Midterm (Professor I emailed this to you already)

Laura Powell
Explain the statement, "boredom is nothing other than the dissolution of pain in time", (Jünger p. 13) and its relationship to nihilism
Discuss the relationship between nihilism and changing attitudes on sexuality. In what ways did traditional values place prohibitions on sexuality? Why did these prohibitions lose their power after the first World War? Using The Blue Angel and Dream Story as a reference discuss the new attitudes towards sexuality that developed during the 1920s and early 1930s
   When World War I ended, millions of men across the world had been killed and countries had been destroyed. There was only one country to blame for the madness. Unfortunately,  this country was Germany. Along with taking the blame for the war, Germany was forced to pay reparations which eventually sent their economy into a downward spiral. The public humiliation and poor economy gave way to a meaningless feeling. Most Germans began to feel like they were being misrepresented and the result of the war had caused the country to be frowned upon. Many expressed their dissent in art forms like with the fictional story “On Pain” by Ernst Junger or with the films “The Blue Angel” and “Dream Story.” This meaningless feeling gave way to the idea of Nihilism.
    Nihilism is the idea that if the current method of doing things is not working than all things relating to the problem must be destroyed in order to find a new solution. This ideal forces the person or persons to confront their problems head on in order to come to a solution. Nihilism is a theme which is prevalent in German culture after the First World War.  There is a strong sense of disdain toward conventional methods that is common throughout these art forms. In lecture, we have been examining Ernst Jungers’ “On Pain.” This is an essay focuses on pain and how it can bring one closer to reality. Junger believed that morals such as the ones of Christianity, caused people to become disillusioned.
    An interesting point about Junger is that he welcomes technological advances because he believes that it will eventually push people to revolt against a monotone society.
He states that “Boredom is nothing other than the dissolution of pain in time.” This quote is essentially saying that while there is nothing going on, one is forced to face their pain which in Junger's mind is the truth. The silence that comes along with boredom causes one to think.
    As mentioned in the class blog, Junger believes that pain is the key to creating new entities. In other words, acknowledging the hurts will enable one to shed the burden and start the creative process towards something new. In order for one to start something new, they have to free themselves from oppression. In class, we discussed the ways in which a society can be oppressed. One very significant way is through religion.
      Religion can dictate ones life. It can influence the direction one decides to take. The class blog mentions Nietzches point of view on religion and how it can stifle our natural wants. He compared Greek morals with Christian morals. He said that Christian morals repressed natural human instincts. Whereas Christians were intelligent, the Greeks were physically strong. Nietzche attributed their strength to their ability to express their desires.
     One significant way that people have been repressed is through sex and sexuality. This can be seen in the two films we have watched, "The Blue Angel" and "Dream Story."
    "The Blue Angel" tells the story of Immanuel Rath, a teacher at a school in Germany who eventually falls in love with a singer at a risque club. This film shows how women's beauty and sexuality were appreciated so much so that Rath lost his mind in the end.
    What makes this film important is that it comes at a time when the attitudes towards sex and women were making a radical shift. This radical shift falls right in line with the ideals of Nihilism.
   Before the 1920's, women were expected to stay at home and be submissive to their husbands. Women were expected to dress conservatively and present themselves with manners.
   However, World War I reversed these roles. Women were now able to work and make their own money. This created an attitude of independence. Along with this attitude of independence came an attitude of confidence. Women's hemlined became shorter and lipstick became an even more popular commodity.
     Marlene Dietrich could be considered a sex symbol. She portrayed a sassy, "shared", woman who did whatever she pleased and had men falling at her feet. This image was far from the image of women before World War I. It was indeed a radical shift from the conservative way women were portrayed.
     Sex was another concept that had changed perspective. Where it was once thought of as being only for procreation, the act of sex became a very explored topic. "Dream Story" blurs the line between reality and fantasy, in which sex is explored in many different forms. This is reminiscent of Nietzche and his comparisons of Greeks and Christians. Because all in all, humans have desires that they want to act out on but are afraid to do so because it goes against societal norms.
   Fantasy is one of the ways which can allow one to break from the past and create something new. Schintzler displays this very well in "Dream Story." This film made it ok to have sexual fantasies and showed that even though you may be married, it is ok to fantasize about someone else.
    In conclusion, World War I was a terrible war. However, its aftermath allowed Germany to rethink its morals and culture. From this revelation, German society was able to rebuild itself in order to create an entirely new system. Even though Nihilism is a popular ideal throughout the world, it is more significant in Germany because of the struggle and setbacks Germans faced. It was the eventual turn around that their society was able to make.