Triumph of The Will - film by Leni Riefenstahl Research Paper

Triumph of The Will - film by Leni Riefenstahl - Research Paper ExampleThe film that was purportedly made under Hitlers instructions (his name appears in the titles) contains extracts of speeches delivered by theNazi leadersand includes speeches byHitler that are intermixed with footage of the gathered supporters. The main theme of this documentary was to instill a ruling amongst the viewers that Germanywould return asa super power under Hitlers able leadership. Despite the director Riefenstahls claims that the film was a documentary, later its release in 1935, it was held as more of propagandafilm and was considered as one of the best propaganda films made in the history of cinematography.2 The techniques used in the movie ilk creating distorted images using a long focus lens, moving cameras, use ofaerial photography, and the innovative mix of cinematography with music (a new and revolutionary fancy at that time) turned it into one of thegreatest films ever made.3 The film won m any awards in Germany and in other parts of the world, the US,and it continues to turn documentaries and films counterbalance in the twenty-first century.4 This research paper explores the various facets of the movie, examines the concepts of art, documentary and propaganda, and analyses what transforms a documentary into a propaganda film. It will review various available literatures to derive that this film, despite claims by the director, is a documentary propaganda that attempted at portraying the Third Reich in a positive light. Discussion Films used as a popular mediocre for propaganda Propaganda manifests itself in various ways and during the years prior to WWII (1930s) its shape was framed by the place where it occurred, that is, Germany or the UK (the two main powers during the WW era). This is evident in the movies shadow Mail by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl that revealed various ways in which propaganda can be used to influe nce viewers. Propaganda has a negative outlook from an overall perspective, given its adverse effect on mass viewers as well as individual audiences, which is evinced even in the 21st century. The term by itself tends to carry a disagreeable connotation however, propaganda (under any conditions) can be classified as good or unpleasant depending on the benefits of the cause being portrayed through it and the degree of correctness of the information that is being relayed. In this context, it is interesting to note what Barnays wrote in his essay, In itself, the word propaganda has certain technical meanings which, like most things in this world, are neither good nor bad but custom makes them so.5 He define the process as a consistent, enduring effort to create or shape events to influence the relations of the public to an enterprise, idea or groupThis employ of creating circumstances and of creating pictures in tem minds of stack is very commonSometimes the effect on the public is created by a professional propagandist, sometimes by an unpaid deputed for the job. The important thing is that it is universal and continuous and in its sum total it is regimenting the public mind every bit as much as an soldiers regiments the bodies of its soldiers.6 Propaganda, which through the different eras were used to to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures, took in a new form in 20th century, where propaganda were used mainly by the ruling political orders and desire to pass information that would sway relevant groups of people in order to accommodate their agendas.7After the Lumiere brothers (1896) successfully used a film for propaganda, it became a popular tool for the various state governments and other non-state actors