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Jean-Luc Godard: A Short Bibliography of Materials in the UC Berkeley Libraries

Certain tendency of the Hollywood cinema, 1930-1980 / Robert Beverley Ray.

Ray, Robert B. (Robert Beverley), 1943- . Certain tendency of the Hollywood cinema, 1930-1980 / Robert Beverley Ray. 0691047278 (alk. paper) : series Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1985.
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.U6 R38 1985

Wartime Germany: Concerts and cinema to the bitter end

Mommert. Wilfried . "Wartime Germany: Concerts and cinema to the bitter end," Deutsche Presse-Agentur 19 Mar 1995. LexisNexis. 29 Nov 2008

Nazi Germany had a thriving arts and entertainment culture until all theaters were shut down September of 1944 as a step toward pursuing “total war.” Up until this point, the theaters held regular showings of films and concerts despite the fact that many were destroyed by Allied bombings. These theaters were in use until the Nazis were on the edge of defeat. Despite setbacks with the war and the continued bombings by the Allies, films were still made and shown up until the end of the war. Twenty eight films were works in progress when the war ended. Concerts were also still shown regularly. Thirty operas were ready for performance but never actually put on stage. Resources were still being allocated to put on new operas and films despite the fact that Germany was in "total war," and all resources were allocated to the war effort supposedly. Film and concerts were the main forms of amusement and diversion for the German people, and the Nazis felt that keeping the masses' minds diverted and happy was still important.
This article really shows the misguided priorities of the Nazis. Resources that could have been used for the war effort were misallocated to film production and concert staging. The Nazis were concerned with appeasing the masses, even though they were about to lose the war. Maintaining the support of the masses was a core value for the Nazis to attain and maintain their power, but if they lost the war, they would lose their power immediately. These efforts to keep the masses happy were completely pointless and wasteful. Goebbels proclaimed that he closed the theaters to put Germany on the track of “total war,” yet this obviously did not shut down the entertainment industry. The film Kolberg began production in 1942 and was not released until 1945 (Thompson and Bordwell 274). This film was the costliest of the Nazi cinema projects, and it was made at a time when Germany was losing the war and about to be defeated (Thompson and Bordwell 274). Goebbels even diverted 200,000 troops from battle to be used in Kolberg's production (Thompson and Bordwell 274). Overall, the Nazis wasted their resources on film and the arts during a critical time during the war when Germany could not afford it.

Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History An Introduction. 2nd. New York: McGraw Hill, 2003.

Modern Hard Times: Chaplin and the Cinema of Self-Reflection.

Stewart, Garrett. "Modern Hard Times: Chaplin and the Cinema of Self Reflection." Critical Inquiry 3 (1976): 295-314.

This article compares the film Modern Times to the Dickens' novel Hard Times both acting a social satires on the pressures and challenges people faced in specific conditions and times. The article mentions Chaplin's own personal life growing up in Britain may be one reason why these two authors are similar in subject nature of their works. They both were against the factory system. Chaplin learned of a true story of a workers going crazy after years working as part of an assembly line. Chaplin's character during the factory sequence has becomed so accustomed to the 'bolt-tightening' behaviors, he literally cannot stop, even when he is forced away from the assembly line for disrupting the flow. Comical? Yes. However, it shows how dangerous this type of work can be on the psyche.

This article is important to my thesis because it specifically demonstrates how Chaplin critiques industrialization in his film scenes. "Charlie as robotized victim of the machine extends this into a frontal assault on industrialization" (Stewart 297-298). Chaplin attacks industrialization by showing that workers become robot-like in their work. This robotization extends from the workplace into the rest of their lives (and what little they have of it) creating a homogenized society. The articles also discusses why Chaplin may have this critique of industrialization and the homogenized society. The article also mentions that Chaplin's personal reasons may be an implication as to why he createad the film. A story that he heard or workers in Detriot becoming 'nervous wrecks' after years at the mercy of large machines in factories. These workers had been functioning individuals with unique personalities. But after years at the mercy of the assembly line system, they became roboticized to perform, eventually forcing them to break down.

Nazi Cinema as Enchantment: The Politics of Entertainment in the Third Reich.

Citation: Blair, John. "Nazi Cinema as Enchantment: The Politics of Entertainment in the Third Reich." German Quarterly. 78.2 (Spring 2005): pp. 258-259.

In this book review, Blair discusses the way in which O’Brien expresses the Nazi administration’s obligation to cinema as both entertainment and propaganda. O’Brien emphasizes how Nazi Film followed a similar model to that of classical Hollywood cinema through its promotion of identification. In addition, the book review explains that O’Brien presents the fact that “only 153 of the 1,094 feature films produced in Germany during the Third Reich are "generally considered outright propaganda;" (1) thus, the rest of the propaganda film depicted political agenda in a variety of different genres. Through the close scrutiny of thirteen Nazi films, from five different film dramas, O’Brien determines the impact of each genre on German society and the way in which each particular genre excels. When observing films created during wartime, O’Brien ventures to suggest that the state tried to promote different attitudes in correspondence with different periods of the war. In chapter three, O’Brien focuses on Wunschkonzert and its impact on German society. She explains that the film is full of confidence and optimism about the war and life back at home in addition to suggesting the idea of sacrifice and support of the war efforts on the home front.

The article is significant in understanding that Goebbels and the Nazi regime undeniably strove to provide audiences with a source of entertainment during a difficult time in Germany. However, it can not be overlooked that despite the fact that these films, including Wunschkonzert, centered on a story of love and light heartedness, the film proved to audiences that support o f the Nazis and the idea of warfare was crucial in obtaining success and maintaining the morale of Germany in this period and struggle and hardship.

Wunschkonzert (1940): Nazi Propaganda Film

I have always been intrigued by the period of Nazi power in Germany and the way in which Hitler and the Nazi hierarchy influenced the political, cultural, and leisure aspects of German society. Therefore, I choose to study in greater detail a film entitled Wunschkonzert, which was made in 1940 and directed by Borsody. After careful inspection I have concluded that Wunschkonzert can be defined as a Nazi propaganda film which uses the entertainment genre to instill in its audiences a positive sentiment about war in addition to promote a a unifying, optimistic environment back on the home-front.

Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1933-1945

Citation: Welch, David. Propaganda and the German Cinema, 1933-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. 112-121

In the fourth chapter of the novel, Welch focuses on the impact of the Olympic Games in Berlin in the section entitled, “Olympiade (1938): The Master Race and Strength through Joy.” Within this section, Welch explains how the Olympic games and films made surrounding this event served as the perfect medium for Goebbel’s execution of Nazi Propaganda. As the host of the games, Germany used this opportunity as an exercise in national respectability. The Olympic games were an opportunity to portray Germany as a peace-minded country in both the eyes of foreign guests as well as German citizens. Similarly, Welch suggests that, with the creation of one of the most popular films of the Third Reich, Wunschkonzert, this Nazi philosophy was conveyed to an even greater extent. Wunschkonzert once again displays Germany as peace-loving nation and, through the story of two lovers who meet and fall in love in the Olympic Stadium, helps to convert the feeling of pride, strength, and joy that was felt during the Olympic games to the first phase of the war.

The significance of Wunschkonzert as a Nazi Propaganda Film is strongly supported within this novel. Welch explanation of Goebbel’s plan to use the Olympic games as means of uniting Germany and changing the perception of the country in the eyes of foreign and domestic people alike is important in understanding the value of Wunschkonzert. This film enabled Nazi Germany to instill a sense of joy, strength, and love within the German community that could be converted to similar positive feelings about fighting and being triumphant in the Second World War.

"Aid to Sharecroppers: How Agrarian Class Structure and Tenant-Farmer Politics Influenced Federal Relief in the South, 1933b