Weimar culture Flashcards
what were key parts of the Weimar culture?
hiking, opera, cinema, radio, art
why is it wrong to say all of Weimar culture was vibrant and experimental?
only shows activities of small part of population, large parts of Germany untouched by cultural experimentation
what was the Bauhaus movement?
architecture movement/ design school, saw beauty in technology, simple design and careful craftsmanship
what was the New Objectivity movement?
matter of fact representation of life, gave modernism and expressionism darker twist
who were the most experimental in this period?
artists, intellectuals, writers, directors
what did the government subsidise to bring culture to small towns?
theatres, orchestras, museums and libraries
what was Fritz Lang’s movie, why was it so shocking?
Metropolis, first full length film with sci-fi subject, very modern
what is expressionism?
belief that thoughts and feelings are more important than actual representation in art
what is modernism?
embraced future, beauty in tech, mass production, rejected representational art of stylised fiction
what US trends were some young people influenced by?
consumer culture, advertising, jazz
what did Paragraph 184 of the Criminal Code ban, despite ‘free speech’?
obscene films, publications etc, protect under 16s from pornography
why was Weimar culture so free and diverse, regarding the constitution?
freedom of speech and expression
why was freedom of expression not always a good thing?
allowed critics of the culture and the government to express their views just as freely
how did the numbers of cinemas change between 1919 and 1929?
doubled, 2,800 in 1919, 5,200 1929
what movies were popular and why, The Holy Mountain is an example?
hiking, mountain films
helped Germans remember traditional past times and distract them from post-war period and recent events
what type of book was Junger’s Storm of Steel, why?
romanticised book of trench life, said trenches paradise, described acts of slaughter in graphic sensual detail
what did Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front show?
bleak depiction of WW1, continual horror, fear and destruction affected young soldiers, men destroyed physically and mentally by war
How did artists Otto Dix and George Grosz embrace New Objectivity?
stripped away pre-war idealism
Dix presented German soldiers as monstrous, gas masks transformed their faces into skulls
Grosz presented army as vicious and inhumane, Eberts brain steaming pile of dung, ridicules elites
what new filming techniques did Walter Ruttmann use?
sped up and slowed down rate of film,fast cuts + edits to create visual rhythm, sequences focusing on abstract shapes
why did right wing people fear the new culture?
increasing influence of Jews and Americanisation, the replacement/ degrading of traditional culture
despite fearing the new culture how did some Conservatives use it?
to put forward their ideas, had control of newspapers, media etc
