Themes

Themes present in Dr. Caligiri’s cabinet and the Blue Angel:

Obsession with beauty or all things beautiful- A woman’s beauty leads the man to despair. In Ceseare’s case he is killed as a result of Jane. In Immanuel Rath’s case, he loses his job and his money chasing after Lola.

Concept of Reality/ Insanity- In both films the concept of reality is distorted. Dr. Caligiri has a twist ending and it turns out that instead of being the doctor who works in the asylum, he is actually a patient. And even in the Blue Angel when Rath finds out that Lola is cheating on him, before he can attack her he is attacked by the people at the club and eventually he goes insane.

Depression/Darkness- Both films have a depressed undertone to them as both characters seem to be hopeless. It seems as though in both films, the characters experienced this life changing event, usually something to do with a woman, and then they become depressed and despondent. Their lives seem to spin out of control and essentially they lose it.

These themes represent Nihilism because they expose the superficial and mock the things we take seriously. The fine line between reality and insanity was explored in both films. This is an important part of Nihilism because as we know this ideal attempts to destroy the present norm and create a new one.  A woman’s beauty being the reason the men went insane is the superficial theme.