"Blue Angel"

     The scene I chose, begins with Professor Kant sitting next to Lola in her dressing room. He clumsily drops her cigarettes and after picking them up is on his knees with his hair disheveled. She grabs a comb and begins to brush his hair back. Within seconds she remarks: "C'mon let's get back to work" and orders him to hold her powder holder. At this point in the scene, Professor Kant is told that he is not a bad looking guy and while, he is timidly acknowledging it, Lola blows into her powder holder covering Professor Kant in powder and almost suffocating him.

     What struck me most about this scene was the ability of Lola to easily manipulate, order and control the apparent authoritarian figure in this film, professor Kant. The Professor seems irresistable to her every whim and her feminine charm swindles professor Kant from his role of Professor. In my point of view, I believe that Lola's captivating personality is a foreshadowing of how Hitler would come to power and consequently subdue all of Germany. If professor Kant represents the old German way of thinking, then Lola is the nihilistic ideology that was setting in and would eventually engulf all of Germany.

CABARET SONGS

1. "It's All a Swindle" (Alles Schwindel), by Mischa Spoliansky and Marcellus Schiffer (1931)
Papa swindles                                                                                                              
Mama swindles                                                                                           
Grandmama's a lying thief                                                                                
We're perfectly shameless                                                                                                
but we're blameless                                                                                                    
after all it's our belief                                                                                                                 
Nowadays the world is rotten                                                                                                     
honesty has been forgotten

Papa schwindelt,
Mama schwindelt,
tut sie auf blob ihren Mund!
Tante Otilie,
und die Familie
und sogar der kleine Hund!
Und besieht man’s aus der Nähe:

I chose this song and specifically these lyrics, because one can begin to understand the nihilistic ideology that was setting in ,especially, because Germany was responsible for paying back reparations and its economy was on the verge of collapsing. These negative lyrics depict the desperation and hopelessness that the Germans felt at that time, and how they did not take responsibility for their actions because it was their beliefs.                                                                  
   

2. "No Time" (Keine Zeit), music by Rudolf Nelson, lyrics by Herbert Nelson

However, in these frantic times, you meet few of these unhurried people.
Nowadays you stand at the vending machine,
with the token in your trembling paws.
You insert the coin, the tray revolves, and you take some bread.
Then you eat the roll at a frantic pace,
because hundreds of others are right behind you.
You chew and you chew without peace and rest
because there is a voice telling you:
"Insert token, take out bread,
for the food might soon be sold out."
One eats without finesse.

Oben steckt man sie rein und dann gibt’s einen Dreh, schon ist unten zum Vorschein ein Broetchen.
Und dann isst man das Broetchen in rasender Hast, denn es warten ja schon hundert andere und man kaut und man kaut, ohne Ruh ohne Rast, denn es sagt eine Stimme, der wandere.
Marke rein, Broetchen raus, schon ist dein Essen aus.
Man ist schnell ohne jede Finesse, der es schmeckt ist ganz ohne Fingresse.

 Another song, that details the constant fear and uncertainty that was felt in Germany at this time. The idea of not being able to rest and have a nice meal because "there is a voice telling you: Insert the token, take the bread out, for the food might soon be sold out."  Once again Germans are in a state of paranoia, their currency value has sunk to almost nothing and people are getting desperate afraid of what might happen next.


Paragraph 175

The three amendments that were added specified that any male who would offer sexual services to another male or committed abused sexually of another male would be punished with imprisonment. Also, any "unnatural sex" acts with animals was also punished with imprisonment. It is curious to note that these laws specifically applied to male homosexuals and did not include any female homosexuality. This law reverts back to the idea of the perfect Aryan race where homosexuality was not permitted .