Isherwood's Portrayal Of Bodies In Triumph Of The Will

eveloping on the portrayal of bodies in Triumph of the Will there is a strong portrayal of young bodies as fit and healthy. From figure 1 , it is evident that Riefenstahl is using the Russian Bolshevik documentary tool of zooming in on happy smiling faces. This is explored further in the quasi-documentary films that aired during the era of the silent cinema, which used cinema as a potent documentary tool. The use of the camera zooming in on individual faces creates exaggerated close ups of awe and wonderment as the sexually charismatic figure of Hitler is displayed. In Triumph of the Will Hitler is portrayed as someone who is half mortal and half divine, a figure that will save Germany. However, all the individuals in the film look the same,

This is explored explicitly in Isherwood’s characterisation of Sally Bowles a character who is portrayed as having many sexual partners in an explicit attempt to create shock value. Her exaggerated characteristics and theatricality can be viewed in the manner in which she speaks on the phone. ‘Hilloo,’ she cooed, pursing her brilliant cherry lips as though she was going to kiss the mouthpiece: ‘Ist Das Du mein Liebling? Her mouth opened in a fatuously sweet smile. Fritz and I sat watching her, like a performance at the theatre .’ In this her sexuality is represented through her ‘cherry lips’ with red being the colour associated with sexual attraction and linked to eroticism, a concept which was infamous in early 1930s Berlin. However, it can also be construed that Isherwood is presenting Sally as overly theatrical in order to disguise her own insecurities, which she hides under a thick layer of makeup. The description of her hands in particular evokes a sense of grotesque sexuality ‘the green finger-nails seemed to not belong to them at all; to have settled on them by chance – like hard, bright, ugly little beetles ’ her finger nails represent her as a liberal woman but they can be viewed as tacky and a sign of her own exploitation because they too are so theatrical. It is interesting to consider Sally Bowles as a mirror of Berlin itself, both are going through a period of

In the novel it is made clear that Peter visits various psychoanalysts to try and cure his psychological problems. Peter is plagued by visits to various experts in a futile attempt to try and cure him of his illness; he suffers from nervous breakdowns and is constantly questioning his own self worth. However, it is his friendship to Otto that truly calms him down, the two wrestle on the beach together and Otto is good for Peter because he lives entirely like an animal in his body, he is intuitive about the sickness of others and uses his intuition to be a healing force on Peter. It is important to take into consideration that Peter moves to Berlin from London, he argue that it’s for economic reasons with psychoanalysis being cheaper. However, Jonathan Fryer maintains that ‘the British upper and middle class of the thirties have often manifested a tendency to be sexually attracted by those of ‘lower orders’, who are seen to be free of the trappings of civilisation and refinement .’ In this, it is clear that Peter’s upbringing has restrained him and caused him tension. Therefore, by going to Berlin and participating in the sexual culture he is able to distress, making his friendship with Otto a positive thing for both of them. Therefore, by participating in the commodification of the body Peter is maintaining his friendship. However,