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Triumph of the Will, a nationalistic propaganda film created and directed by Leni Riefenstahl, is an overpowering poetic documentary that has the sole purpose of illustrating the power and superiority of the German nation. When this film was released in 1935, Germany is post WWI defeat. However, the people of Germany had something new to look forward to under the reign of Hitler. Hitler provided perspective with a new nationalistic light by which people of the Nazi party could blindly follow into the trenches of WWII. Riefenstahl’s structural schematic for the film as well as his stylistic choices such as the music and mise-en-scène, help to provide illustration to the subliminal message that Germany is more unified than it was previously, …show more content…
The term “poetic documentary” implies that there is not a direct narration conveying the specific message being propagated. As a result, Riefenstahl relies on repetitive shots to engrain his hidden message in the minds of the viewers. The first notable example of such repetition is the recurrent image of swastikas. Images of the swastika, the Nazi symbol meaning good fortune, is emblematic of the notorious rule that Hitler had over all of Germany. To show house after house in different settings with Swastikas on their front door, sends the message that Hitler’s grasp is far reaching. The swastika is representative of Hitler’s power and popularity as well. As a result, with the swastikas being shown on so many different houses in different areas, there is the additional message that Hitler is representative of the masses, and therefore everyone should buy into his rhetoric. In addition to the constant images of swastikas and the flags, Reifenstahl bombarded viewers with strings of equally powerful images of large groups of soldiers and civilians marching in uniform groups. Such recurring images reinforces the
Triumph of the Will, a nationalistic propaganda film created and directed by Leni Riefenstahl, is an overpowering poetic documentary that has the sole purpose of illustrating the power and superiority of the German nation. When this film was released in 1935, Germany is post WWI defeat. However, the people of Germany had something new to look forward to under the reign of Hitler. Hitler provided perspective with a new nationalistic light by which people of the Nazi party could blindly follow into the trenches of WWII. Riefenstahl’s structural schematic for the film as well as his stylistic choices such as the music and mise-en-scène, help to provide illustration to the subliminal message that Germany is more unified than it was previously, …show more content…
The term “poetic documentary” implies that there is not a direct narration conveying the specific message being propagated. As a result, Riefenstahl relies on repetitive shots to engrain his hidden message in the minds of the viewers. The first notable example of such repetition is the recurrent image of swastikas. Images of the swastika, the Nazi symbol meaning good fortune, is emblematic of the notorious rule that Hitler had over all of Germany. To show house after house in different settings with Swastikas on their front door, sends the message that Hitler’s grasp is far reaching. The swastika is representative of Hitler’s power and popularity as well. As a result, with the swastikas being shown on so many different houses in different areas, there is the additional message that Hitler is representative of the masses, and therefore everyone should buy into his rhetoric. In addition to the constant images of swastikas and the flags, Reifenstahl bombarded viewers with strings of equally powerful images of large groups of soldiers and civilians marching in uniform groups. Such recurring images reinforces the