The Broken Jug

From the perspective of Silberman, no film, no matter what the subject matter may be, could be wholly free from some ideological underpinnings from its source culture. He makes the point that this is especially true of the Nazi era films, which on first glance may seem innocuous, but as he points out, this is by Goebbels design. while there are many features that could be explored as possible links to the National Socialist ideology, I am partial to the aspect of authority, corruption, and order. The Nazi obsession with order and the role of the authority to create it are not lost in this film. Like Silberman, I believe that the original Kleist play, was less inherently national socialist rather than its ability to be easily appropriated as such. The subject of a corrupt authority that oppresses the Volk, who is then expelled from the community by a seemingly omniscient ruler can easily be put into the context of the Nazi ideal towards the intrinsic order of things. Is the ideology overt? Well, no. not necessarily. Does it allow for an easy propagation of Nazi ideas, yes, it probably does.

One Act, Many Interpretations.

There are several ways in which to look at this film as a potential Nazi film. I would start by looking at the motive for producing the film. As Silberman notes, both Ucicky and Jannings had strong party loyalties and had been previously involved with other pro-Nazi films. This fact in itself does not prove that the Broken Jug is a Nazi film, but in combination with further evidence, it is a compelling piece of the argument. It would also be worthwhile to explore the renewed popularity and interest in Kleist in Germany after the first World War. As Silberman states, “Critics seeking historical parallels to Germany’s hour of trial found in their idiosyncratic readings of Kleist’s tragedies a source for glorifying militaristic values and heroic resignation.”

The next way I would approach this film is by analyzing the way in which film is different from the original screenplay. Specifically, what is it about the film production that lends itself to the Nazi ideals. There is very little changed in the dialogue, yet the way the scenes are set changes the emphasis of the dialogue entirely. Even the way in which Adam’s face is filmed distracts the audience from the true meaning of the dialogue.

The Broken Jug: Entertainment or Propaganda

Silberman contends that no film can be free of an ideology, therefore, The Broken Jug should be interpreted as a Nazi Propaganda movie. Although I agree that the ideology of the filmmaker permeates all decisions made in the process of filming, I do not agree that all other possible
interpretations and representations of symbols and conflicts should be ignored. I do not believe that negating the film's role as an entertainment film during the Third Reich and reading all of the choices as conscious efforts at political propaganda is advantageous or exhaustive of the film's
roles and purposes. Yes, the film was made in Nazi Germany, under Nazi German rule; however, Silberman even admits that the film studios and the movies that were made were often under the control of the economy and what people wanted to see at the time. I do not believe that very much of The Broken Jug is overtly propagandistic; I do believe that symbols and exchanges can be viewed as Nazi propaganda, but not necessarily. I think where I differ with Silberman is that he seems to think that there is a right and a wrong way to analyze this film and that viewing the film as a National Socialist propaganda film is the correct way. I think the film, and for that matter the context the film was made in, is much more complicated than the difference between entertainment films and propaganda. Another point of interest is the fact that it really is fairly unimportant what we understand this movie to be by over analyzing and dissecting different choices made by the filmmaker; what is more important is what the audience who originally watched this movie, in the context it was made for, understood it to be. If the audience viewed it solely as an entertainment film, and were neither aware of, nor affected by the supposed propaganda in the film, then I would contend that despite any intentions to the contrary, the film works as an entertainment film -- nothing more.

October 6-8: The Broken Jug

Imagine you were writing a paper on the Broken Jug. How would you address its position as a Nazi film? Some helpful ways of thinking of this question (you do not need to use all of them or any of them!) What categories would you use to answer this question? How does the film associate with Nazi culture? How might you organize your argument?

If you use the Silberman article (on OAK) to help frame your argument, post your answer on the Readings blog. Otherwise, make use of the Films blog.