The Aestheticization of Politics Triumph Des Willens (1935)

The Aestheticization of Politics Triumph Des Willens (1935)
The aestheticization of politics was coined by Walter Benjamin as key composition of
Fascist regimes. Benjamin discusses this notion in aura concept and loss of it. The
politicization of the aesthetic is conducted through; identifying and resisting the process of art
exploitation and identification of art revolution. According to Benjamin, films were in Nazi
regime a powerful agent in propaganda offering reality illusion and providing a simultaneous
collective experience to masses. In his view, liberating power is held by the media and
requires employment and custody of political, polytechnic skills for it to liberate the masses
contemporary consumerist mastery limitations over the masses and nature (Redfield, 2003).
An example of such a powerful agent was Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl.
This film was not her only cinematic accomplishment in Nazi regime but the indisputable
combination of artistic devices and National Socialist political ideology has brought it to the
debate forefront. The volk concept of Nazi was an extension obsession with purity and ‘soil
and blood’ pre-modern life mentality. Triumph of will represents the volk in a scene
depicting men, women and children wearing traditional costumes together with extra-diegetic
Bavarian music on soundtrack.
This film is one of the few of German fascism aesthetic monuments that have had
serious critical scrutiny. Technical and artistic virtuosity of the film impresses less but the
Speer’s choreography on glamour and rally impresses more (Felleman, 2014). From the
Triumph of the Will opening, it establishes the audience identification with Hitler their hero
with the first shot displaying an extended panorama of mountain-like clouds viewed from
inside an aircraft, which is through Hitler’s eyes. This is followed by Nuremberg revealed
through cloud clearing which also reveals ancient buildings draped with Nazi banners. The

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plain’s visible shadow resembles a ‘fantastic eagle’- symbol of the Reich- while passing
through the columns of marching brown shirts.
Hitler descending from heaven was an imagery and symbol and can be interpreted
differently. It is similar to ‘reincarnation of All-Father Odin’ found in Scandinavian and is
equivalent to Germanic god Woden (Felleman, 2014). The opening is also similar to the
Christian imagery of Jesus descending from heaven with glory and power with a crown on
His head. The images portray the arrival of Hitler as the second coming of Jesus Christ. In
conclusion, the film casts Hitler as veritable German Messiah who will save the nation if they
put their destiny in his hands.
The opening sequence is significant representing an artistic merit which constructs
Hitler as a god descending from heaven passing through Nuremberg clouds to visit his
worshippers. This powerful religious imagery in the beginning could not be achieved
newsreel sequences competent montage. Close-ups of townsfolk waving and attractive smiles
that welcomed Hitler serve to humanize and normalize an artificial and contrived scenario.
The Newsreel coverage has a negative effect of distancing spectator from spectacle.
Many commenters have classified the film first as art and second as propaganda (McCormick
& Guenther-Pal, 2004). In the account of sustained film’s vicious ideology, accepting the
film first and foremost as an art poses risk that diminishes its political role. This will
exonerate its maker of any Nazi regime complicity leading to validation of Riefenstahl’s own
post-war self-justifications. Studies show that the Nazi’s categorised the film as “politically
especially valuable” instead of “politically valuable artistically”.
In this film, the ideological message is clear, the Führerprinzip (German leadership)
which is a notion to absolutism of the Führer who had the power and will to actualise the
Volksstaat’. Reason for portraying Hitler in this manner is the facts that during appearance on

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the screen, the camera will be positioned invariably below the level of his face which
immediately subjugating the spectator. In the film, mass gathering with an example found on
the scene Hitler is paying respect to a memorial ceremony of those who died in the Great
War. Telescopic lens were used to film the crowd scene while enlarging the number of the
audience (Riefenstahl & Culbert, 2010). Some people argue that the power emotive quality of
the vast number was a propagandistic value making the viewers to yearn to be part of it.
Hitler had previously outlined the importance of mass in National socialist. The film is filled
with a crowd that is staggering in number with unending enthusiasm
The submission and discipline of the masses as depicted in the film’s Labor Corp rally
sequence where Hitler is shown reviewing labor corpsmen ranks, who are rigidly standing at
attention while chanting fascist rhetoric in a perfect unison. Their emotionless, automatic and
disciplined chanting Kracauer’s concept of mass ornament is exemplified by the Corpsmen.
In the sequence of wreath ceremony, where Hitler, S.S. Chief Himmler and Chief Lutze
flanked by thousand S.A men was a proceeding towards the memory of world war 1
(McCormick & Guenther-Pal, 2004). Simply, this was not a paying respect to the dead, but
propaganda for Nazi leaders to World War 1. The move was designed to portray the regime
as an extension of the bravery, bloodlust and fighting spirit myths like Verdun associated
with the battlefield.
It is evident the film seeks to transmit a clear set of values and ideas of those of Adolf
Hitler and Nazi party in 1934. The film intention was to propagate the ideas among the
German citizens. The appeal of Hitler is to be a heroic German with a large invention with
understanding from his audience with reinforcement from existing cultural forces
(Riefenstahl & Culbert, 2010). The film addresses an international and national audience
offering opportunities to Hitler and Nazi leadership to speak with maximum impact.

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Riefenstahl’s heightened the political message in the film by brilliant editing of the parades
and speeches by cutting out all the repetitive and boring parts of the speeches in creation of
“sound bites.” The sympathetic treatment in the film makes the Nazi to appear interesting and
at that time attractive.
Triumph of will film is more laughable than brilliant and has served as an ultimate
vindication of Walter Benjamin’s notion that aestheticization of politics was demanded by
fascism as in Germany there was a brute seizure of power rendered as orderly and inert
spectacle. Hitler is not just reviled as a Messiah saviour leadership but humanity where he
moves among the crowd smiling and shaking hand. Hitler shots are intercut with other shots
not only of the enormous crowd, but of individuals, like children filled with laughter and
smiles. Small details like when Hitler stops his motorcade to accept flowers from a child and
its mother have been designed to support the film’s vision of Hitler as German nation loved
father. Triumph of will film conveys the National Socialist ideology incongruous due to the
impossibilities of German audience in 1930 inability to ignore propagandistic tendencies of
the film.
The film represents the Nazi world as like Valhalla, a place surrounded by mist and
cloud being peopled by heroes and is ruled from above by god. Hitler is the hero of this grand
narrative being both a saviour and leader, a new Siegfried that came to restore the defeated
Germany to its ancient splendour. The author has used striking motifs in establishing the
heroic vision like, flag, moon and cloud, the German Eagle, Albert Speer’s towering
architecture, the swastika, torches and burning pyres, Hitler’s voice and the roar of the crowd.
The key idea of the film was the unity of support for Hitler to the Germany as everyone in the
film is seen to support Hitler.

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References

Felleman, S. (2014). Real objects in unreal situations. Bristol, UK: Intellect.
McCormick, R. & Guenther-Pal, A. (2004). German essays on film. New York: Continuum.
Redfield, M. (2003). The politics of aesthetics. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press.
Riefenstahl, L. & Culbert, D. (2010). Behind the scenes of the National Party Convention
film =. Chicago, IL: International Historic Films, Inc.