Contemporary film producers shifted their preoccupation with Nazi-Germany to the Weimar Republic, a distinctive yet, no less intriguing period in German history. Instead of focusing on the Second World War, experts portray a spectacular failure of utopic democracy in the 1920s, driven by internal forces in the country. This essay briefly analyzes the root reasons for the prevalence of Weimar Culture through the prism of escapism in modern art.
On the contrary to Nazi-Germany, Weimar culture catalyzed a rise of a novel approach in film making, commonly referred to as German expressionism, which explores the dark aspects of human behavior. The scope of the movies conveying the idea of German chauvinism and Jewish genocide extends far beyond the original theme, failing to provide intriguing perspectives on the issue that Weimar culture currently does. It is fascinating to observe the Weimar society both in the historical and fictional dramas, as it operates at the crossroads of history.
Inspired by the values of tradition, authoritarian government, and militarism, predominant in the nineteenth century, it simultaneously incorporates ideals of radical democracy, republicanism, and liberalism. Such an unusual combination of beliefs sets the context for the rise of Adolf Hitler, who gained power in times of political and social instability in the country. As the government was struggling between the steadiness of conservative attitudes and the progressiveness of the novel stances, the tension is prevailing in the decade. The aforementioned period of history is vividly pictured in “Babylon Berlin,” one of the top-rated fictional dramas on Netflix now, encapsulating the dark glamour of the times between two world wars. Despite its profound gentrification, the series uses the banality of daily life to avoid the persistently unpleasant feelings of depression preceding WWII.