Prior to seeing Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, in class today, I did not think I could ever find something that portrayed blatant evil beautiful. That is why I was so shocked at the impression Triumph of the Will left on me. In putting my personal beliefs about the Hitler and Nazi Germany aside, I was able to appreciate Leni's work as not only artistically and aesthetically beautiful, but also as a true original. Despite the content, this film was undoubtedly well done. Leni used innovative techniques to appeal to her audience. Cameras on tracks, ropes, in the sky, crew on roller skates, laying on the ground, up on scaffold-like structures, all of these were techniques unique to Leni's film. Perhaps other filmmakers had used similar techniques, it would be wrong for me to say that Leni was the first to think of repositioning the camera during filming, however her combination of the above listed techniques made her film a masterpiece ahead of its time. Her ability to manipulate the masses versus the individual to create a feeling of unity and power is incredible. The amount of people gathered in support of one concept, one man, is awe inspiring, especially when presented as they were in the film. The camera angles and moving views made the already tremendous crowd seem even larger, making the support seem even stronger. The perfect balance of camera effects, music, and editing made Triumph of the Will a brilliant piece of art, to deny that is to bring personal feelings into the analysis, which I feel takes away from the piece.
Again I find myself surprised at my opinion that neither the art nor Leni should apologize. Before our discussion I was of the opinion that when art has harmful effects on a population (such as convincing them to support an evil man in his ambition to commit mass genocide, and take over the world) it should absolutely apologize. However, I now take a more relativist approach to art. At the time, Leni wasn't doing anything she perceived as evil, though the depth of her knowledge of Hitler's true objectives is debatable. I believe that most of the people in Germany were brainwashed by Hitler and had Leni not created Triumph of the Will someone else would have. When we consider the content of the film we must also consider the time in which it was released, to the creator and the audience this was a patriotic film, an honorable piece of art that Plato would argue pushed that nation forward in unity. Leni should not be forced to apologize for doing something that was appropriate at the time. While I do not believe she should have to apologize, I do believe it is wrong for her to lie about her motives, the fact is that the film supports the Nazi party and Hitler, for her to state that there was no political context in the film is absurd. She should have the integrity to say that at the time it seemed to her like the right thing to do, she loses points with me when she contradicts herself in interviews. In the interview we saw today, Leni flat out denied having anything to do with the planning of the rally, however in Fascinating Fascism, Susan Sontag mentions "Riefenstahl was, as she relates in the short book on the making of Triumph of the Will, in on the planning of the rally" (p 3.) Also she cannot deny that she had a somewhat close relationship with Hitler, there are photographs of them together, she must have spent "social" time with him at some point.
In regard to the authors of the articles we read, I'm not sure Susan Sontag would agree with me. She seems to have a deep disdain for Leni, which is revealed in the tone of her writing. I think she would not only want an apology from Leni but possibly a prison sentence as well. Most of this contempt appears to come from the "misinformation Riefenstahl has been dispensing for the last twenty years. Sontag describes the "biographical sketch" as "full of disquieting lies" and she picks it apart, bringing to light each inconsistency. Her dependence on fact based support makes her argument very convincing, and I have to agree with the character flaws in Leni (such as her tendency to flip flop; if Hitler is in power she makes Nazi support films, once Nazism becomes a wretched relic, she is strictly an artist), yet I still maintain that the film was an incredible work of art, for better or worse. I feel Devereaux would be a bit more in line with my views because she recognizes that Leni made the immoral seem beautiful through art, however we do disagree as the article continues. She discusses the role of formalism in analyzing Triumph of the Will which is the approach I chose in my critique, she argues that it is impossible in this case because we are so attached. I think I was able to separate myself from my feelings towards Aryan supremacy and racism and appreciate the film as a piece of art, rather than the propaganda that it very likely was.
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