Frank Capra and Leni Riefenstahl
Politics, Propaganda and the Personal
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3852291 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ian Scott (0000-0002-6348-3842, University of Manchester, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 285-297 |
| Publication date | 2009-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Comparative American Studies An International Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1477-5700 • E-ISSN: 1741-2676 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1179/147757009x12571600892054 |
| OpenAlex | W1982085110 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 6 |
The circumstances that led Frank Capra to view Leni Riefenstahl's notorious documentary of the 1934 Nuremberg rallies, Triumph of the Will, is well-known. What is less known is the extent to which the themes inherent in Capra's filmmaking through the 1930s, and Riefenstahl's own interest in ideas of national identity, social commentary and romanticism in her fictional and documentary films, mapped out a set of cinematic coincidences between the two little discussed in the body of literature devoted to these directors. This article lays out a number of those coincidences and, in the process, compares the theoretical strain of political romanticism that winds its way through Capra and Riefenstahl's work. The iconic and symbolic imagery in their films suggests interesting and important comparative aspects to their canon, but also that a fascination in political romanticism led them to differing conclusions about the impact and threat of media and propaganda forces lined up in alliance with totalitarian powers during the 1930s and '40s
Archaeology · Art · Capra · Political science · Politics · European history and politics · German History and Society · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |