6/21    Has anyone seen Triumph of the Will (1934)? What are your
        thoughts on it? Should this piece be banned from the film
        studies class or does it actually have substantial historical
        and educational value in it?
        \_ Nazi propaganda film?  I think you are a troll.
           \_ No, I'm asking because it's included in many film studies classs
              and I'm surprised it's not banned or anything like that
              \_ "If we fail to know history, we are doomed to repeat it."
              \_ also, she did a lot of very interesting things with the
                 editing that were kind of mind-blowing at the time, but are
                 taken for granted nowadays.  It's educational from a film
                 history perspective, even if the content does make me want
                 to vomit.  -sax
        \_ I don't really recall, I think I saw it when I was 12.  I
           remember it being interesting from a historical and film
           technique perspective.  Very effecitive propoganda.  Worth
           seeing.  Another similarly influential/horrifying file is
           "Birth of a Nation."  I remember that one with a lot more ire,
           but I saw it much more recently as well.  I especially liked
           presdient Wilson's quote at the beginning calling it
           "history written in lightning." THAT made me want to vomit.
           \_ The cinematographic techniques in it are absolutely fascinating,
              as is the whole thing as a phaenomenon in and of itself.  There
              are far spooker Nazi propaganda films, such as "I accuse"
              (forget the German title) and most of the not-so-in-your-face
              ones.  They're extra-scary because of the banality with which
              they present what to most people is plain evil.  If the topic
              interests you, there are some rare late interviews with Leni
              Riefenstahl that shed some light on her motivations.  As for
              "Birth of a Nation", it's much plumper in its propaganda.  -John
              \- Do you read Hannah Arendt?
                 \_ No, nor her books.  I assume you're referring to her
                    idea of the destruction of familiar social contexts as
                    a basis for totalitarianism?  I think the "scary shit"
                    I'm referring to would better be described as "chutzpah".
                    \_ "Eichmann In Jerusalem" should be required reading for
                       anyone, but I'm a little confused as to how it would
                       apply in this case.
                       \- the expression "the banality of evil" is most
                          tightly bound to HA.