Triumph of the Will - Documentary

Commentators consider the character of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Triumph
• Will
• Germany
• Riefenstahl

[R3dp055um]

Leni Riefenstahl was a cinematic genius. Judging an artist for the politics of the subjects of her art is beyond ridiculous.

That french man being interviewed says, "without the film the rally would not have existed". WTF kind of existentialist garbage is that? Reality is reality, whether or not it is documented.

No, I think what we have here is just a Frenchman who hates Germans.

[GZVidz]

The reality is, if you are a unknown filmmaker looking for work, you will do anything to get a job. And when you get that job, you do the best you can because you want more high paying work doing what you love. She made an unbelieveable documentary that was visionary for its time. Did Hitler consult her about whether he should invade Poland four years later? I doubt it.

[moparmonster1965]

@taxiuniversum I have to agree; I really couldn't say it any better. Whether she was a true believer or not, her contribution is undeniable.

There's a real suspension of disbelief when it comes to Nazisim and Germany's blind faith in it. People wanted to believe in something so badly because of the country's recent shitty economy and social turmoil that it gave them a cause to focus on, which opens the door for the atrocities to follow.

[moparmonster1965]

At our core, I think we all want to believe in something, to be part of a cause greater than ourselves, and to be one of the chosen. Hitler gave them exactly that and no one really considered that there was a dark underbelly until it was too late to change course.

[taxiuniversum]

@ tallulabella:

Exactly. She was delusional when she created the hysteria in favor of the nazis, and she was delusional just the same when she glossed over her actions after the war was over. It is sad for her skills, that they were wasted to this regime. But while it lasted, she had a terrific time - while other artists suffered in the camps and got gassed.

[taxiuniversum]

@ moparmonster1965:

What Riefenstahl did for Hitler and his gang of psychopaths went well beyond just providing for some meal and clean clothes - she orchestrated extremely powerful images that made gullible people believe in the nazis like others would believe in God. They say that in advertisement, emotions and "gut"-feeling are WAY more important than facts. Thus, she was a AWESOME advertiser for an evil regime - and helped to discredit anyone who rightfully warned of the nazis.

[tallulabella]

@flyingmagiccarpet I completely agree. Riefenstahl NEVER took any responsibility for the shameless propaganda she produced. She justified her actions by claiming that it was about "art", not politics. Pure cowardice! ALL her so-called "documentaries" do nothing more than glorify the "Third Reich" and propagate Nazi insanity. Compare her BS to the work of the REAL artists were forced into exile by the Nazis - it's shameful!

[moparmonster1965]

@taxiuniversum That's not exactly true; as Chancellor, the only person who could remove him from power was Hindenburg, so Hitler was always positive and even fawned over the aging leader, waiting for the day he died so he could merge the offices of Chancellor and President. That's what I meant in a previous post when I said that the German people woke up one day in a police state because once Hindenburg died, Hitler was the all-powerful and uncontested Fuhrer.

[moparmonster1965]

On the matter of anti-Semitism, something I forgot to mention is that the German populace commonly believed that the German army was betrayed-stabbed in the back-by, you guessed it, the Jews. Even Reichsprasident Friedrich Ebert told the returning troops that "no enemy has vanquished you."

[moparmonster1965]

The intended meaning was lost and taken to support for the notion that Germany had actually been on track to win the war, but was undermined by Jewish forces, the Weimar Republic, or the Communists, take your pick.

Hitler referred to this betrayal over and over again with the phrase "November criminals," in both his speeches and in Mein Krapf.

[taxiuniversum]

@ moparmonster1965:

I just said that the authors of the Treaty of Versailles were responsible for many bad consequences, but the concentration camps were built by the nazis. The British also had "concentration camps", as had the Americans. But they were nowhere as cruel as those of the nazis - and extermination camps such as Auschwitz existed NOWHERE else. And I agree: After a certain time had passed, resisting the nazis was pretty much a suicide mission.

[taxiuniversum]

@ moparmonster1965:

If I am informed correctly, Bismarck during his lifetime idiotically made the office of the Reichskanzler one that comes with unlimited power. So when decades later Hitler was given that office, he could easily take apart any lawfulness that still existed in Germany. Wise men know that they need to subordinate themselves under the law, when they want to impose law on others. But idiots do not stop at that - they always want ALL the power to themselves!