Die Politik von Caligari

Contemporary politics is filled with anxiety about the survival of democracy—particularly within a framework pitting liberal representative democracy against authoritarianism. In times of anxiety about authoritarianism, Western artists repeatedly return to a masterpiece of relatively early cinema: Robert Weine’s silent film Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari, or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. This essay examines three twenty-first century adaptations: David Lee Fisher’s 2005 remake of the film; James Morrow’s 2017 novel, The Asylum of Dr. Caligari; and Georgie Bailey’s 2022 play Caligari. I argue that while the direct politico-cultural anxieties of Weine’s film have often been overstated, the emergence of adaptations during periods of heightened concern about authoritarianism reflects a deep-seated reception of the film as anticipating autocratic governance. However, for all its fears about power, control, and the loss of self-determination, Weine’s movie also contains the seeds of liberation. Cesare ultimately sacrifices his own life rather than murdering Jane. And it is this gesture that the adaptations examined here seek—a gesture of resistance. The sleepwalker can awaken and assert a form of just resistance in the world, even if the penalties are steep

Art · Humanities · Political science · Visual arts · Crime and Detective Fiction Studies · German Colonialism and Identity Studies · Philosophy · Shakespeare, Adaptation, and Literary Criticism

• A Theory of Adaptation

  Linda Hutcheon•A theory of adaptation•2012

  Añadir item

• From Caligari to Hitler

  Siegfried Kracauer, Leonardo Quaresima•From Caligari to Hitler•2019

  Añadir item

• In the Grip of an Obsession

  Julia A Walker•Theatre Journal•2006

  Añadir item