The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

I took time out to watch an interesting movie entitled “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920).  I for one am not too fond of silent movies, maybe because of the time it was made, but this movie was quite interesting.   This movie had action, suspense and murder.  Everything a growing boy needs in a movie.  One scene in this movie caught my eye.  It was the scene of the murder of Master Alan.  When the old lady ran into Mr. Francis telling him the news, Mr. Francis took as if he had just lost his own brother.  His facial expression is what drew my attention and his body language showed as if he was going to pass out any minute.  The over exaggeration of a person dying is what caught my attention. 

How this scene connects with the class in my opinion is how the scene ties in with expressionism.  Because the film is a silent film, the movements and the expression of the actors is what is most important that the dialogue.  The conversation is the movement between two or more people, other that the expression of words.  All in all, great short film.

”Immediate certainty does not make the truth its own, for its truth is something universal, whereas certainty wants to deal with the This. Perception, on the other hand, takes what exists for it to be a universal.”

 

This is an interesting quote I took from “The Phenomenal Mind.”  I considered it to be direct and to the point.  I think this passage means there is no believing without seeing, but understanding that there is another element which allows one to believe without seeing.  By saying “the truth is universal” is saying that the universe has an element which is unexplainable to some, but understandable to most.

 

I picked this passage because throughout the reading, it seemed to me as if the writer is looking for an outlet.  Asking for the truth, but not realizing the truth is there.  I don’t like how he uses the word “perception” because the truth is not sight on vision, it sets free and brings clarity to perception.     

Trench Warfare by Otto Dix

Wilhelm Heinrich Otto Dix was a German painter and print maker.  He was known for his ruthless and harshly realistic depictions of Wiemar society and the brutality of war.  he was a controversial artist, and in my opinion that made him great.  

This painting illustrates its best visual on war and the damage it can have on the environment.  it is a dark and gloomy description of the after war battle.  the painting looks tiring in a since that when i see it, it look as if there are people tired from a long lasting battle.  most importantly, what intrigued me to this painting was what seems to look like a tree on the left side.  On top of that tree, it looks as if there is a dead decomposed body neatly placed or accidentally thrown by force.  either way, the body looks comfortable and looks as if it has been resting for years. 

Quote from "Dada Manifesto" "I shall be reading poems that are meant to dispense with conventional language, no less,"