The close connection between aviation, cinema and superheroes

The high mountains landscapes are, from the dawn of mankind, the origin of the religious, the mystical, the symbolic and the daring, embodied in the vertical dimension. Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai and the Temple was built on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem. Cinema also dealt with the subject, for example in Steven Spielberg's film " Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), about a positive encounter with intelligent aliens at the top of a lonely mountain. The Star Wars series was created in this spirit: it deals with a supernatural force, simply called the "force", which is activated in the arena of starships flying between stars in distant galaxies.

Spiritual flight is a central symbol of the human spirit and its freedom. The aerial dimension provides general and important guidelines for ascent, growth, and purification. These guidelines must be considered as basic principles in psychology that can be called the "ascension psychology." The binary pair "Daedalus and Icarus" is one of the most important myths in the canon of Western literature. Countless books for children and youth, from Peter Pan to Baron Munchausen, all use the flight experience to create the most magical works of literature we know. A best-selling book in the 1970s was the book "Jonathan Livingstone the Seagull", which described the initiation journey that a brave little seagull goes through, striving to break away from the flock that binds his spirit and fly independently to new districts.

The airplane is a means of transportation that allows physical movement of people and goods from place to place, while overcoming all physical obstacles. It created a complete change in the balance of power between the nations. There is a chronological connection between developments in this field and important historical events in the modern era: the hot air balloon, invented in 1783, was immediately and enthusiastically adopted by the public as the noble symbol of education , elevation and elation. It revolutionized many fields and the French Revolution occurred 6 years after its invention. World War I broke out in 1914, about ten years after the first flight in 1903. World War II began in 1939, following Hitler's  ''the golden age of aviation'' and his ''aviation policy''. Aviation pioneers were icons of human spirit and freedom around the world. As the military and practical importance of aviation became clear, it became the center of national interest and action.

The importance of aviation in popular culture is great. The philosopical book "Air and Dreams" describes the alchemical synthesis between practical aviation and the mental flight experience, inspired by books such of St. Exupery. The book "The Passion for the Wings: Aviation and Imagination in Western Culture" shows that the invention of the airplane was the fulfillment of an ancient human fantasy, which captured the imagination of intellectuals and helped shape a new image of the world. According to the book "Dictatorship of Air: Aviation Culture and the Fate of Modern Russia", the original experience created among the citizens of Russia at the beginning of this era was a national-religious experience and the airplane became a symbol of progress that covered failures in other areas. The flight pioneers became the superheroes of their time in popular culture. At the end of the 19th century, gliding pioneer Otto Lilienthal became a cultural hero, through his many flight photographs flying gliders, which appeared in the print press. The airship, invented by Count Zeppelin at the time, became one of the most well-known icons in popular culture, and contributed greatly to the development of aerial photography.

Aviation and cinema grew together during the twentieth century, from infancy, through rapid growth, to maturity. While Hollywood studio actors and executives learned the art of filmmaking, the aircraft industry and pilots learned how to conquer the sky. In peace and war, prosperity and depression, aviation and cinema became big part of the popular culture. The relationship was symbiotic. While aviation movies helped sell box office tickets, the movies helped promote aviation. Movie fans and aviation enthusiasts have found a common ground in a fascinating cinematic genre. The films told the story of the flight, from the first piston engines planes, through the jets, to the spacecraft.

The ''golden age of aviation'' and the ''golden age of cinema'' are two identical nicknames, created separately, for the same period, between the two world wars in the twentieth century. Cinema has strengthened the image of aviation, and filmmakers have mobilized public opinion in favor of aviation. Aviation and cinema developed at the same rate and dramatically, and both quickly established themselves as the most exciting and popular form of leisure and activity, while becoming an incredibly effective channel for disseminating ideas, attitudes and qualities that society deserves to preserve.

Aviation and cinema were developed in close contact, technically, personally and publicly, by people of similar character. One result of this exciting connection was the many fatal plane crashes during filming of stunts pilots. The human connection contributed greatly to the design of the character of the "Knight Fighter Pilot" in cinema. In this way, of personal interpretation, the essay also contributed to shaping public opinion about significant events, and in particular about World War I, which was commemorated from the point of view of former fighter pilots who moved into the film industry.

The first feature film, "Flight to the Moon" (1902), was an aviation fiction, and its protagonists can be defined as imaginary "superheroes''. The first flight of the Wright Brothers plane took place one year later, in 1903, and the brothers became cultural heroes. Cinematic news diaries contributed to this. Through them the aviation pioneers recieved the aura of superheroes, after performing epic flights. This was also widely expressed in feature cinema, which was developed rapidly after the First World War. The first Oscar-winning film for Best Picture was the silent aviation film "Wings" (1927), with its dramatic musical soundtrack.

The cultural, personal, national and international identity has been greatly strengthened, through the combined development of aviation and cinema, in the United States, Britain, Germany and in fact all the modern countries in the world. The article "Fast Couples: Technology, Gender and Modernity in Britain and Germany During the 1930s" reviews this phenomenon. Cinema films and diaries between the two world wars were very popular. The connection between the aerial spectacle and the cinematic spectacle excited the masses and led to the creation of the celebrity phenomenon, led by Charles Lindbergh, who ignited the imagination of the masses in his time. He was crowned "All-American Hero", a pioneer and groundbreaker. Despite his desire to present the flight as a technical achievement, created by many factors, the crowd celebrated the combination of the individual and the machine, without paying attention to the conflict that might arise between them.

The ''Star Wars'' series and the character of the pilot as a superhero

Aviation was identified from its earliest days with spiritual flight and similarly became an archetypal symbol of human spirit and freedom. At the same time, due to its military and practical importance, it is at the center of national interest and action. It has become a top-notch public attention center. That is why there is a close connection between it and cinema.

Between the two world wars of the twentieth century, the golden age of aviation coincided with the golden age of cinema. Cinema has evolved just as rapidly and dramatically as flight. Both soon established themselves as the most exciting and popular form of leisure and activity and in the process became an incredibly effective channel for disseminating ideas.

The focal point of the film viewer's identification is not the plot or the actors, but the point of view of the camera and its movement. When this movement is combined with aviation scenes, the dichotomy that separates in consciousness between the pre-stage and the symbolic stage in the process of identification can be overcome. Gravity is eliminated in the imagination and the viewer is allowed to recreate the pleasure of forming the initial identity.

The social agenda, which has been the focus of attention in fascist regimes, is clarified through the narrative of aviation heroes combined with the vision of the supreme man that fascism has tried to realize through an anthropological revolution. The protagonists were models and prototypes, whom the citizens were required to use in order to shape their lives.

Aviation films in Germany immortalized, for propaganda purposes, the figure of the pilot as a national hero even during the First World War. During the Weimar Republic, the genre of "mountain films" was common. It was exclusive to Germany and in them the alpine climbing activity was presented as a forging, with the character of a cult, which over the years became more symbolic and nationalistic. In the later films of the series, the fascist context is created through the combination of the famous stunt pilot Ernest Udet as a daring pilot rescuing trapped climbers in the snow. Fghter pilot Karl Ritter, of Udet's generation, became a senior filmmaker in Nazi Germany, specializing in making feature-length feature films that showcased the photogenicity of the aircraft, the heroism of the popular pilot and the social complex of aviation.

Hans Bertram was also a fighter pilot and filmmaker in the Nazi regime, following his predecessors, especially during World War II. Before becoming a Nazi, Bertram made a journey, which became a best-selling book he wrote. The journey took place after his plane, trying to circumnavigate the globe, accidentally landed in a remote part of northern Australia and its survival story made headlines in the world press. The campaign took place during the year the Nazis came to power and Hitler turned Germany into a dictatorship, with Hermann Goering as his deputy.

In Nazi Germany, the character of the pilot in cinema was fixed in the national context. In the United States, the pilot aura developed as an individual hero, in the spirit of the Western man. One of the manifestations of the youth protests in the United States in the 1960s was independent cinema, which was created outside the framework of Hollywood studios, which at the time were producing content-poor commercial films. A new generation of creators aspired to create films that would express their world. Their skills brought them to the studios. Young artists, including George Lucas, were given relative freedom of action to create their original works, which became popular and profitable.

George Lucas was greatly inspired by the air battles films of World War II. For years he watched these films and collected the air battles in them. After his first successes in Hollywood he turned to fulfilling his dream and creating an aviation fiction film based on these excerpts. The film became the ''Star Wars'' film series, which is the most successful in the history of cinema and has a great influence on popular culture. An analysis of the ''Star Wars'' films shows that they are aviation films, both in terms of the multiplicity of aviation scenes and in terms of their importance to the plot.

There are three main factors, in addition to the aviation component, that contributed to the initial success of the "Star Wars" series:

A. The structure of the narrative. George Lucas and his co-creators of the series have been influenced by many sources of inspiration. Prominent among them was Joseph Campbell and his book on the theory of monomyth - the unity of myths in different cultures.

B. The order of magnitude of the epic. Today we are inundated with similar, high-budget science fiction films and blockbusters. At the time of the production of the first trilogy in the "Star Wars" series, no similar productions had yet been made.

third. "Star Wars" was a product of its time, in the mid-1970s, and it resonated with the spirit of the time. It touched on the anxieties and tensions of the public consciousness at that time and in particular on the issues of the Cold War and the Vietnam War.

The ''Star Wars'' series is based on the pattern of superheroes in mythology stories. Adventure heroes have over the generations provided frameworks for coping and embracing change, reinforced by the concepts of heroism. As reality became more complex, the need for mythical archetypes became more important. In the development process, the popular American protagonist went from the traditional Western protagonist to the cheap press adventurer, to the superhero of comic books and to the cinematic superhero.

As part of this film series, nine sequels have been released, which constitute the canon of the series as a film epic. The first film in the series, "New Hope", was released in 1977. The last film, "The Rise of Skywalker", was released in late 2019. The series gained unprecedented popularity. The importance of the series was so great at the time that the National Museum of Aviation and Space in Washington dedicated a special exhibition to it, which presented the mythical message of Luke Skywalker's "Hero's Journey."

Lucas has set up a special company, ILM (Industrial Light and Magic), to deal with the issue of special visual effects. Following the success of "New Hope", ILM became one of the most successful companies in the industry. All the films of the ''Star Wars'' saga were filmed in it and in addition the special visual effects of many other successful film series were filmed in it.

In the transition from one generation to the next, there were many children who inherited the series from their parents and for them the episodes trilogy 1,2,3 was also created. But the younger generation could have also opted for films that mimicked the series, with more precise adjustments for them. The most important of these films were "Lord of the Rings", "Spider-Man", "Batman" and "The Avengers" series.

Because in the twentieth century the character of the superhero was identified with the pioneers of flying in airplanes and spaceships, a very important secondary superhero in the ''Star Wars'' series is Han Solo, the pilot who is a loyal friend of Luke Skywalker the main superhero. The pilot character was played in the series by superstar Harrison Ford.

The importance of Solo's character is great, as aviation is related in the series to the superhero skills as the best pilot and also because Ben Solo, Han's rebellious son, is the main character in the series starting with episode 7. Ben is Ray's partner, the Jedi knight who makes a female "hero journey" in the last trilogy and she brings back Ben to the good side.

In the few aviation films created in the State of Israel, the pilot icon gradually became subject to criticism. The State of Israel depends on aviation for its internaional transporation and on the Air Force for deterrence and defense from enemy threats. As a result, the "best air force in the world" saga developed in it. The Israeli Air Force gradually intensified until the Six Day War in 1967. During this war, the Israeli Air Force defeated the air forces of the Arab armies within hours and was a key factor in the victory. The myth of the fighter pilot as a superhero reached its peak after the war, thanks in part to documentaries and feature films about the war, which were integrated into the atmosphere of victory.

In 1973, during the Yom Kippur War, the Air Force managed to maintain a clean sky and air superiority, but its pilots also became a "sacrificing savior" and the erosion of their image as superheroes was great. The rehabilitation of the pilot image was done following a few lone operations such as the attack on the atomic reactor in Iraq, which were well documented in the media. Despite this, the Israeli pilot icon continued to gradually erode, as the army is no longer a top value in Israeli society and is allowed to be criticized.

Compared to the extensive place that aviation has in society and the media in Israel, there have been few feature films on the subject over the years. The first perpetuate the fighter pilot myth as a local superhero and the last criticize it. In the middle stands out the film "Every Bastard is a King", which is unique in that it de-constructs the character of the pilot as a national hero and turns him into a personal character.

Nowadays unmanned aerial vehicles take up space very quickly and the sky become as dense as the ground. Moreover, the UAVs made the ground war unnecessary in the eyes of many. Therefore, the great importance of the myth of aviation and of the character of the pilot as a superhero in popular culture, remains. This is an essential part of the dialogue between man and technology, which become more complicated as automation takes over our lives.

The ability to present, in this dialogue, human figures with stages of human development according to a psychological-mythological formula, is unique to the "Star Wars" series. The Disney company, which owns the franchise for the series, is thus fortifying its position as the leading creator in the world of aviation films and of the pilot figure in popular culture.

The importance of the film "Pour Le Merite"

Several films, adapted to guide viewers on certain topics, were commissioned by the Nazi state before the outbreak of the war. The most important in this category was the "Zeitfilm" style aviation film created by Carl Ritter: "Pour Le Merite" (1938), [Pour Le Merite - for excellence], named after the highest decoration of heroism in Imperial Germany.

"Pour Le Merite" was a founding cultural event, in which, as a matter of fact, all of German history was rewritten, from the end of the First World War until Hitler came to power, in a manner consistent with Nazi ideology. The film deals with a group of former fighter pilots, who according to prominent biographical characteristics are from the flying circus, headed by the commander of the Squadron, whose character is modeled on the biography of Herman Goering.

Goering' name in the film is Frank. He leads his men after the war to revolt against the ruling regime of Democrat Weimar, whom he publicly despises. Out of the hardships of existence the pilots join the small Nazi party. Their struggle is successful, Hitler comes to power, and at the end they see the new German Air Force, which they command.

The film depicts "civil politics as a continuation of the war in other ways" and scenes of violations of the law are presented in it as inevitable, due to the rule of the corrupt left.

The film was described as "the purest Nazi film". At its premiere in Berlin in December 1938, Hitler watched with Carl Ritter by his side, Goering and Goebbels, and outside the cinema hall stood a guard of honor of veterans. Apart from the great box office success, the film was also recommended for viewing by young people, and was watched by millions of teenagers as part of the compulsory screenings held for "Hitler Youth".

Carl Ritter was Adolf Hitler's personal favorite. He congratulated him publicly, describing the film as "a great success, the best film in history so far." The commander of the SS Heinrich Himmler congratulated Carl Ritter on his achievements in the film with warm words. He complimented him on his ability to portray living and believable figures and on reenacting the period before the Nazis came to power, in which Germany was humiliated.

Even outside of Germany, "Pour Le Merite" was considered a great success. An American film critic noted that although non-Nazi audiences would be more interested in the first half, "it is exceptionally made."

The film is based in part on the true experiences of the "Flying Circus" pilots at the end of World War I and after. It begins in the last months of the war in 1918 and in the first half include exciting aerial battle scenes. The euphoria is at its peak and is displayed, among other things, in the festive hospitality of a captive British pilot, who escapes because he is not guarded. 

Later, in preparation for the surrender of Germany, the feelings of disintegration, failure, disappointment and anger are expanded. After the ceasefire, the commander and some of the pilots, all with the prestigious Medal, refuse to hand over their planes to the Allies and burn them, in the midst of the end-of-war celebrations, in a series of dramatic scenes that take place in the middle of the film.

The second half begins with the failed attempts of the squadron commander, Frank, to integrate into the capitalist economy of the Weimar Republic, which is controlled by the occupation authorities. The British pilot who escaped is one of the new regime's heads, where military skills are of no value. This section includes long scenes of Frank's meetings with various businessmen in restaurants and offices, each time his business initiative fails more and he is less suited to the economic reality. Various attempts to rehabilitate German aviation through the gliding sport have been only partially successful, given the obstacles posed by the government. The group continues to meet during the Weimar period and the veterans' fraternity is preserved. They become members of the Nazi party.

The pilots gather at a lone farmhouse of one of them, around a single fighter plane hidden in a barn. The plane is discovered and communist militia forces are sent to take it. In the ensuing battle some of them are killed. The pilots are arrested and on trial. Squadron Commander Frank tells the judge, in a central scene: ''I'm not interested in this country, because I hate democracy like a plague. Whatever you want to do I will avoid, as much as I could. We must establish Germany on its feet, a Germany that will meet the demands of the combatant soldiers."

In the last part of the film, Frank escapes from prison through his friends and escapes abroad. He returns after the Nazis come to power, meets on the harbor wharf his old friends, who have already received senior military ranks. At he end, he is welcomed with royal honor, in front of an endless line of fighter planes. In fact the scene recreates the return of Hermann Goering to Germany, having fled from it to Sweden following the failed putsch in the beer cellar. The scene is combined with a 1935 documentary-like segment: Nazi flags are hoisted in the streets, and the crowd hears over the loudspeaker the re-armament speech of Germany. Later, the crowd gathers in the square at the foot of the monument in memory of the soldiers who fell in the war. The picture is replaced by a dramatic announcement by a veteran pilot, standing on the wing of a plane at an airfield, about the re-establishment of the Luftwaffe.

This last scene in the film is the most cinematically impressive. The scene is initially constructed from a preliminary abstract avant-garde, in which the protagonist is seen up close against the backdrop of the body of the ship that unloads him in port. There he is received by his only friends, who take him to the squadron, over which he receives re-command. In the process, the cinematic image develops and becomes broad, rich in details, realistic and even symbolic. At its peak there is a display of dozens of fighter planes in a straight line to the horizon. At the same time, this lengthy scene incorporates footage of the enthusiastic crowd in the streets.

Ernest Udet, whose public status was far more prominent than that of Herman Goering during the Weimar Republic, appears in an important supporting role. His name in the film is Fabian, and comedic romantic scenes starring him make up the first quarter of the film. In other sections, in the middle of the film, he represents the one who managed to get by in spite of everything, and sets up a small aircraft factory. At the end of the film he happily integrates into the new regime. All excerpts are based on details from his familiar biography, thus further establishing the film's authentic value.

"Pour Le Merite" presents the Luftwaffe as the legitimate successor of the Imperial Air Force, leaning on the heroic status of the air heroes of the First World War, They are founders of the new and powerful Air Force, which was established despite the restrictions of the Treaty of Versailles. The gneral symbolic value of the airplane and the pilot is demonstrated from the opening exposition scene to the very last moment. 

The film attacks the Jews, but does so in a moderate way, in a short segment that shows Frank's failure in business. The Communists are greater enemies, and a considerable part is of confrontations with them. The greatest enemy is the new German democracy, which has ignored the needs of war veterans. The film highlights the warrior hero, not as a mythical archetype but as a modern flesh-and-blood folk character, whose embodiment as a superhero involves the achievements of the entire nation.

Nazi cinema in "Zeitfilm" style

Joseph Goebbels' call to create revolutionary films with an artistic touch, rather than blatant propaganda, was not understood in the early years. Nevertheless, three "Potumkin"-style films were made, about the period of the struggle for power. The best known of these is the "Hitler's Youth Quacks" (1935), which had a huge success and influence. After the removal of the "brown shirts" from the party, these "Savior Victim" films became irrelevant. The familiar and cumbersome "popular cinema" was not a solution either. It was obligatory to invent something new.

In the professional press, a discussion was held in 1936 on the subject, in which "cinematic avant-garde" was not a derogatory word, in contrast to the other branches of art. The German filmmakers in this abstract style, who were inspired by Futurism and Dada, won great and sympathetic articles. The first sequel was Karl Junghans' documentary about the Winter Olympics in Germany in 1936. It was an avant-garde style film, which was supported by Junghans in an article in which he presented it as representing the "new and modern time". He argued that the clear cinematic language of "Potumkin", with its montages and cutting-edge camera, should be distinguished from the amorphous content presented by faceless masses. Goebbels' demand thus became a criterion. The avant-garde has transformed from art to its name into a modernist tool in the service of murderous rule.

The question now was how to assimilate the artistic criteria of the cinematic avant-garde, having been detached from Soviet bluntness, into National Socialist content. Here Lenny Riefenstahl first provided the creative answer. In her documentary films about the Nazi regime's shows, she combined camera, music, and montage as key and original elements. Riefenstahl preferred sharp shooting angles inspired by "mountain movies". She did "creative research" on the characters using many cameras. She created a dramatic edit and attached all of these to dramatic music. In this way she was able to present mass experiences in a creative way, in the totalitarian regime where every work of art had to have a purpose. This created an original German style, which became known as the "Heroic Reportage". This style was adopted for widespread use in Nazi Germany thanks to its modernity, surprising ability, and visual totality.

The shortage of original feature films, those that portrayed the life of the German laborer as dynamic and satisfying, was even more pronounced. Airman Carl Ritter was the first to fill in the blanks, in a style he called "Zeitfilm". This was in fact Riefenstahl's style, with a plot-propaganda content, inspired by a well-developed artistic sense and strict order, which were his artistic hallmark. Ritter has created feature films in various genres, which have given him the opportunity to systematically shape his modernist artistic message, while at the same time extensively developing the nationalist and propaganda message.

During World War II, the "Zeitfilm" films came to fruition. They presented daily life in Nazi society, but were almost absent from its outward signs, such as salutes. They were also meant for export, and prominent symbols in the background were an obstacle to that. The typical "Zeit [period] film" was certainly required to be used as an alternative to entertainment cinema, but not with the aim of completely replacing it or causing a revolution. It served as an ideological self-affirmation, one that would prove that National Socialism could achieve the same results achieved by Soviet cinema.

Carl Ritter explained the meaning of the term in the lecture "Zeitfilm and Contemporary History", which he gave in Hamburg in September 1936. At the beginning of his speech he sought to give the art of cinema the respect it deserved and to stop treating it as cheap entertainment. The state has already taken this step, when it has organized and nationalized the entire field. He came out as a buffer against the "realist" studio films that were typical of the Weimar period, which were detached from reality, because they superficially characterized the characters, plots, and backdrops. He took an example from Soviet cinema, which managed through real realism to absorb the spirit of the period and excite the audience, because it managed to express a very wide range of human realms. The "Zeitfilm" is mainly a film that makes a cross-section of this time, which create a cinematic report. But there is no need to present criminals in it, but the positive and beautiful, using examples from the classic German street. Cinema in Nazi Germany is a national venture, and is suitable for "Zeitfilm" because it is capable of presenting a quality cross-section of the entire population, culture, and history. Ritter wanted to further create light-hearted entertainment films, which are the bread and butter of the industry, but asked that one in ten films be serious. He claimed that despite their seriousness, the Zeitfilms could be the art of cinema at its best, citing the example of his "Traitor".

"Poetic cinema" is a comprehensive definition, involving the essence of poetry, with many challenges involved. It stands out in its position in relation to the common commercial-entertainment film and characterizes films with a significant statement, created by "Authors". As a rule, the artistic film does not stand in binary contrast to Hollywood cinema, but is placed in a different place across the continuum. An important question is whether "Zeitfilm" is close to poetic cinema. The answer is that the main characteristic of poetic cinema is the ability to understand something from something. In poetic cinema, lyrical expression is a challenge to viewers, existing in the tension between the two basic modes of cinema: realism and formalism, in which all cinema films are located. On one side of the continuum are the documentary and neo-realistic cinema, which are easy for average viewers to understand, as they has no visual surprises that stop the full narrative move. On the other side of this sequence is expressionist, artistic and surrealist cinema, also known as "formal" or "poetic", which uses "open images" that can be interpreted and are intended for elite audience. At the center of the sequence is the "classic" cinema, in which all the elements are intended to serve the plot, with the clear aim of not attracting the viewer's attention to anything else. The "Zeitsfilm" cinema lacks open images and all the elements in it are intended to serve the ideological purpose. It is a classic cinema, designed for a wide audience and all the elements in it, like directing, photography, music, acting, editing, set design and the like, serve the plot narrative.

 

Aviation and photogenicity in Nazi cinema and Carl Ritter films

The Journey film was a popular genre in the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. Apparently it was a documentary genre, documenting an authentic journey abroad to obtain scientific information. The documentary filmmaker was described as a lone wolf, often a pilot, who fought heroically to document invaluable scientific information. His expedition presented the fighting values ​​of strength, determination and sacrifice. He fought to bring valuable treasures to the homeland. Using the camera lens as his weapon, the filmmaker captured potential areas for the new living space.

Nazi aerial propaganda began in earnest in the short film "Freedom Day", which was a complement to the film "Triumph of the Will" about the party conference in Nuremberg. Lenny Riefenstahl also made this film, which celebrated the re-armament program, which was announced in March 1935. The film, intended for military personnel who remained dissatisfied with the "civilian" film, deals with the military demonstration that took place at the end of the civilian conference and the concept of the fast war. The Air Force and Air Defense are given central screen time and the film ends with a plane formation in the swastika formation.

Propaganda was strengthened in the cinematic news diaries of the period. One news diary from 1936 revealed the types of aircraft in the corps. The most interesting sections deal with bombers. The background music is threatening and you see bombers loading bombs. A bomber structure maneuvers, and they all hit their targets on the first try. The film ends in a mass flight, then the announcer announces: "The German Air Force is strong and proud, ready to maintain German peace and protect the land of the ancestors."

The cumulative image was strong enough to arouse widespread fear in other countries, enabling Hitler to use the Luftwaffe threat as a political weapon in his foreign policy in the late 1930s. Air operations during the Spanish Civil War, and in particular the attack on Guernica, which was widely covered in film diaries, confirmed the power of the Luftwaffe and the threat it posed.

The Nazis accepted from Italian Futurism the adherence to technology and speed, but refused to accept the abstract style by which Italian artists expressed these values. The Nazis disliked abstract art, which in their opinion was "Jewish" and boycotted it. Instead they gradually formulated their own style, which was the empowerment of the neoclassical style prevalent in Europe. 

The style stood out especially in architecture, in the erection of public buildings wit facade of high marble columns. Albert Sapir expands on this in his book "Inside the Third Reich". It depicts the fever of Nazi construction for public buildings in a grandiose-global-imperial style. Hitler closely supervised the redesign of Berlin in this megalomaniacal style. 

But the architects and designers aspired to adapt the style requirements to the everyday reality as much as they could. As a way to integrate the classic line into the modern reality of life, where technological design demanded more modern lines, Nazi designers also developed a style with cleaner, simpler and more versatile lines, called the "passenger ships" style.

The airplane in Carl Ritter's films was part of that design concept. According to the formalist conception, photogenicity, which is the aesthetic quality conferred on photographed objects, is a consequence of how the object is presented with the film's means of expression and does not depend on the object's essence or its hidden qualities. Photogenicity evokes the emotional, aesthetic mode of cognition that allows for direct knowledge of the world. The photogenicity in the film evokes the emotional consciousness, from its appeal to the visual sense through the movement in space and time, which is taken for granted.

The airplane is a key photogenic element in the cinematic expression in Ritter's films. The most impressive photographic expression is of the aircraft at close range and in particular of the front part which includes the propeller, hood, wings and cockpit. These parts are always photographed from the low upward point of view, which worships the object. The ground crew takes care, while demonstrating expertise and avoiding the impact of the propeller. They prepare the aircraft for the flight, with the pilot arriving after everything is ready and handing out the orders for takeoff.

A clear example is the movie "Traitor" which is apparently not even defined as aviation flm. Many scenes in it are focused on airplanes. The opening scene, for example, in which the spy is given one last briefing before entering the factory, ends with a flight of three airplanes passing over, as if to warn him. Another important scene, in the middle of the film, is the one where the spy sits on a plane, photographed from the front from the ground at an upward angle, with the propeller actually above the camera, to show that the airplane is an independent force entity dictated by reality and human destiny. The climax of the film is a multi-participant aerial chase after the spy who escapes on a plane he stole. Numerous and sharp photographic passages are repeated between the close-up of the pilot figure, the sight of the plane, the large ground crew, and the distant landscape.

The ground crew is a large and complex ground-based human system, which envelops the limited air crew, and is also featured prominently in Ritter's aviation films, as part of an entire complex that forms the new Germany. This system includes the masses of professonal jobs holders in the various professions at the airfield,in aviation, technical and logistics wings. In this complex, whose economic and social possibilities are virtually endless, any person who is willing to dedicate himself to the new order is able to find his place. Several scenes in Ritter films deal with the moments of tension in which the radio contact with the plane is lost and the ground headquarters tries to locate it. The headquarters include ground crews for radio, maps, meteorology, udjutancy, medicine, firefighting and the like. They all work in perfect coordination and timing. Just as the plane is the embodiment of the new German man, the airport crew is the embodiment of the new German society.

In the third circle, after the airplane and the airfield, is the home front, which is prepared for a borderless war. In this circle are the loved ones of the pilots and in particular their loved ones who are waiting for them while they work in the hospitals, or are recruited for one position or another. Significant civic activities, such as concerts and performances, are also designed to support the front. In all of Ritter films there are sharp transitions between dramatic war scenes that take place at the front and romantic and amusing scenes that take place at the rear, in many cases between wounded airmen to the female staff at a hospital. Ritter, therefore, found a perfect format for designing his films according to aviation formalism and semiotics, using the airplane and the human apparatus that surrounds it.

Ritter developed, step by step, the myth of the airplane and the pilot, in a series of five aviation films he created between the years 1936-1943: "Traitor" (1936), "The War on the Enemy of the World" (1937), "Pour Le Merite" '(1938),' 'Shtukas' '(1941),' 'The Dora Crew' ' (1943). In most of these films he served as screenwriter, director and producer.

The real star of the movie "Traitor" is the airplane. The plot takes place in a state-of-the-art airplanes factory into which a spy penetrates. The complex technological processes of aircraft manufacturing are described in various scenes. They are accompanied by test flights and finally a dramatic aerial pursuit of a spy who escaped with a plane.

The movie "War on the Enemy of the World" established the plane as an excellent photogenic show piece in the movies. This is a documentary about the actions of the "Condor Legion", the unit of airplanes sent by the Nazis to fight in the Spanish Civil War. This film also has a feature film sequel.

In the film "Pour Le Merite", Carl Ritter portrays the fighter pilot, according to the fascist ideology of Ernest Junger. The pilot is not a mythical hero, but a popular soldier who is forged in the war and returns sober to the democratic civilian world, with the aim of establishing a new order in it. The film is based on the biographies of Herman Goering, Ernest Udet and their comarades in the "The Flying Circus". It depicts Hitler's rise to power through their eyes and includes many aerial scenes. The film became a founding cultural and political event in Nazy Germany.

"Shtukas" tells the story of a two-seater attack squadron that played a major role in the fast wars at Poland and France. The motif of the archetypal pair is prominent and central. Carl Ritter has created in "Shtukas" various scenes of a pair of fighters in the air, who collaborate back to back in many ways, thus establishing the ideal binary pair in terms of fascist ideology.

"The Dora Crew" is the story of a reconnaissance aircraft crew and is considered a sequel to "Shtukas". The plot is about four crew members, who travel to Berlin to receive their airplane and meet in their girfriends, in what becomes a romantic entanglement. Using intelligent use of the "quartet" archetype, Ritter manages to express a need for order and organization, which is equivalent to the four compas directions. A wrist watch received by one of the girls appears occasionally in close-ups. In analogy to the watch, the team mobilize between the fronts in the north, south, east and west. The film's core is the sharp transition from dramatic war scenes to amusing urban scenes.