ūō kouron-sha, 147. Nishikawa/ Akiyuki (2016). Nihon eiga 100 nenshi, Tokyo: Gomashin-shob ō , 29, 30. Shinpa, “ new school ” , is a theatrical style born in 1887, based in kabuki style looking for another innovative theatrical style. On shinpa, Sat ō / Kaoru (1961). Nihon no gein ō , Tokyo: S ō gen-sha, 262286. 8 Hensh ū kyoku (1918). Eiga kyakuhon ni tsuite. In: Katsud ō no sekai (04), Tokyo: Katsud ō no sekai-sha: 5, 2 - 6. 9 Yoshida Chieo, excerpted from Aoyama (2014: 40). 10 Oyama is the Japanese theatrical term for the actor to representing female characters in kabuki. The first Japanese actress appear in 1919. 11 The writer Sat ō Haruo, despite his admiration for Caligari, writes that the plot of this film has already reached the limit of expressionism, thinking that he cannot shoot the story of 248 Satoru Yamada <?page no="249"?> Under these circumstances The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari arrives in Japan, Kinugasa T ē nosuke, an oyama, was worried about the poor quality of acting performances. In 1920 the 4 production companies started hiring not only actors, but also actresses. 12 Gradually, “ Japanese cinema ” starts to be the normal cinema. Under that circumstance Kinugasa T ē nosuke picks up the camera and starts to work as a director, also writing the scripts, retired from oyama. It will be the natural course of things that the director looking for his own language becomes attracted to expressionist films. He shot Kurutta Ippe-ji (A Page of Madness) in 1926, but it caused great controversy. In 1923 Mizoguchi Kenji shoots the film Chi to rei (Blood and Soul) inspired by Caligari. The decoration and costumes of this film are entirely Caligari style. The film deals with murder and illusion, but it also turns out to be a failure. In this article, I will explore three failed attempts by proposing the hypothesis that the cause of the failures lies in the peculiar character of japanese cinema formed by the benshi. Jinmenso (Tanizaki Junichir ō , 1918) In the novel, whose protagonist is a film actress who expresses well Tanizaki ’ s desire for “ pure-cinema ” , he describes camera movements or the gestures of the protagonist in the film Jinmenso, that is the center of the novel, as if it were a script for the actors. 13 Curiously, Tanizaki does not mention the benshi in it at all, ordinary people of the same expressionism. Sat ō / Haruo (2006). Caligari hakase. In: Sat ō Shinji (ed.) Kinema no bungakushi. Tokyo: Sinya sousho-sha, 11 - 13. 12 In 1923 Ō ta Kich ō asserts about benshi that explanation is not essential for art. Gonda Yasunosuke writes that, although it is necessary, the benshi has to narrate in film not by flaunting his eloquence, but should speak by suppressing his presence in a neutral manner. On Ō ta ’ s opinion, Aoyama (2014: 40, 48). Gonda/ Yasunosuke (1975). In: Gonda/ Yasunosuke, Gonda Yasunosuke chosakuch ū dai4, Tokyo: Bunwa-shob ō , 127, 128. 13 The synopsis of Jinmenso is as follows. Yurie, an actress who has achieved success in Hollywood, learns of a rumor of a movie in which she appears, Jinmenso, although she does not remember it. In the movie, the prostitute Ayame wants to elope with her western boyfriend. For the escape, she asked the help of a beggar in love with her. The beggar asked her to sleep with him for one night as a reward. But, Ayame tricked him to take advantage of him and then ran away. The beggar commits suicide expressing his resentment towards Ayame. When he has the wound on her knee, the gangrene that has the beggar ’ s gesture appears on her knee. This gangrene begins to control her. The translator of the cinema H informs Yurie that, if he watches that movie only at night, the viewer goes crazy. According to H, the American production company will buy it, which will be released worldwide. Tanizaki, Junichir ō (2020). Jinmenso. In Saizu-sha hensh ū -bu, Bung ō Tachi ga kaita kaidan: Saizu-sha, 105 - 132. The failure of the diffusion of German cinema expressionism in Japanese cinema 249 <?page no="250"?> as if it would not exist. He treats Jinmenso as modern style film. We can see here the innovative concept of the writer about cinema; he understands that films like Jinmenso convey things to the viewers not by logical explanation, but metaphysically. He knows that the coherent explanations of the benshi are not adequate to produce fear, morbidness, uneasiness in the film. The writer understood that he could not make the film Jinmenso in his time. In the review of Caligari he writes that at that time no Japanese director could make a film like Caligari, and that even if such film could be made, he doubts whether the public would accept it because of its hermetic language. But, hoping that such films will be accepted, he states that people will go to the movies if Japanese directors start making such films soon. 14 Since 1917, it is required to submit a summary of the film to the police to become a benshi, so the suitability of the benshi could be controlled to avoid that the public could be confused about films whose subject opposed to the general thought of the time in Japan. Benshi are tools of the authorities as well. 15 Surely, considering the previous experiences of theatrical plays that had been banned by censorship, Tanizaki considers the benshi as an obstacle for the adaptation of Jinmenso for film. 16 In addition, the writer leaves many riddles unanswered for the readers to create a mysterious and horrifying atmosphere. 17 The spirit of the novel itself is opposed to the explanations of the benshi. The fact that there are no benshi in the novel is logical. Kurutta ippe-ji (Kinugasa T ē nosuke, 1926) It is a very radical and controversial film. 18 It boldly removes all the explanatory subtitles for viewers to use the senses. The film shows a series of poetic images 14 Tanizaki (2018: 10). 15 Gerow Andrew/ Aaron (2010). Eiga-shi wo yominaosu, Tokyo: Iwanami-shoten, 138 - 153. 16 Makino/ Mamoru (2003). Nihon eiga kenetsu-shi, Tokyo: Gendai-shokan, 102. 17 The unanswered mysteries of the novel are: Who is the beggar? Why does only Yurie ’ s name appear in the actor ’ s credit in the film? How did he shoot the impossible to manipulate part of the photographic exhibition? Where does the gangrene ’ s voice come from those viewers hear when they see her alone at night? and why is H ’ s last tone menacing? 18 The synopsis of the film is as follows. A janitor works in an asylum. A young woman arrives there and is surprised to see the janitor, her father. Her mother is admitted there for mental problems due to abuse by her husband. The husband, feeling guilty, took a job at the asylum to take care of her. The daughter informs him that she will get married, but the janitor is concerned about the prejudice against mental patients at the time. If her 250 Satoru Yamada <?page no="251"?> with a lot of rhythm, telling the story in an abstract way. The film keeps a rhythm with many shots and contrast between dark and light, because the director ’ s purpose is not to tell a story, but to show a sequence of poetic images. However, the famous benshi Tokugawa Musei took care of the explanations. Most of the reviews, negative or positive, mention the impossibility of capturing the plot of the film. 19 Film critic Iwasaki Akira comments, I consider that cinema doesn ’ t need to be narrative [ … ]. It is enough to be intuitive Shinkankaku-ha (School of New Sensation) is on this point. [ … ], this film can be considered as different from other films. [ … ] The description of the illusion of a madman is good intellectual and cultured attempt more than Japanese drama films. 20 There is no bizarre decoration, like Caligari ’ s expressionist paintings. All the decoration in the scenes is realistic; however, the position of the camera complicates the story. While Caligari ’ s camera is in front of the scene like a theater, which means that the point of view is objective, Kinugasa places the camera freely, as he does not take the subjective position of the protagonist for the sequence of his illusion and the protagonist himself appears in his illusion. In addition, the director removed the explanatory subtitles. 21 The film is quite airtight for the audience, but that is the aim of the director. However, Kinugasa could decide to remove the benshi explanations to his work, probably considering the feelings of the public, but this is contradictory. There is an interesting review of Caligari, written by the society critic Koike Mub ō : “ The benshis of Caligari, [ … ] are eloquent, but for this reason they invade fiancé ’ s family finds out everything, the marriage may be called off. One day he is involved in the inmates ’ fight and is reprimanded by the boss. These affairs lead the janitor into a series of fantasies. First, he dreams of winning a chest of drawers in the lottery, which he could give to his daughter as her dowry. When his daughter tells him that his marriage is in trouble, he plans to disappear with his wife, but the vision gets out of hand as he sees a bearded recluse marry his daughter. Finally, the janitor dreams of distributing masks to the inmates, providing them with happy faces. The plot device of the film is that after viewing the film, viewers learn that most of the image is of the janitor ’ s illusion. The influence of Caligari is clear. 19 The film critic Yosida Yasuji claims that the film that does not tell the story is absurd. Gerow Andrew/ Aaron (1998). Eiga no ta no kanousei. -Kurutta ippe-ji no juy ō to eiz ō no k ō -do ka. In: Gengo bunka (15), Meiji gakuin daigaku gengo bunka kenky ū -jo, Tokyo: 71, 72, 66 - 80. 20 Paku/ Sonbe (2003). Kurutta Ippe-ji ni okeru eigateki jikken no kousatsu, Eiga-gaku 17, Tokyo: Waseda Engeki-gakkai: 169, 163 - 173. Shinkankaku-ha is a literary school. One of its members is Kawabata Yasunari, who won the 1968 Nobel Prize in Literature, and was one of the 4 screenwriters (including Kangas himself ) of Kinugasa ’ s film. 21 Kan ō (1986: 10). The failure of the diffusion of German cinema expressionism in Japanese cinema 251 <?page no="252"?> my mind left in the silent world (by effect of the film). ” 22 The same happened in Kinugasa Teinosuke ’ s film. The truth is that Kinugasa himself reshooted the expressionist film J ū jiro (Crossroad,1928) without a benshi and achieved box-office and critical success, even internationally. However, German expressionism could not be the great cinematic trend in Japan. 23 Chi to rei (Mizoguchi Kenji, 1923) The world-famous Japanese director shot an expressionist film at the beginning of his career. As no film is currently preserved, I will simply comment on it based on photos of the scenes or articles from the time of the release. Mizoguchi shot Chi to rei using expressionist decoration in the style of Caligari, but the film itself received bad reviews, considered as a mere copy of the expressionist movement. Mizoguchi and Ō izumi Kokuseki, the writer of the original book, themselves consider it a failure just as they did not mention Chi to Rei for the rest of their lives. 24 The writer himself mentions: “ It is the first Japanese expressionist film, so the actors had to work very hard to make it. About the decoration [ … ] I think it was acceptable enough. [ … ] Japanese actors don ’ t understand expressionism. ” 25 All the reviews criticize the actors in the same way. 26 In fact, as we have already mentioned, actors ’ performances were in general quite bad, as they were 22 Koike/ Mub ō (1921), Hyougenha geijutsu toshiteno Karigari hakase. Katsud ō -kurabu (07), Katsud ō hyouron-sha. Tokyo, 48 - 49. 23 J ū jiro is infatuated by Die Strasse (Karl Gurne. in Japan: 1925) and Der Letzte Mann (Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. in Japan: 1926) which Kingasa himself gives as the ideal film for him in a magazine. Yamamoto/ Kikuo (1983), Nihon eiga ni okeru gaikoku eiga no eiky ō , Waseda Shuppan-kyoku, Tokyo: 140. After the failure of Kurruta Ippe-ji, Kinugasa did a lot of research into the technique of light and editing, shooting the “ star-system ” films of Hayashi Ch ō jir ō . This contributed to J ū jiro ’ s success. He no longer uses expressionist paintings for decoration. It is also apparent that the understanding of German expressionism has advanced in Japan among the intellects. On the works of Kinugasa between Kurutta Ippe-ji and Jujiro, Gerow/ Aaron (2008). A page of Madness: Cinema and Modernity, in 1920s Japan, Ann Arbor: Centre for Japanese Studies, the U of Michigan: 20, 21. 24 For plot and scenes, see Eiga-monogatari, “ Chi to rei ” . In: Katsud ō no zasshi, excerpted from Sas ō (1991: 131 - 139). 25 Oizumi/ Kokuseki, “ Chi to rei ” to hy ō gen ha eiga. In: Katsud ō kurabu, 1924 (01), excerpted from Sas ō Tsutomu (1991: 143). 26 One review says: “ [ … ] apart from the protagonist only more or less traps, the total film conveys nothing of the original characters of expressionist cinema such as ‘ enthusiasm ’ , ‘ impatience ’ , ‘ rebellion ’ or ‘ sickly sensibility ’ . ” (T ō ky ō nichi nichi shinbun of October 11 252 Satoru Yamada <?page no="253"?> unnecessary due to the presence of the benshi ’ s explanations. Specialized cinema actors started to appear just at the time of the release of Chi to rei. It would still be premature to understand expressionism. Conclusion Japanese cinema in its early days was not really “ cinema ” due the presence of benshi, but another kind of art in practice. The moviegoers did not understand the plot of the film by watching the screen, but they enjoyed listening to the eloquence of the benshi. Cinema was the art of “ listening ” . Moreover, there was still a lack of film creators for the Japanese cinema itself. Therefore, the arrival of expressionist cinema, showing terror and other morbid sensations through grotesque decoration or the contrast of shadow and light was quite shocking to the Japanese. Directors and critics were stimulated by the innovative language. Tanizaki Junichir ō wanted an adaptation of Jienmenso for film. Interestingly, Jinmenso has no reference about benshi, as if benshi would not exist. Considering also that the protagonist is a cinema actress that did not exist, Tanizaki deeply hoped that cinema would become independent from theaters and the benshi. Mizoguchi Kenji deals with the shooting of the first expressionist film in Japanese in 1923, Chi to rei. In this film Mizoguchi sets up the decoration of the scenes with expressionist art exactly in the same style as Caligari, but it completely fails. It is affected by the lack of understanding of the actors ’ performances, that were poor due to the influence of the benshi. Kinugasa T ē nosuke was another director who shot an expressionist film. It tells the story of an asylum where reality and illusion of the protagonist are intermingled. Regardless of whether viewers could understand the plot, he shot a poetic visual film, not narrative, because he wanted to convey things to viewers metaphysically, but the film still had benshi. This is contradictory, because the explanations of the benshi usually give a concrete answer to the viewer, while visual poems let them use their senses and imagination. Although there is a doubt whether the audience could have accepted the film without benshi because of the customs of the time, to keep the film coherent, Kinugasa should have cast aside the benshi. In 1929 the first sounded film in Japan is released. Since then, the benshi began to lose influence. in 1923). I guess the critics think that the actors must perform in an exaggerated manner like the reviews on Caligari. To read the reviews, Sas ō (1991: 144 - 146). The failure of the diffusion of German cinema expressionism in Japanese cinema 253 <?page no="254"?> I should add the Japanese cinema was still in the early days, therefore, it is quite normal that there were many problems for the evolution of cinema. Censorship was a big problem for Japanese cinema. Insufficient technique due to immaturity or the poor economic status of the Japanese was also a big obstacle to the reception of expressionism. 27 In addition, there is a possibility that the Japanese did not deeply understand the meaning of expressionism due to lack of knowledge of the Western social background. The arrival of expressionism was very premature for Japanese cinema. 27 Miyao/ Daisuke (2010). Kage no bigaku, Nagoya: Nagoya Daigaku shuppan-kai, 24, 25, 198 - 209. 254 Satoru Yamada <?page no="255"?> Contributors Carlo Avventi. After graduating from high school in Rome, Carlo Avventi moved to Germany, where he studied German Literature, Art History and Political Sciences. Following a PhD about Wim Wenders and Peter Handke he attended the Masterclass of the German-French Filmacademy. His passion for film found expression in his activities in various institutions such as the Film Museum of Munich and the Munich Film Festival as well as in his work as a film critic for several newspapers in Germany. Since 2008 he teaches Film at the University of Education Heidelberg specializing in international film, film theory and film production. He has published several articles on different film topics and film directors as well as books on Wim Wenders and on experimental film. He produced and directed shorts, feature films and documentaries selected and awarded at international film festivals and screened on television channels like ARTE and ZDF. E-mail address: carloavventi@yahoo.de Montserrat Bascoy Lamelas holds a BA in German from the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, where she earned a research scholarship to write her doctoral thesis. In 2007, she completed a PhD with a dissertation about the construction of literary myths in 19th century woman literature. Since 2011 she has been a Professor at the Department of Modern Languages of the Universidad de Alcalá and she has also taught a seminar on the didactics of German literature in the MA on German as a Foreign Language at the Universidad de Salamanca. Her research has mainly been devoted to the study of German literature written by women from the end of the 19th century until today. Among other topics, she deals with autobiographical or auto-fictional writings with a focus on female identity, on socio-political realities from a female perspective or the experience of migration and exile. She concentrates mainly on less known authors, whose work is deserving of more attention. She has also conducted research in the field of comparative literature and popular culture. Her most recent publications focus on the work of authors such as Lisa Fittko, Julia Rabinowich, Olga Grjasnowa or Alina Bronsky. E-mail address: montserrat.bascoy@uah.es <?page no="256"?> Ingrid Cáceres Würsig, Associate Professor of German and Translation in the Department of Modern Languages of the Universidad de Alcalá. She holds an MA in Translation and she was awarded a PhD in Modern Languages by the Universidad Complutense de Madrid with a dissertation on the history of translation in international relationships. She has been granted scholarships to different institutions, such as the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the Ruhr- Universität Bochum and the European Commission. Her research focuses on the history of translation and interpreting, translation studies, on the reception and translation of historical Spanish-German texts, and on the study of German literature and culture of the 19th century. She is a member of the accredited research groups RECEPTION and FITISPos and collaborates with the research group OLE-6 (Universidad de Oviedo). She is participating in the financed research project AGLAYA (ref.: H2019/ HUM-5714) about myth criticism. Some of her recent publications are: “ Die erfolgreiche Geschichte vom Mann ohne Schatten in Spanien anhand der Übersetzungen ” (Universidad de Salamanca, 2022); “ La traducción de la poesía en lengua alemana en el siglo XIX (2021, Portal de Historia de la Traducción en España); “ El Quijote en un cómic alemán: trasposición y actualización de la narrativa cervantina ” (Peter Lang, 2018) E-mail address: ingrid.caceres@uah.es María Jesús Fernández-Gil (ORCID 0000-0001-8813-6401) holds a MA in Translation and Intercultural Mediation and she was awarded a PhD (special honours) in English Studies by the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain). She is an Associate Professor at the Universidad de Alcalá, where she teaches courses on both the English Studies and the Modern Languages and Translation programs. Her research interests include Holocaust remembrance and representation and Translation Studies. She has published extensively. Her most recent book-length publications are Traducir el horror (Peter Lang, 2013) and El papel (est)ético de la literatura en la conmemoración del Holocausto (Dykinson, 2013). She has also presented papers at conferences both home and abroad and published articles in various national and international journals as well as in multi-author volumes. She is currently involved in a funded research project: ACIS&GALATEA (https: / / acisgalatea.com/ ) and is a member of the research groups RECEPTION (Universidad de Alcalá) and MIDEL (Universidad de Alicante). E-mail address: mj.fernandezg@uah.es Jesús Ferrer Cayón, PhD, PDI of the International Center for Advanced Spanish Studies (CIESE-Comillas), as well as a member of the RECEPTION Research Group (CCHH2010/ R24) of the University of Alcalá. His main line of research is the political history of Spanish music of the twentieth century. 256 Contributors <?page no="257"?> Monographic study: The Santander International Festival (1932 - 1958). Culture and politics under Franco (Libargo, 2016). Article: “‘ España es diferente … España cambia de piel ’ . Of the Festivals of Spain (1954) to the 1st International Biennial of Contemporary Music of Madrid (1964): Avant-Garde Music for the Francoist Technocracy ” , Contemporary Music Review, 38, 1 - 2 (2019), pp. 24 - 43. Preliminary study: “ Federico Sopeña: music, humanism and festivals in Europe, 1943 - 1969: ‘… an continuous obligation to meditate ’” (University of Cantabria, 2017, pp. 11 - 188). Chapters: “ The integral of Beethoven ’ s symphonies at the 1953 Santander Festival: Ataúlfo Argenta and the ‘ Hispanic assimilation of the great European style ’ in a sociological and political key ” , in T. Cascudo (ed.): An Iberian Beethoven: two centuries of cultural transfer (Comares, 2021, pp. 305 - 326); “ London Calling, 1952: ‘ Economic Aid ’ for the composer Robert Gerhard? The Duenna, Don Quixote and The Spanish Institute in London ” , en VV.AA., The composer Robert Gerhard. Human Heritage (Biblioteca d ’ Estudis Vallencs, vol. XLIX, 2017, pp. 261 - 280). E-mail address: jesusferrercayon@gmail.com Carmen Gómez García PhD is Associate Professor of German Literature and Translation at the Department of German Studies at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM), Spain. She is the coordinator of the Master ’ s Degree in Literature Studies at the same institution, where she also teaches in the Master ’ s Degree in Literary Translation. She has also been part of the teaching staff at CES Felipe II-UCM and at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares (UAH) in Madrid. In addition, she has worked at several universities in Germany ( Jena, Weimar, Heidelberg, Berlin) and for the «Atril del traductor» of the Centro Virtual Cervantes, an online translation platform. Moreover, she has organised several translation courses and congresses, and has extensive experience as a professional translator for major Spanish publishing houses, where she has translated authors as diverse as Stefan George, W. G. Sebald, Gustav Regler, Elfriede Jelinek, Marcel Beyer, Hilde Domin or nowadays Friedrich Nietzsche, Hans Jürgen von der Wense and Navid Kermani. Her research is focused mainly on contemporary literature and translation, most notably Expressionism and German Literature of the 19 th , 20 th and 21st centuries. She has written book chapters and articles in both Spanish and foreign journals including El género programático alemán (1900 - 1914); Stefan George: «Nada hay donde la palabra quiebra»; Hilde Domin: «La gata andaluza» y otros textos en prosa. Other work includes editing and co-editing several monographs such as Nietzsche: filósofo, filólogo, poeta (with Óscar Quejido; Trotta, 2022), Revolution! Deutschsprachige Kulturen im Umbruch 1918 - 1918 (with Teresa Cañadas and Linda Maeding; Contributors 257 <?page no="258"?> Erich Schmidt Verlag, 2022). She is currently writing a monograph on Literary Expressionism. E-mail address: carmengomezg@pdi.ucm.es María Carmen Gómez Pérez is a PhD Associate Professor in the Department of Romance, French, Italian and Translation Studies of the Complutense University of Madrid (Spain). She holds a degree in German Language Studies from the University of Salamanca and a postgraduate degree in Audiovisual Translation and Localization from ISTRAD-University of Cádiz. She holds a PhD from the University of Salamanca and has specialized in the field of translation teaching with particular emphasis on the identification and therapy of errors in the learning process, both in general translation and audiovisual translation. She is a member of the research group (UCM) Aplicaciones de las Tecnologías a la Traducción y su Docencia, the teaching innovation group ARENA (UNED): Accesibilidad, tRaducción audiovisual y aprEndizaje de lenguAs, and the R+D+i research project TRADILEX (UNED). E-mail address: margom04@ucm.es Roland Innerhofer, PhD, retired university professor, emeritus university professor for Modern German Literature at the Institute for German Studies at Universität Wien. Numerous contributions to 19th and 20th century literature; fantasy, utopia and science fiction; theory and practice of the avant-gardes; media aesthetics, media cultural studies and knowledge poetics; interrelationship of literature, technology, architecture, film and new media. Currently director of the project on the development and indexing of the arts “ Das Verschwinden des Archivs ” . Selected book publications: Deutsche Science Fiction 1870 - 1914. Rekonstruktion und Analyse der Anfänge einer Gattung. Wien, Köln, Weimar: Böhlau 1996. Reprint: Berlin: de Gruyter 2017; Architektur aus Sprache. Berlin: Erich Schmidt 2019; Mitherausgeber: Okopenko, Andreas: Tagebücher 1949 - 1954. Digitale Edition. Wien 2019. www.edition.onb.ac.at/ okopenko; Teilweise Musil. Kapitelkommentare zum “ Mann ohne Eigenschaften ” . Erster Band: Eine Art Einleitung. Berlin: Vorwerk 8 2020; Andreas Okopenko: Tagebücher aus dem Nachlass (1945 - 1955). Wien: Klever 2020; Sehnsucht nach dem Leben. Tradition und Innovation im Werk Hugo von Hofmannsthals. Wien: Praesens 2021; Planen - Wohnen - Schreiben. Architekturtexte der Wiener Moderne. Wien: Picus 2021. E-mail address: roland.innerhofer@univie.ac.at Manuel Maldonado-Alemán, PhD, studied German, Philosophy and History at the University of Cologne. From 1989 he was a research assistant at the 258 Contributors <?page no="259"?> University of Seville. In 1994 he received his PhD with a doctoral thesis on reception theory and pragmatics of Literature. Since 1996 he is a Professor of Modern German Literature at the University of Seville. His research projects focus on German literature after unification and on history, memory and literature. He is the author of numerous publications on German-language literature of the 19th-21st centuries. His research has focused on Reception and systems theory, Expressionism and Dadaism, German-language contemporary literature, literary discourses of memory and identity constructions. His latest publications include (selection): Literarische Inszenierungen von Geschichte. Formen der Erinnerung in der deutschsprachigen Literatur nach 1945 und 1989. Wiesbaden: Metzler 2018 (co-edited with Carsten Gansel); Realistisches Erzählen als Diagnose von Gesellschaft. Berlin: Okapi Wissenschaft 2018 (coedited with Carsten Gansel); „ Krieg, Frieden, Pazifismus “ / „ Humanität und Humanismus “ . In Stefan-Zweig-Handbuch. Walter de Gruyter: Berlin/ Boston 2018, 732 - 738, 743 - 748 (edited by Arturo Larcati, Klemens Renoldner und Martina Wörgötter); Historia, espacio y memoria en la narrativa actual en lengua alemana. Madrid: Síntesis 2020; “ Das Vergangene erzählen. Wende und Vereinigung in der deutschen Prosaliteratur ” . In Zwischen Aufbruch und Krise. Narrative Auseinandersetzungen mit der spanischen Transición und der deutschen ,Wende ’ . Heidelberg: Universitätsverlag Winter 2022, 163 - 181 (edited by Stefan Schreckenberg and Daniel A. Verdú Schumann). E-mail address: mmaldonado@us.es Celia Martínez García, PhD, Bachelor in Media Studies (2005) and Musicology (2007) at the Complutense University (Madrid). PhD (2015) in film music analysis and film music narratology, obtaining the highest grade (Summa Cum Laude), a European Mention and the Outstanding Doctoral Award for her PhD dissertation. Since 2009 she lives in Berlin, where she has focused on German film history and German history in film at the Humboldt Universität, becoming member of the educational program of the Deutsche Kinemathek since 2016. In the present she works at the International University of La Rioja (UNIR) in three Master ’ s degree programs: Musical Education, Musical Research and Cultural Management. She is memeber of the Spanish Society of Musicology and regularly attends and participates in European conferences about film and music, having focused her research on film music narratology, German film and the representation of German history through film and music. E-mail address: celia.mart.garcia@gmail.com Jorge Marugán Kraus, Psychoanalyst, PhD in Psychology from the Complutense University of Madrid, Professor of the Department of Research and Contributors 259 <?page no="260"?> Psychology in Education and of the Master in Psychoanalysis and Theory of Culture at the Complutense University of Madrid. Since 2015, he has been teaching the seminar Do you want to understand Lacan? (in press). She has written numerous works related to Freud and Lacan, including Género y diferencia sexual (Ángel Garma Prize 2019 for the best research work awarded by the Spanish Association of Neuropsychiatry); “ Génesis del sujeto y el objeto en la novela ‘ El Perfume ’ de Süskind ” in the Revista Clínica Contemporánea del Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid (2009) and El deseo homosexual de Sigmund Freud y su travesía por lo femenino (Editorial Manuscritos, 2009). E-mail address: jmarugank@yahoo.es Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina is an Associate Professor of German Culture at University of Alcalá in Madrid. She is the founder and leader of the Research Group “ Reception Studies ” RECEPTION of the Universidad de Alcalá and one of the head researchers of the research group “ Estrategias de Innovación en Mitocrítica Cultural ” (H2019/ HUM-5714 AGLAYA-Reception). She holds a BA in German completed a PhD (special honours) in Musicology at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid with a dissertation about the Reception of Richard Wagner ’ s works in Madrid. Since 1997 she has taught courses in German Language, Culture and Translation. Her research mainly focuses on Spanish- German cultural reception in the 20th and 21 st Centuries. Her last publications include “ The Siegfried Myth in Opera and on Film: from Richard Wagner to Fritz Lang ” in Germanic Myths in the Audiovisual Culture (Narr 2020: 17 - 32); “ La traducción operística en España. El caso de Der Ring der Nibelungen de Richard Wagner ” (Aquilafuente 2022); “ El mundo mítico de la ‘ Cueva de Montesinos ’ en la música para Don Quixote de Roberto Gerhard ” in Anales Cervantinos (2019) and Arnold Schönberg und Roberto Gerhard: Briefwechsel (Peter Lang 2019). E-mail address: paloma.urbina@uah.es Julia Magdalena Piechocki-Serra, born in Feldkirch/ Austria (1986), has a degree in Hispanic Philology and Art History from the University of Vienna (2012). She obtained a Master ’ s degree in Art History from the University of Salamanca (2014). Since 2013 she has been teaching German as a foreign language. She is currently Adjunct Professor in the Department of Modern Philology, German Philology area studies, of the University of Salamanca, teaching different syllabus of German language and literature. In the same institution, she concluded in the academic year of 2020/ 2021 her doctoral thesis in Germanist studies, specifically pursued in the PhD program in Modern Languages of the Faculty of Philology. Her privileged fields of research bring together German as a foreign language, inter-artistic studies and the materi- 260 Contributors <?page no="261"?> alities of communication, whose integration affects the collection and archive of the Vostell Museum in Malpartida de Cáceres. She recently published “ Das Museum im Unterricht und der Unterricht im Museum: Deutsch als Fremdsprache und interkulturelle Kompetenz im Rahmen des Museo Vostell ” (Peter Lang, 2022) E-mail address: julia.piechocki@usal.es Magda Polo Pujadas, PhD, is currently Associate Professor at the Art History Department of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), where she teaches Music History and Philosophy of music. In 1997, she earned her PhD in Philosophy at the Philosophy Faculty of the Universitat de Barcelona (UB). She received a competitive research grant from the Spanish government. She has published over 50 articles, book chapters and books: La estética de la música (UOC, Barcelona, 2008), Historia de la música (Publican, Santander, 5th ed. 2019), La música de los sentimientos. Filosofía de la música de la Ilustración (Editum, Murcia, 2nd ed. 2012), Música pura y música programática en el Romanticismo (Auditorio, Barcelona, 2011), Filosofía de la música del futuro (P UZ, Zaragoza, 1ª ed. 2011, 2ª ed. 2017), Pensamiento y música a cuatro manos (Editum, Murcia, 2nd ed. 2015), Filosofía de la danza (Ediciones de la UB, Barcelona, 2015), Pure and Programme music in the Romanticism (Publican, Santander, 2016) and Pensamiento musical (Publican, Santander, 2nd ed. 2020). She is a member of the research groups AGLAYA (UCM), RECEPTION (UAH), Athena Musica (UNIBO), Art, Architecture and New materials (UB), PCE (UB) and EICA (UB). E-mail address: magda.polo@ub.edu Francisco Javier Sánchez-Verdejo Pérez, PhD, is currently an Associate Professor at the UNED (National Distance Learning University), and at Castilla- La Mancha University (Spain). He holds a BA in English Studies, Language and Literature and a PhD in English Literature, with Cum Laude Honours. He is a specialist in Gothic literature: comparative literature, inter-relations among the literature of other languages, folklore, anthropology, religion, cinema, art … are his forte. As well as contributing in International Conferences, he has several high impact scientific publications. In 2009 he was awarded a scholarship at St. Joseph ’ s College in Dublin. He has been appointed as a National Expert at the National Erasmus+ Agency. In 2014 he was appointed to participate in the Program “ Pestalozzi ” , of the European Council. He has been invited to collaborate in several International Conferences, such as “ Interconnection: Languages and Cultures ” , in “ Plurilingualism and Interculturality in the European Educative Context ” ; Project Inter+; Programme ERASMUS+. At the end of 2020 he was appointed Honorary Professor at the Catholic University Contributors 261 <?page no="262"?> of New Spain (UCNE). In June 2021 he was nominated and elected Corresponding Academician of the International Academy of Social Sciences. He has just been elected member of the board of the European Foundation “ Jean Monnet ” . E-mail address: fjsanchezverdejo@valdepenas.uned.es Luis N. Sanguinet has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Rey Juan Carlos University. He completed the Master ’ s Degree in Audiovisual Production and Distribution at the film and theater school HDM El Submarino, the Film Criticism Course at the ECAM (the Madrid Film School) and the Master ’ s Degree in Criticism and Philosophical Argumentation at the Autonomous University of Madrid. He is member of the research group of the Complutense University of Madrid ATAD, which studies film text analysis and he is also member of the editorial staff of the communication journal Index Comunicación. Luis is currently a Ph. D. Student at the Rey Juan Carlos University. His doctoral thesis focuses on German expressionist cinema, under the joint supervision of Prof. Dr. Lorenzo Torres of the Rey Juan Carlos University and Prof. Dr. Malte Hagener of the Phillips University of Marburg, with the working title “ Symbologies of the Door in Weimar Expressionist Film ” . E-mail address: ln.sanguinet@alumnos.urjc.es Emilio Sierra García currently works as a collaborating professor at the San Pablo CEU University, including research and direction of works within the lines of research of teaching critical reflection to students, teaching through aesthetic experience, the psychological and pedagogical repercussion of the use of new technologies and the role of sport in education and the proper understanding of the body. He has also been a professor at the UESD of the subjects Fundamentals of philosophy I: Philosophy of life, Theories of the human essence Master-specialty in philosophy of being; The personal being, man and religion: Access to God and History of modern and contemporary philosophy. Regarding publications apart from the doctoral thesis (2021, UESD) he has participated in various international conferences at UCM, UESD and CHS. He is also a member of the OIRI research group at UESD on The unity and multidimensionality of human reason: extension of reason as a theorist of experience. E-mail address: emilio-si@hotmail.com Lorena Silos Ribas was awarded a PhD in German at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid with a dissertation on Swiss literature. She is now an Associate Professor at the Universidad de Alcalá, where she teaches courses in German language and translation. She has also taught at the Otto-Friedrich 262 Contributors <?page no="263"?> Universität Bamberg, at Queen Mary, University of London and at the Universidad de Barcelona. Her research concentrates on two main areas: namely, Swiss literature and the convergence of cultural spaces in literature and media, with a particular focus on literary translation and reception studies. She has published extensively and has contributed to numerous conferences and workshops, both in Spain and abroad. Her most recent publications are “ The Reception of German Drama of the Nineteenth Century in Spain ” (2021), “ The political dimension in the works of Robert Walser ” (2020) and “ Heidi goes Kawaii. The Evolution of Fräulein Rottenmeier in the Animated Versions of Johanna Spyri ’ s Novels ” (2020). She is a member of the research groups RECEPTION (Universidad de Alcalá) and INTRAL (Universidad Complutense de Madrid). E-mail address: lorena.silos@uah.es Satoru Yamada is a PhD student at the University of Valladolid, Spain. In 2014 he joined AICA (International Association of Art Critics) and published several articles on multiple sites. Meanwhile, he finished his Master ’ s Degree in Philosophy at Complutense University in 2016. Looking for subjects about the interaction between Western and Eastern cultures, he participated at the congress España-Japón arte hoy, where he worked as a member of the congress committee in 2015. His paper La influencia del arte japonés en el arte de Crajes y Anna Grimal was published in the book España-Japón arte hoy (Tirant Humanidades/ 2018). The same year he announced the investigation La asociación japonesa de caligrafía Bokujin-kai y la influencia que la crítica tuvo en la evolución de sus principios teóricos at the congress Crítica de arte: Crisis y renovación. It was published as an article in the book Crítica de arte: Crisis y renovación (Consulmedia House/ 2019). His last article, Soulages, Michaux, Malraux and Vieira da Silva, friends and inspirers of ZaoWou-Ki is being printed in the journal Imafronte. E-mail address: reportero_de_arte_y_cine@live.jp Cristina Zimbroianu holds a Master ’ s degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, specialisation Teaching English Through Literature, and a PhD in Reception Studies from the University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) and the Technical University of Madrid (UPM). Her teaching activities include Academic Writing, English for B2 level, Reading for Specific Purposes, and English for Academic and Professional Communication in Telecommunications Technology. As for her research, she is interested in analysing the reception of English and American literature in different countries during the fascist and communist Contributors 263 <?page no="264"?> regimes. From a comparative perspective, she focuses on the political and social aspects that influenced the reception of English literature in countries such as Spain and Romania, especially during the totalitarian regimes that governed both countries. This research has been published in European, Canadian and South American journals. E-mail address: cristina.zimbroianu@uam.es 264 Contributors <?page no="265"?> Bibliography Abellán, Manuel (1980). 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Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 133. 282 Bibliography <?page no="283"?> Popular Fiction Studies edited by Eva Parra-Membrives (†) and Albrecht Classen „Popular Fiction Studies“ befasst sich mit Texten, die in der wissenschaftlichen Tradition aufgrund ihres nicht-kanonischen Status oder ihrer Popularität marginalisiert worden sind und bislang nicht im Blickfeld der Literaturwissenschaft standen. Dabei werden Werke aus Genres wie Kriminalroman, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Liebesroman und Horror in den Blick genommen. Die Reihe möchte zum einen neue Perspektiven eröffnen sowie dazu anregen, Werke außerhalb des Kanons wahrzunehmen, und so traditionelle wissenschaftliche Kriterien zu hinterfragen. Die Literaturwissenschaft steht hier im Mittelpunkt, es werden aber auch Untersuchungen zu verwandten Medien wie Zeitschriften, Theater, Musik, Kunst, Film und Rundfunk angenommen. Publikationssprachen sind Deutsch, Französisch und Englisch. Bisher sind erschienen: 1 Eva Parra Membrives, Albrecht Classen (Hrsg. / Eds.) Literatur am Rand / Literature on the Margin Perspektiven der Trivialliteratur vom Mittelalter bis zum 21. Jahrhundert / Perspectives of Trivial Literature from the Middle Ages to the 21st Century 2013, 304 Seiten €[D] 68,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-6764-2 2 Albrecht Classen, Eva Parra-Membrives (Hrsg. / Eds.) Bestseller - gestern und heute / Bestseller - Yesterday and Today Ein Blick vom Rand zum Zentrum der Literaturwissenschaft / A Look from the Margin to the Center of Literary Studies 2016, 230 Seiten €[D] 68,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-6938-7 3 Eva Parra-Membrives, Wolfgang Brylla (Hrsg.) Facetten des Kriminalromans Ein Genre zwischen Tradition und Innovation 2015, 240 Seiten €[D] 78,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-6946-2 4 Albrecht Classen, Wolfgang Brylla, Andrey Kotin (Hrsg.) Eros und Logos Literarische Formen des sinnlichen Begehrens in der (deutschsprachigen) Literatur vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart 2018, 342 Seiten €[D] 78,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-8123-5 5 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina (Ed.) Germanic Myths in the Audiovisual Culture 2020, 218 Seiten €[D] 78,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-8300-0 6 Manuel Almagro-Jiménez / Eva Parra-Membrives (Eds. / Hrsg.) From Page to Screen / Vom Buch zum Film 2020, 410 Seiten €[D] 78,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-8367-3 7 Paloma Ortiz-de-Urbina (Eds. / Hrsg.) German Expressionism in the Audiovisual Culture / Der deutsche Expressionismus in den Audiovisuellen Medien 2022, 282 Seiten €[D] 78,00,- ISBN 978-3-8233-8545-5 <?page no="284"?> Popular Fiction Studies 7 ISBN 978-3-8233-8545-5 At the beginning of the 20th century, while the Expressionist movement was emerging in Germany, a new form of art took its first steps, combining image, language, and music: cinema. In Germany, Expressionist aesthetics had an enormous influence on this new medium, which can be seen in films such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922) or Metropolis (1927) and has left its mark to this day. This volume analyzes how themes, motifs, myths, and aesthetics of the expressionist cinema of the 1920s continue to impact the audiovisual media into the 21st century and what influence they still exert on Myth Criticism or popular genres such as Fantasy, Horror, or Science Fiction. Zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts machte zeitgleich mit dem Expressionismus eine neue Kunstform ihre ersten Schritte, die Bild, Sprache und Musik in sich vereinte: der Kinofilm. In Deutschland hatte die expressionistische Ästhetik einen enormen Einfluss auf dieses neue Medium, der sich in Filmen wie Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920), Der Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922) oder Metropolis (1927) zeigt und bis heute seine Spuren hinterlassen hat. Dieser Band analysiert, wie Themen, Motive, Mythen und Ästhetik des expressionistischen Kinos der 1920er Jahre in den audiovisuellen Medien bis ins 21. Jahrhundert fortwirken und welchen Einfluss sie auf Myth Criticism oder auf populäre Gattungen wie Fantasy, Horror oder Science Fiction nach wie vor ausüben.