Wednesday, March 02, 2022
Blueberry Hill song, 12 Monkeys movie and Vladimir Putin's performance
Wednesday, May 19, 2021
Nationalist propaganda in Nazi cinema
At the end of World War II it became clear that the influence of Nazi propaganda was very great. The process of de-Nazification in Germany was virtually impossible. So great was the power of propaganda and especially that of the movies. For the young people the films were the most effective tool. Nazism relied on youth's love of cinema and created an organized network that captured it. After coming to power, propaganda films were the most important tools for establishing these achievements. A major demand of educators was for more war propaganda films with heroes.
There is debate as to how much impact cinematic films have on the general public and in particular how effective investment in propaganda films is. The answer to the question is simple: the number of viewers. The number of viewers is a crucial testament to success and influence. Ritter's movies have been watched by tens of millions of viewers and there is no better proof than that of the extent of their impact.
Karl Ritter was the talented, uncompromising and unscrupulous Nazi campaigner who best suited the task of shaping the Hitler Youth. Ritter won praise from the leadership of the young Hitler and the SS As a "dear friend, soldier and political artist, and a true Nazi". He made films that became "compulsory screenings" and influenced millions of young Germans. He was a personal friend of Adolf Hitler, and the favorite Nazi director. Ritter summed up his philosophy about his films as follows: "My films deal with the insignificance of the individual… Everything that is personal must disappear for the sake of the goal."
In the list of the ten films that most influenced Nazi German youth, there are two of Ritter's films, after epic historical films such as "Bismarck". Before becoming a director, Karl Ritter was a producer at UFA, including of the film "Hitler's youth Quacks" (1933), directed by Hans Steinhof. The film deals with the death of a boy who belonged to "Hitler's Youth" at the hands of the Communists and is based on a real case. The film became the No. 1 propaganda piece of the Nazi regime, influencing millions of young Germans to join the party. Despite this, it is not clear in the film who the Nazis are and who their enemies are. They all look like Germans who are similar to each other. The prominence of the values of the Nazi regime, which are mainly order and cleanliness, in the face of consistent disregard for the Communists, is what makes the film effective as a propaganda tool.
The Nazis functioned as a modern corporation running a brand, which was the key to their success in shaping German public opinion. The Nazis understood the power of the brand, and used it to create a parallel universe of images and symbols. The outer layer of this brand were: Hitler himself and his image, the pressure for solidarity, the declaration of a modern utopia with an antique garnet, and the creation of an existential threat to the German way of life. But beneath all of these were marketing principles like targeting and segmentation, and a comprehensive insight into the concept of design and packaging. Beyond that the regime was anchored in a kind of banality of normalcy and it seemed, on many levels, like a normal Western society. This element became more credible by promoting a vigorous consumer culture. In many ways the Nazis were ahead of their time, dominating political marketing arts like spins and speedy denials.
UFA studios were prominent, by their ''stars system'', in that approached and dictated the consumption culture. The company became known for its designed productions. The rich scenery, and especially the lavish costumes, were a prominent hallmark of the films produced in it. As an added value to films, UFA studios have also dictated the entire popular culture, similar to the Hollywood film industry at its peak. UFA movie stars have shaped, through careful planning, the tastes, fashion and lifestyle in Germany. UFA has promoted itself and the industry sectors close to it, through the intensive distribution of posters, advertisements, newsletters, magazines, movie diaries and of course a carefull selection of the content in the movies.
The mainstay of Hitler's propaganda machine in the early years was his rhetorical performances. The show took place, in the early years, up to five times a day, to different audiences. There is a chronological parallel between the elite of Hitler and the entry of the soundtrack into cinema, which took place at that time. It was a period of crisis for the film industry, which found it difficult to adapt to the innovation. The talking Film has created a new cinema, based on a direct speech soundtrack instead of improvised backing music, with such an abundance of dialogues that the films were called "Tokies".
Nazi Germany was not a closed kingdom. Fashions and styles with an international interplay thrived in it and were sometimes adopted by the regime, including an imitation of Hollywood. "Ordinary society" was perpetuated, in the media in all its branches, through an ethos of lightness and openness. The media specialized in everyday issues that are characteristic of the innocent community, and this expertise was strengthened through a constant appeal to social solidarity. The Nazis created their own narrative, through an explanation of their worldview, in which everything was self-evident.
An important part of Nazi propaganda dealt with consumer culture. The Nazis saw it as a means of training the regime. The individual was entitled to strive for property and private goods, as in the whole of the modern Western world. Plenty of brands have been offered to the masses. The Volkswagen car is perhaps the most obvious example. Material culture created an aspiration for social progress and careerism and a regime that relied on providing benefits to loved ones. The consumer culture creates a person who is limited in terms of his ability to contribute to society, since his cognitive skills are not honed. Such a person tends to be very much influenced by publicity and political propaganda and at the same time has a self-focused personality, with a low psychiatric stimulus threshold. UFA led the consumer culture in Nazi Germany through films, stars, and adherence to aesthetic code, which created an imitation model.
The "Icarus complex" was defined by the psychoanalyst Murray, who also analyzed Adolf Hitler's personality for American intelligence. The complex describes a person with an alpha personality, who does not recognize his limitations as a result of mental complexes, which cause an imbalance between his desire to succeed and the ability to achieve goals he has set. Such a person strives for a kind of over compensation. Because of feelings of inferiority, he formulates grandiose aspirations for future achievement. He often exhibits elitism, driven by hubris and detachment from social reality. The massive ego of some celebrities is a type of such distortion, which can be called a malignant ego. They appear as a supernova star, which explodes after shining brightly for a short time. Politicians may demonstrate the same qualities and in extreme cases they have even reached their status thanks to them. Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels and Carl Ritter are historical examples, for which this diagnosis is literally valid.
Monday, April 26, 2021
Myths and archetypes in cinema - the case of Ernest Udet
Many central archetypes operate in the individual psyche and society: the feminine-masculine, the evil, the almighty hero, and the Sacrifice Savior. The archetypes operate in the woman's psyche as in the man's psyche. As reality becomes more complex, the need for archetypes becomes more important.
Cinema is a place where the myth clearly stands out. We need heroes to identify with, and film actors sometimes become a model for human lives. Famous actors are like cultural archetypes. They guide us over time as a stable mythological model, where they are more important than the various characters they replace on screen.
Many actors, because their personality is built around the persona of the actor and not around their true self, fail to form a strong enough personality. The imaginary may also cause the actor over-pride and arrogance. In many cases, the adoption of the character of the false hero is very easy, for the actor and the fans, but the disillusionment is very difficult. This is also because commercial cinema underestimates the depiction of grim reality.
Ernest Udet was an example of such a star. He, too, was endowed with a personality that was not strong enough in relation to the persona of his actor. In many cases, the adoption of the character of the false hero is very easy, for the actor and the fans, but the disillusionment is very difficult. The original myth that is appropriate for comparison in the context of the Nazi regime is the legend of Daedalus and Icarus.
Modern cinema deals extensively with archetypal-mythological models of male-female relationships. The anime and the animus strive in these films to connect into one complete being. In every culture we will find that the myth revolves around opposing pairs, which are binary pairs like life-death, man-god, heaven-earth, blessing-curse and more. The inclusion of opposites is the key to individuation, the wholeness of the self, which is the goal of every individual.
The archetype of the opposing duo has deep roots in popular and military culture: the brotherhood of the warrior duo, the warrior bond with his weapon, and the brotherhood of the unit and the nation. The nature of close ties is flexible. In Udet's case, he was in competition with Herman Goering for the role of squadron commander and failed. Later, during his Nazi career as a senior general, he was in a contest, in which he also lost, against Erhard Milch, for his proximity to Goering and control of the Ministry of Aviation.
Each archetype also receive a negative aspect, which may take over. The magic of evil is a magnet for filmmakers. In the mountain movies, in which Ernest Udet got his fame as a hero pilot, the captives must be rescued at almost any cost. In the face of demonic evil forces one must embark on an active and collective struggle of survival. If at the same time the protagonist manages to maintain a photographic and human brotherhood, and inner forces develop in him, the journey is an initiation into life.
An archetypal duo associated with evil, and an important component of the fighter pilot myth, is the "hunter and prey". Richthofen described in detail his teenage experiences as a cavalryman and hunter, as the primary basis for his flying skills and military leadership. Herman Goering was filmed as a proud pilot alongside a plane he shot down. Hunting is proof of masculinity. It legitimize the abandonment of the sacred connection to others. It encourages a violent mentality. Hunting is also an expression of the ability to disengage from religion.
The military hero embodies the best qualities that the younger generation seeks to instill. The warriors were a focal point of admiration in every generation, in their lives and deaths. Their qualities were focused on one character, who was an exemplary public and a savior, and took on a mythical character. A particularly revered hero is a superhero, omnipotent, with superhuman powers. Behind the character of the superhero is the personality of the magician archetype, powerful, omnipotent, and with a variety of appearances. A situation in which the "I" identifies with the archetype of the magician creates something that does not belong to him. It's inflating the self beyond its dimensions. Man becomes in his own eyes a supreme man. Archetypes have intense and non-personal energetic power. The temptation to be drawn into identification with the magician's personality is inversely related to self-confidence, ego power, and self-awareness.
Germany's famous aircraft squadron in the First World War was nicknamed the "Flying Circus". Its pilots were among the elite of German officers, who adhered to military and moral code, which was expressed in strict adherence to military norms and integrity. Many of them came from the ranks of the German nobility. Richthofen belonged to a noble family with Prussian military heritage. The flying circus officers were unable to put on the wizard mask. The aura of the superhero did not suit them. The trickster archetype suited. The cunning clown, who is a part of magician archetype, was suitable for their image in the general population.
The German society in crisis needed a leader to connect the character of the trickster to the character of the hero. This was Adolf Hitler, who understood his role well. The former corporal was able to inflate his ego without being blamed. This attracted to him and to the Nazi movement all the shadow forces, which are expressed in an aspiration for honor, control, superiority, competition and power, and are characterized by exploitation and deception. The parallel between Hitler and the archetypal magician figure exists in the context of other archetypal figures, such as the almighty hero, the trickster clown, the hunter and the hunted, and the Sacrifice Savior. All are popular in the German folk tradition.
One of the dangers of being the magician archetype is narcissistic, arrogant and forceful arrogance. Goering's pompous figure, Hess' lust for control flying to Britain on his own, and Udet's debauchery were all expressions of this. As long as the hero has no other way to deal with life, he needs his grandiosity. But the magician denies his feelings, and operates in primitive mechanisms of denial and division. He therefore avoids the integration of real emotions, and a real adaptation to reality. As a person he is superficial and lonely. He is connected to technology as compensation. He is a technological hero. He is stuck in a kind of adolescence. His personality is characterized by immature idealization, and immature faith in the future, from which idealism and over-boldness that know no bounds may develop.
The comic books with the blatant graphic illustrations are one of the important sources for the super heroes of the movies. For example, Batman and Superman were heroes of comic books before becoming heroes of movie series. Today's superheroes began as illustrations, and received most of their grandiose design and power in cinema. Ernest Odet was a gifted cartoonist. Carl Ritter, the important Nazi filmmaker and agitator who made nearly a hundred films, and was also a fighter pilot and flight instructor, started as the owner of a graphics studio. Hitler was a painter, and his graphic ambitions were the source of his spiritual power.
A major motif that characterizes comic book characters like Superman, Spiderman and Batman, is that they have super-virtuoso powers. Their abilities express the urge to break free from the limitations of human existence and take off beyond them. The mythical motif of supernatural flight expresses it. The desire for super natural flight pushed humanity on its path to evolution. Aviation joined this desire. Early commentators used the mythological legend of Daedalus and Icarus as a metaphor for describing its achievements. The Nazi's miracle weapons, on which they hung their hopes, after the great failures of the Luftwaffe, were also mostly aviation: the jet, the rocket interceptor, the cruise missile, the ballistic missile, the long-range bomber, and more. The "bad guys", the Allies, had flying abilities that turned out to be even more powerful. As such, they challenged the Nazis even more.
One can look at superheroes from the perspective of a narcissistic disorder. Of lack in parental love, which creates a bond in creating a relationship and empathy for other and reinforces a sense of insecurity, seeking compensation in a fantasy about. Modern consumer and impersonal society encourages this fantasy by fierce achievement competition. The impulse is not an authentic inner fulfillment, but a victory over the other, who is sometimes also endowed with the same superpower. As a result of this extremism, the bad guys are utter villains. The grandiose urge may excite all evil forces in the psyche.
One of the other dangers of the magician archetype is over-narcissistic, arrogant and forceful pride. As long as the hero has no other way to deal with life, he needs his grandiosity. But the magician denies his feelings, and operates in primitive mechanisms of denial and division. He therefore avoids the integration of real emotions and a real adaptation to reality. As a person he is superficial and lonely. He is connected to technology as compensation. He is a technological hero. He is stuck in adolescence. His personality is characterized by immature idealization and immature faith in the future, from which idealism and over-boldness that know no bounds may develop. Evil Hitler, Goering's pompous figure, Hess' lust for control who flew to Britain on his own, and Udet's debauchery, were all manifestations of this.
The negative hero is a double of the positive hero. They wear masks, which hide their true identity. They run away from painful emotions and translate them into an urge for revenge. The Nazis wore masks. They hid, for example, the rearmament of the army and the re-establishment of the Luftwaffe, as much as they could. They deceived the leaders and peoples of Czechoslovakia and Austria and conquered their countries. The Holocaust took place under the guise of fraud, when the victims were allegedly sent to labor camps, and up to the last minute did not really believe that this was their end.
The evil hero is a double of the good hero, as in the split of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", which is one of the descriptions of Nazi society. The cognitive ability to sharpen contradictions is the base for creating symbols. Every archetypal element in human life is double-faced. Each archetype also receive opposite aspect, which may take over. In many mythical stories, the source of evil is the clinging to a particular object as the sole source of satisfaction from the ego's desires. In the "Ring of the Nibelungs" myth, for example, the ring allows him to be enslaved to greed, and is therefore eventually thrown back into the waters of the Rhine. In other stories, the source of evil is the unbearable, governmental, parental or communal hierarchy.
The magic of evil is a magnet for filmmakers. The evil theme in Ernest Udet's films is that of the egocentric desires. In all the mountain films, the protagonists' feelings regarding the rescue of their loved ones, who are trapped in the storm, are described in detail. The answer is the same in all movies: rescue the trapped, even at the cost of sacrificing life. In the face of demonic evil forces one must embark on an active and collective struggle of survival. If at the same time the protagonist manages to maintain his humanity and positive inner forces are developed in him, the journey is an initiation to life.
The Nazis, in the name of this opposing egocentric desires, became addicted to the forces of control and power. They preferred the mythical principle over human existence. They set out on a crusade into heaven, which was also a crusade against the infidels in their faith. Therefore in Udet's case, the evil ego from which he was freed in the movies reappeared in his failed private life.
The Comics magazines are an important source of the movies' mythological heroes. For example, Batman and Superman were heroes of comic books before becoming heroes in movies. . The comic book heroes draw power from small, rejected animals, which have a hidden power: a spider for Spiderman, and a bat for Batman. The identification with a weak and mysterious animal allows for a metamorphosis in the hero's soul.
A small animal with metamorphic power is the bird. The young generation of Germany in the Weimar Republic developed state-of-the-art gliders and flying techniques which imitated the flight of birds. They discovered, among other things, the hot air thermals, which birds use to soar in circles. In this way the gliders broke many distance records during the 1920s. Otto Lilienthal, the Jewish pilot who built gliders with wings that mimic the wings of a bird, was immortalized in a magnificent burial shrine.
In fairy tales miraculous events take place that save the heroes. The rescuer can be an external figure, but at the same time the statement comes true: "God helps those who help themselves." Moreover, the path is often more important than the goal. The messages around embarking on a journey are complex. It is difficult to know whether the master is a deceiver who intended to plunge the hero into the abyss, or whether the fall is a way to mobilize mental resources. It is faith and effort that bring salvation. The Red Baron, and the silver aerobatic plane that Udet brought from the United States, were such guides. It was impossible to argue with the Nazi fantasy, because it was part of their ability to survive.
The journey with the guide leads to the theme of the Sacrifice Savior. The myth of the victim is ancient, and has many meanings, both positive and negative. It involves the sacrificial archetype. When a person sacrifices himself, there is an identity between him and the world, and this is the key to a new consciousness. Often self-sacrifice comes as compensation for the sin of pride.
The spirit of sacrifice is one of the qualities of fighter pilots, and it was nurtured by the Nazi regime. Death while flying, in battle or as a result of a technical malfunction, or human error, often occurred at the beginning of the aviation era. The pilots were therefore perceived as sacrificing their lives voluntarily, as Sacrifice Saviors. Richthofen's death made him a myth. The official denial of Ernest Udet's suicide was sweeping, and it was reported that he died in a flight accident. Hitler and Goebbels committed suicide with a cyanide pill. So did Goering at the end of the Nuremberg trial. They have all voluntarily sacrificed themselves.
Since the Savior Sacrifice motif is a powerful archetype, it emanates from the self even without conscious intention. The shape of the airplane resembles the cross of Christ, which is a major source of self-sacrifice. The Germans were only a few months away from completing the development of their wonder weapons, when a turning point occurred in the war that led to their defeat. The German people were driven, at the very end, by a powerful unconsciousness.
Tuesday, November 03, 2020
The HeartMath Experience
The HeartMath Experience is a 90-minute video program that is divided into 9-chapters. HeartMath Experts and Master Trainers teach you 5 time-relevant and scientifically validated techniques. The program combines stunning visuals with valuable lessons to help you gain new insights.
Monday, December 16, 2019
Superheroes, Star Wars movies and aviation culture in the 20th century
Another important connection between superhero films and modern-day reality is that these films, in many cases, show sections of a world on the verge of destruction, usually as a result of the invention of new weapons by the forces of evil. The Holocaust worldview in these films overlaps with the Jewish Holocaust survivors worldview, whose world was also destroyed. The good ending in these films, when usually the good people beat the bad guys, is a therapeutic move. The general destruction worldview is also close to everyday reality, as politicians regularly warn of a disaster that could result from enemy attacks, usually from the air. That is why every citizen takes to himself the images of the imminent destruction, as seen in the superhero films, for the promotion of his personal affairs. Those who have experienced the devastation to the truth, such as the Holocaust survivors, are usually left behind in the race to fulfill their dreams.
The main negative aspect of the development of air power is the many wars that have been decided by it, such as the Vietnam War and the Yom Kippur War. In addition, airborne terrorism has become an integral part of daily life. Its climax was in the attack on the Twin Towers in New York in September 2001. We are witnessing it today in cyber threats, the incessant rocket launches toward Israel, and the passengers and baggage checks before flights. Serious aerial accidents are an integral part of reality, from the era of early aviation to the present.