Metaphor Time with the Clown

The aspect of The Blue Angel that made the biggest impression on me was the motif of the clown. The first time he showed up, I was like, Whoa, that’s a little creepy. The next time, I wondered if there was a connection. When he kept returning to the scenes, I wondered if it was only Professor Rath that could see him. Was he a figment of his imagination? A subconscious ghost of sorts, foreshadowing his future?

So, obviously, when Rath himself became the clown, I had a fit. Metaphor time!

Madly curious, I searched the lovely JSTOR for other opinions, and came across this article by Geoffrey Wagner, which answered a lot of my questions.

He writes

“From the outset, in fact, the professor is haunted by the figure of the clown in the background, for he, the man of ideals, is himself a clown in the world of The Blue Angel.”

A-ha! So he became the clown as Lola, the 1930s rendition of Pandora, slowly destroyed him. This brought me back to thoughts from Ashley’s speech, in which she talked about the film Der Büsche der Pandora from 1929, in which Lulu’s sexual ambition and thoughtlessness destroyed lives around her, and eventaully her own. Lola was a bit luckier though, and escaped with her life.

Rath was insecure about the continued sexual nature of Lola’s work, and he was ultimately destroyed by that. The last lines that Lola sings in the film (no subtitles, unfortunately) are translated as “when a man burns in lust, who can find him salvation?”

Symbolic, no?
Wagner also makes the connection between Rath’s burning lust and his ripping off of the calendar days with a hot curling iron. So that explains the smoke then. And it only got smokier throughout the years, signifying his growing jealousy.

Let’s tie it all together, shall we? So because Rath was reduced to a sad, empty version of himself via Lola’s sexual prowess, and was forced to return to his hometown in such a state, he became the essential clown – the fool. He was humiliated, eggs were cracked onto his forehead, he watched as his wife hooked up with another man. He was ridiculed by all those he used to think below him. This degradation reminds me of the human perception of aura concept from Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” – he was happy when he believed himself a man of culture, not a fool. He was still cultured, but because of his new job as a literal clown, in combination with his lack of money and being supported by woman, he was a fool. His aura was corrupted.

The article connects the film to Kracauer’s beloved chaos theory with the following quote:

Thus at the beginning, when the professor first enters, the cabaret is shown as chaotic, almost surrealistic, with its whirling clouds, miasmic veisl, and shifting backdrops; at the end, when he is part of it, it is steady, and brutal in its clarity.

Wagner also goes into the topic of “sex and sadism, individual and social” as being the “main themes of The Blue Angel,” if you’re interested in reading more about that.

Marlene Dietrich

"I dress for myself. Not for the image, not for the public, not for the fashion, not for men." -Marlene Dietrich

“A strange combination of the femme fatale, the German Hausfrau and Florence Nightingale" is how the film director Billy Wilder described this remarkable woman. Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) was a German-American actress and singer who moved to Hollywood in 1931 and maintained her long career by continually reinventing herself.

Born in Schoeneberg, Germany, Dietrich originally wanted to be a concert violinist but when that dream failed, ventured onto the Berlin stage in the early 20’s during which time she appeared as a chorus girl with vaudeville style entertainments and acted in silent films. In 1929 she was cast as 'Lola-Lola' in The Blue Angel, directed by Joseph von Sternberg. Her performance brought her international fame and resulted in her move to Hollywood and subsequent contract with Paramount Pictures. According to Wikipedia, Paramount sought to market Dietrich as a German answer to MGM's Swedish sensation, Greta Garbo. Going on to star in six more films directed by von Sternberg, Dietrich’s glamour and exotic looks were legendary and made her one of the highest paid actresses of the era.

Dietrich was both and iconic image on screen and in the fashion world. She was bisexual and created her own style with her seductive look and androgynous wardrobe. In regards to her image, film critic Kenneth Tynan said, "Her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men." She famously stated once, "Don't ever follow the latest trend, because in a short time you will look ridiculous, don't follow it blindly into every dark alley. Always remember that you are not a model or a mannequin for which the fashion is created." While she wore beautiful and outlandish costumes on screen, in real life she often wore comfortable menswear. Dietrich was the first Hollywood actress to wear trousers in public and helped make them more acceptable for women.

Dietrich’s life was described as “more dramatic, more unpredictable and more colorful than any Hollywood scenarist could invent.” While she married assistant director Rudolph Sieber, and the couple had a child, Marie Elisabeth Sieber, Dietrich maintained an unending string of affairs throughout her career (almost all of which were known to her husband!). Her male lovers included John Wayne, Jean Gabin, Maurice Chevalier and Generals Patton and Gavin. Her lesbian love affairs included that with Marcedes de Acosta, the socialite who had also been partners with Greta Garbo.

And to end with, here's just a couple of fun facts to know about Dietrich:

• Dietrich refused a lucrative contract from Nazi officials to return to Germany as a foremost film star in the Third Reich and instead chose to apply for U.S. citizenship in 1937.
• Among her many conquests, Dietrich slept with Joseph von Sternberg, the very man who helped bring her to fame.
• After much success in the first half of the decade, she was labelled "Box Office Poison" in the late 30's along with others like Fred Astaire, Joan Crawford and Katherine Hepburn.
• Her legs were insured by Paramount for 1 million dollars!

For more images of the alluring Dietrich, click here.