The Blue Angel, Cabret Songs & Paragraph 175 (HW 5)

PART 1

INTERPRETATION OF FILM THEME:

Lola and Professor Immanuel Rath (played by silent film veteran Emil Jannings) represent the classic contradiction of the seductive female and the hapless male. The vampish woman (Lola) is a force of powerful sexuality, which is aligned with the deadly forces of nature (her animal print costumes and the exoticness of The Blue Angel club) and individuality. Professor Immanuel Rath is the lonely and sympathetic male aligned with civilization (he is a respected teacher) who falls prey to her untamed femininity.  Although by today’s standards the symbolism is inappropriate, the scene where Rath wakes up with a black doll represents the dark and mysterious foreignness of Lola that is alluring yet ultimately dangerous and unattainable. The key to the strange power manipulated by Lola is due to the extraordinary sexuality that Sternberg gives to Dietrich. Lola’s performances are a mixture of stylized seduction but are also highly camp. She embodies both masculine and feminine traits in the way she dresses, moves and speaks. She may sit on stage dressed in frilly underwear and gaze lovingly up at Rath, but also wears a top hat and crosses her legs like man. She moves seamlessly from being a passive object of desire to a sexually confident aggressor, and is sometimes both simultaneously. The first time the audience see’s Lola is on the postcard that Rath has confiscated from his students. Rath blows up a piece of cloth pasted onto the card to conceal her crotch and the moment is one of pure male objectification. However, this scene then cuts to Lola on stage where she is shot from a low angel, making her appear to tower over the audience. Hands defiantly on hips she sings through a sneer only pausing to take a beer off of another woman. She is completely in control of her domain and her body. Her sexuality is a weapon and she uses it against Rath to unsettle him. In a later scene when Rath is under the table looking for the dropped cigarettes, the audience may get a very unwholesome shot of Lola’s legs but Rath is the one looking flustered and embarrassed while Lola teases him.

PART 2

INTERPRETATION OF CABARET SONGS:

"Chuck Out the Men" (Raus mit den Männern), by Friedrich Hollaender (1926) Performed and recorded by Ute Lemper, Berlin Cabaret Songs (Decca 1996).

English Lyric Translation:

The battle for emancipation's been raging since history began

Yes, feminists of every nation want to chuck off the chains made by man

Hula girls and housemaids and wives in Maribou

hear all our voices thunder in protest

Anything that men do women can do too

and more that that we women do it best

German Lyric Translation:

(für Claire Waldoff)

Es geht durch die ganze Historie

ein Ruf nach Emanzipation

vom Menschen bis zur Infusorie

überall will das Weib auf den Thron.

Vin Hawai-Neger bis zur Berliner Range

braust ein Ruf wie Donnerhall daher:

Was die Männer können, können wir schon lange

und vielleicht ’ne ganze Ecke mehr.

"Chuck Out the Men" is clearly a German feminist national anthem; and conveys the way men in governmental positions and positions in power were running not only the country but the world. The original singer a lesbian herself (Claire Waldoff; October 21, 1884– January 22, 1957) wanted for all women to realize that they have the same ability to do what the men can and that as women they are able to do a better job than any man can. She believed that men were too focused on their reputation and did not recognize the choices they make in governing the people had been detrimental to humanity's growth and progress. I believe the lyrics relate to today's society and how men in powerful political positions are given power over things that affect specifically women and are too concerned with their own beliefs and morals to care how their decisions that directly affect women. For example the debates focused on abortions and birth control concern women's rights to choose; but it’s being disputed over by men who barely understand the female anatomy.

"It's All a Swindle" (Alles Schwindel), by Mischa Spoliansky and Marcellus Schiffer (1931). Performed and recorded by Ute Lemper, Berlin Cabaret Songs (Decca 1996).

English Lyric Translation:

Papa swindles

Mama swindles

Grandmama's a lying thief

We're perfectly shameless

but we're blameless

after all it's our belief

Nowadays the world is rotten

honesty has been forgotten

fall in love but after kissing --

check your purse to see what's missing

Everyone swindles some

my son's a mooch and so's the pooch

German Lyric Translation:

Alles Schwindel

Papa schwindelt,

Mama schwindelt,

tut sie auf blob ihren Mund!

Tante Otilie,

und die Familie

und sogar der kleine Hund!

Und besieht man’s aus der Nähe:

Jedes Band und jede Ehe

jeder Kub in dern Betriebe

und sogar die grobe Liebe!

Und die ganze heut’ge Zeit ja,

sogar die Ehrlichkeit!

LYRIC INTERPRETATION:

"It's All a Swindle” suggests everyone including family such as parents, grandparents, children and even dog during these times were deceitful and out to cheat and steal for personal gain regardless of it being intentional or not. It was human nature to take whatever people wanted because of how selfishness and greed were molding society during that time.  Every one's shameless, but no one's to blame means that it isn't the people's fault for behaving this way, but rather the age of indulgences that caused social transformation stemming from mass production of goods and the influence of mass media. People's values during this time changed for the worst; and it was hard to trust anyone since everyone was out to take others monies and possessions. It is a cynical song that even emphasizes how the ones we love the most aren't worthy of trusting, and it even mentions how we all have someone or something taking things from us or “mooching” without even recognizing it , such as our children and or pets.

This verse makes us all of weary in today's society, especially to those we choose to surround ourselves with. It's a nice lesson in adapting to an ever changing social environment because we never know who to trust or put our faith into. Everything suggested in this song is true even today with the influence of mass media. Greed and selfishness harbor in people's minds today more prevalently because of the lack and abundance of money. Although, even if it's not money or possessions that people are looking for, it's always something people are getting from you; like the presence of good company, a laugh, or good times.

INTERPRETATION OF PARAGRAPH 175:

Paragraph 175 is a German law which condemned homosexuality and made it punishable as a crime. It was added to the Reich Penal Code in 1871. It declared that a man who engaged in sexual activity with another man or an animal will be punished by imprisonment, however If the party is under the age of 21 punishment can be withheld. This law was later modified into two sections 175a and 175b. The policy of what is an offense was changed and lengthened using different regulations for grounds of punishment. The offense was 10 years imprisonment or if one was under the age of 21 and engages in sexual relations with a male younger then himself he is open punishment from the law. However there are also other various circumstances that could condemn a homosexual man.

This goes hand and hand with the lecture to the point in where creating a law banning homosexuality and making it illegal; also goes hand in hand to how society viewed and treated women and wanted to control their social being and behavior(s) in Germany. In “Blue Angel” it illustrations us the type of control social structure had; hence the professor partaking in a relationship with Lola, which eventually causes his social statues to change.