Triumph of the Will

Triumph of the Will has a startling relevance in our society today. The most important issue raised by this film is how difficult it is to recognize evil. One would expect a Nazi propaganda film to be filled with hate and images of atrocities, yet director Leni Riefenstahl creates a portrait of the Nazis which hides this hate behind a veil of nationalism and progress. She uses the camera impressively to portray the magnitude of Hitler's support. At one point the camera pans over the tents of troops (who are all the picture of health and happiness) which seem to stretch on into infinity. The crowds which greet Hitler at his various speaking events also appear limitless. Riefenstahl made use of 30 moving cameras to create these effects, a number which was considerably ambitious, particularly for the time. The entire effect of the film, beginning with the opening scene in which Hitler descends into Germany in a plane, is to deify Hitler, which is an issue that seems to be a problem in our country today. In creating this type of persona in our leader we hand far too much power and infallibility to one individual and plant the seeds of corruption in blind obedience.