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LESSON 2: Briefly elaborate what this expressionist form consists of and how it reflects the movement as a whole.

In the nineteenth century, specifically between 1905 and 1920, a movement known as Expressionism emerged in Europe and spread widely in various cities across German. Expressionism was a response to the popular anxiousness about humans getting more disconnected to the world and having no sense of being authentic and spiritual. As a result of impressionism and academic art, expressionism rose to respond to them. The symbolism of the trend for the expressionism movement provided a great inspiration. To convey its anxieties expressionism movement encouraged the system of form distortion and the use of intense colors. With the spreading of expressionism, the standards of art also changed. The art was derived from the artist feelings and not the components of the analysis of the art. The artists who participated in the expressionism movement championed for the individual freedom and exquisite thinking capability.

The expressionist movement in Germany was composed of artist, thinkers, and writers. Most of those artists had experienced the World War I and had already been of age. Expressionism laid the foundation for the abstract expressionism and neo-expressionism. The expressionism movement artists used several strategies that clearly portrayed their anger towards the discordant relationship between humans and art. They believed that art was about expressing the artists’ feelings and not about the impressing of others. Art had lost focus according to them. They often swayed their brushstrokes or sometimes swirl them, and in some instances, they exaggerated the brushstrokes to drive their messages to the masses and other artists.

The filmmakers in Germany depicted their support to expressionism through films. They used visual art to convey their information and wanted to bring back the real essence of art through visual representation. The expressionism movement in the film-making industry in Germany was considered a period that was classic to the cinema in Germany. The artists that were involved in the expressionism movement in Germany, their works were cited in most of the other great films of the world. Some of the filmmakers that were anxious about the breaking up of their cultures include Robert Wiene, Ernst Lubitsch, and Mumau.

Relate these general characteristics of Expressionism to the formal characteristics of Wiene's film and to the film's socio-political "message."

Expressionism in Germany applied the art of dark themes such as horror, madness, calamities and death. The inner feelings of the artists were expressed by the use of complete distortion and were all against the principle of realism. The use of heavy stylization was adopted, and it became the original style of expression of the exact world. The characters of the films in the era of expressionism were portrayed to live in a world of deformity. The use of deformities helped to direct and distinctly state the subjective outlook by abstracting the realistic details and contact.

The Cabinet of Caligari, a film which was done by a filmmaker called Robert Wiene was done in dark alleys of Hostenwall. In the movie, the buildings of the place are shown to be with windows and doors that are out of kilter, and the roofs are pointed. The story line of the movie portrays the message of a perverted world perspective. The narrator’s feelings are so confused and twisted, and so is the film of Robert Wiene. The film expresses the artists’ inner feelings in a twisted way by creating a twisted film as well. The buildings of the place where the film was shot are shown not to be proportional. The heights of the houses are not equal. Each house had its peak. The size of the windows and the doors also are not of the same size, and therefore they portray a message of insecurity. There was a complete distortion of the architecture of the region. The inconsistency of the overall appearance of the area catalyzes the feeling of insecurity. Fears is also another aspect that is addressed in the art object. The shapes were irregular, sharp and angular shapes bring out feeling of inequality. In an equal society means that some members are living in fear of the others. They are at the mercy of the high. The art of Robert in the film clarifies the subject of fear by using the sharp objects which are irregular and have angular shapes. It is evil in the society. The letter which is from Count Or looks is drafted in a way that there is no understandable comprehension. The writings of the letter are cryptic and further confuses the audience since the words are completely distorted. The letters represent evil.

The aspect of darkness between human and nature is clearly set out using the low light setting. The characters in the dark instill fear to the audience. The shadows of the characters are elongated as a result of the distance between them and the light. The darkness haunts the characters in the setting, and this stipulates the dark story world. The audience psychology is put into test by the use of shadows to create suspense. The narrator of the story here is the shadow that reflects the deeds of the characters. The clothing and the going make-up further emphasizes the state at which reality is distorted, and the movements are so exaggerated to show a sad state of psychological being. Mystery and disharmony are evoked by the showdown which is formed on the frame. The actions are well planned and choreographed to cast a particular shape of the shadow onto the frame.

The Germany expressionist emphasizes more on the story rather than the editing of the art. The art applied by the expressionist is further used in other films such as those of horror and thriller movies.

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