“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” & “The Blue Angels”
Assignment: Using the two films identify three major themes that you can find through both films. Explain how the films develop these themes and what do they mean. How do these themes relate to the theme of nihilism we have been discussing? Examples of themes could be ‘love’ or ‘madness’. So for example you would explain what are the themes of love you find in both films how do they relate, how are these themes developed and how does it relate to nihilism?
Theme#1: Love
In the cabinet of Dr. Caligari Francis is in love with Jane and is protective of her. In The Blue Angel Rath is in love with Lola. Both these movies experienced love because Francis loves Jane so much he wants to protect her from Dr. Caligari. In the Blue Angel Rath falls in love with Lola that he is willing to sacrifice his job as a professor in order to be with Lola.
The theme Love relates to Nihilism because in the cabinet of Dr. Caligari they don’t show her loving him and much as he does. In the Blue Angel love in his life was short lived it didn’t last long. Lola wasn’t really in love with Rath because he sacrificed more than she did. Both Francis and Rath believed in their love interest while Jane and Lola didn’t demonstrate it.
Theme#2: Insanity
In the cabinet of Dr. Caligari he and his sleep walker Cesare are murdering people for no reason. In the Blue Angel after Rath sees his beloved Lola kissing someone else which drives him crazy. It makes him strangle Lola. Both these movies experienced insanity because they are not in a health mental state and act violently towards others.
The theme Insanity relates to nihilism because Dr. Caligari didn’t have any religious values and was an evil person. In the Blue Angel Rath loses control of himself and tries to strangle Lola. He doesn’t want to face the facts that Lola is no longer interested in him.
Theme#3: Sadness
In the cabinet of Dr. Caligari after Francis and his friend Alan visit a carnival in which they encounter the somnambulist Dr. Caligari and Cesare. Alan asks him, how long does he have to live? And Cesare answers till tomorrow at dawn in which Cesare kills him. It brings sadness to Francis when he finds out that his friend was killed. In the Blue Angel after Lola left Rath and was with someone else he felt sadness. He felt sadness because he felt that he lost everything Lola and his job as a professor. Both these movies experienced sadness and sorrow because they both felt like they lost something or someone.
The theme Sadness relates to nihilism because in the cabinet of Dr. Caligari Francis doesn’t want to believe what Cesare had told his friend Alan that he was destined to die. Francis knew it wasn’t fate he knew Dr. Caligari had something to do with his death. In the Blue Angel Rath doesn’t want to believe or accept that he lost everything.
you brought up a good point about sadness, i didn't really pay much attention to it. I'm glad that you pointed it out because it didn't even cross my mind to have that as a theme. It's true that they both, Professor Rath and Francis, felt the loss of something that meant a lot to them or something that was very dear to them, but at the end were both shocked as to how they got to that point.Professor Rath did not realize that he was able to prevent all of what he went through, but he decided to go after lust, not knowing that it was going to destruct his life and his career job.
ReplyDeleteRath and Francis both experienced sadness when once they knew what was once their happiness became melancholy to them and destruction to their life.
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