Mephisto

Mephisto is a 1981 film directed by Istvбn Szabу. This film stars Klaus Maria Brandauer who plays Hendrik Hoefgen, an actor who works at the state theater. This film takes place during the rule of the German Third Reich. The Nazi party was taking over Germany. Theater was being used as propaganda, and all other forms of art were stripped from the individual. This film shows the struggle of one man, a natural actor with great love for his work, who find himself between a rock and a hard place, his conscience knows what's going on is wrong, but his love for his work and the power keeps him from leaving Germany, and the corrupted theater.

Hendrik Hoefgen is an insecure man. From the age of twelve, he tells his wife, he's always felt ashamed. He always wears a mask to hide his real self, because by doing this is need not face rejection, for he is never truly seen. He hides himself in his work, and identifies himself with it. He constantly works on and perfects his social image, alert to the smallest hint of disapprobation in anyone. In this endeavor, his practiced talent of self deception aids him: He says to himself, after he's sold out to the Nazis, that he's satisfied with his success, because it means that many people love him. He's the perfect actor, even for himself. He's a public persona, nothing more. In the flower of his fame, he's a hollow shell. He loves his fame, and his art, and doesn't care about his conscious. At the end of the movie his high ranked friend brings him to a large stadium. This is the Olympic stadium built to host the 1936 Olympics, and the officer tell Hendrik that people will scream for him, worshiping him as an actor. Who would not want that? This film does a great job showing the corruption the Nazi party had. They used the theater as propaganda, and fed the minds of others to manipulate them. People who asked questions were killed and those who challenged public norms were either killed, or if they help a small amount of power, as Hendrik did, they were informed and forced to obey. His black girlfriend was forced to flee the country unharmed, and his Jewish friend was kept in hiding.

A normal actor was given power and wealth, and by getting that he sold himself to the realm of Nazi Germany. This sums up to me the power of the Nazi's. You either join and listen, or get out of the way and are killed. I was shocked to see the development

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