Triumph Of The Will (Meditation # 2)

TRIUMPH OF THE WILL




BACKGROUND

This Nazi propaganda film was released in 1935 and produced by Leni Riefenstahl . It portrays the Nazi party in a different light and almost makes you believe that the German government is strong and right in their ways. This film of nearly 2 hours has little to no speaking in it but is more powerful in displaying it's point of existence than many other films with audio. The movie has a lot of good material in it and uses many different techniques to persuade the viewers beliefs about Nazi Germany.

TECHNIQUES

Bandwagoning is displayed throughout the whole film. Since this movie only really shows one side of the story, it makes the viewer feel that "everyone" supports Hitler. It makes Hitler seem like a promising individual to put your faith in and does not display any evil nature.

Symbols are used everywhere in this movie. The German swastika, originally meaning peace, is found on many things in this movie. The main part to focus on is during the night meeting. This symbol is litten up high in the night sky like the northern star. This is alluding to the fact that the symbol will show people the way in life. Hitler uses this symbol throughout his campaign and finds much success in doing so. Repetition is also used because the symbol is shown so frequently. Even kids wear this pin, this could be nostalgic.

Warm fuzzies come into play when the child hands Hitler a bouquet of flowers. This shows that Hitler must not be evil, he is receiving flowers from an innocent child. It's too bad that children can be manipulated and made to do anything.

The music throughout the movie is motivational, sad, and all types of emotions. This taps into our limbic part of the brain and draws pleasant thoughts with the music as the scene is displayed. If you have never seen this movie than I suggest watching the whole thing. Some of the feelings that it makes you have even though the war is over are incredible. Propaganda is full of different techniques and is a strong tool for persuasion. It is important to understand why the director chose to do things the way that they did, every movement in this movie has reasoning behind it.