Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, 1927
Film still "Metropolis."
Lang’s film included the female character Maria, a beautiful woman who at the start of the film embodies an image of the demure woman more common in 1920s films in Germany, and later in the film becomes more sexually charged as a machine-vamp. The ideas of technology within the film are encapsulated in the female form as a threat. The machine-vamp, Maria, represents threats to masculinity and the idea of a liberated woman; both ideas emerging after the First World War.
Robert Wiene’s Das Cabinet des Dr.Caligari, 1920
Film still "Das Cabinet des Dr.Caligari."
This early German expressionist Horror film is a frame story beginning with the protagonist Francis talking to an elderly man. Francis tells the man that he and a passing woman, Jane, have lived through a very strange story. Francis then proceeds to tell the man the unusual story of he and Jane’s encounters with Dr.Calgari. The main woman in the film, Jane is depicted in a long, flowing white dress most of the film. Jane represents an earlier, less sexualized image within cinema of women, contrasting even to later characters in horror films such as Brigitte Helm’s character in Alraune.
Joseph Von Sternberg’s Der blaue Engel, 1930
Promotional photo for "Der blue Engel."
Sternberg’s film centers on Professor Rath, a schoolteacher to a class or rowdy boys who see Lola Lola sing every night. Professor Rath travels to the club where Lola Lola sings in order to capture the boys in action. After stumbling into the singer’s bedroom, Professor Rath meets, and eventually marries, Lola Lola. The film centers on the strong sexuality of Lola Lola, in her dress, lyrics, and attitude, that Professor Rath is seduced by and eventually destroyed by. Lola Lola represents this femme fatale present throughout the majority of Weimar cinema.
The promotional material for Der blaue Engel shows Marlene Dietrich in a very provocative, sexual pose. The image shows this idea of “sex selling.” Lola Lola, the character played by Dietrich, represents the emipotme of the Weimar femme fatale. Her character, Lola Lola, sings sexy songs in clubs and seduces and destroyes a man. This idea is obviously being marketed to audience in the early 1930s, showing the transformation and regularity of sexualized female characters as leading characters in Weimar cinema.
The promotional material for Der blaue Engel shows Marlene Dietrich in a very provocative, sexual pose. The image shows this idea of “sex selling.” Lola Lola, the character played by Dietrich, represents the emipotme of the Weimar femme fatale. Her character, Lola Lola, sings sexy songs in clubs and seduces and destroyes a man. This idea is obviously being marketed to audience in the early 1930s, showing the transformation and regularity of sexualized female characters as leading characters in Weimar cinema.