BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME;VALUE=TEXT:CES: The Invention and Inversion of the German National Landscape by Jewish Filmmakers, 1918-1968
PRODID:-//Harvard events data//EN
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:event_756151_0
SUMMARY:CES: The Invention and Inversion of the German National Landscape by Jewish Filmmakers, 1918-1968
DESCRIPTION:<div class="summary"><p>Both during the Weimar years and in the early decades of the Cold War, in the wake of national catastrophes, Heimat imagery had played a vital role in the German identity discourse. While the significance of Heimat-films within this trend is well documented, the fundamental contribution of Jewish artists to the formation of the Heimatfilm genre has been surprisingly overlooked. My talk analyzes the ways Jewish filmmakers in Germany appropriated conventional Heimat imagery in order to participate in and influence the constitution of the German nationality. In manipulating and de-contextualizing Heimat iconography, prominent Jewish filmmakers were able to introduce the aspirations and fears of integration-seeking outsiders—i.e., of German-Jews—into mainstream perceptions of German identity. I will demonstrate the various ways Jewish filmmakers utilizedHeimat imagery, from Ernst Lubitsch and E.A. Dupont's early parodies of the Heimat idyll to the somber portrayals of the German landscape in the Cold War films of John Brahm and Konrad Wolf. I argue that, regardless of the different settings, these filmmakers used similar means to advocate an alternative notion of a German national community, which thrives in an alternative Heimat, devoid of its blood and soil connotations.</p><h2>Sponsors</h2><ul class="bullet-list"><li><a href="https://ces.fas.harvard.edu/study-groups/jews-in-modern-europe-study-group">Jews in Modern Europe Study Group</a></li></ul><h3>This event is co-sponsored by:</h3><ul class="bullet-list"><li><a href="http://german.fas.harvard.edu/">Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures, Harvard University</a></li></ul></div><div class="details"></div><div class="contact"><span>Contact:</span> Phyllis Albert, <a href="mailto:phyllisalbert@gmail.com">phyllisalbert@gmail.com</a></div>
LOCATION:Adolphus Busch Hall, Hoffmann Room, 27 Kirkland St. Cambridge
STATUS:CONFIRMED
DTSTART:20161005T201500Z
DTEND:20161005T220000Z
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR