Audience's Emotional Response in The Triumph Of The Will, Cabaret, Schindler’s List and The Lion King

Audience's Emotional Response in The Triumph Of The Will, Cabaret, Schindler’s List and The Lion King

Why are people still so fascinated and emotionally enthralled by the

Nazis? I think it is because of the “horror factor” which is similar

to scary films. You ask yourself how a human can do such things as the

Nazis did and the same question is asked in psychological horror

films. In this essay, I will discuss the films Triumph of the Will,

Schindler’s List, Cabaret and The Lion King, and how they portray the

Nazis, and what techniques they use to do so.

During the 1930s under the Nazis, Hitler commissioned Leni Riefenstahl

to make a propaganda film about the Nazis. In 1934, Triumph of the

Will was released and was based on the Nazi party rally in Nüremberg.

Its purpose was to convert people to fascism. It opens with a shot

from a plane flying over the historic city of Nüremberg this is

Hitler’s viewpoint. The audience see a shadow of the plane high along

the ground not unlike the shadow of fascism falling over Europe. This

makes the audience feel that Hitler is above everyone, and very

superior. The opening is slow with stirring, emotional music with

Teutonic lettering in the credits, because Hitler wanted Germany to be

like it used to centuries ago, strong and powerful.

Hitler was one of the first celebrities to be idolised by the public

and in Triumph Of The Will, he is portrayed as godlike. This is

emphasised by the fact that the camera always looks up at him but down

at his ...

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...yenas use is also

the same as the Nazis used. This is known as goose stepping. Nearer to

the beginning of the scene, Scar is shown above the hyenas which

symbolises the fact that Hitler was superior to his followers. He

gives his inferiors food which can be symbolised as giving someone an

incentive for alliance and help.

Throughout all 4 films, Nazis are portrayed as amoral, heartless,

racist humans. This is done by using techniques such as suspension of

disbelief which will emotionally attach the audience to the film and

make them question why the Nazis are performing such heartless acts. A

good example of this is the shock created by the blood and gore in

Schindler’s List. This makes the audience believe that Nazis are the

height of evil, and gives them a negative attitude towards Nazism and

fascism altogether.