THE ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY Fall 2017 | Baruch College | Macaulay Honors

Over the past weeks, we have discussed the power of photography. A power that allows creators to manipulate their art by cropping and editing images. Now, as we begin to look at early films we realize that not much changes regarding the power of the creator. Films help to capture a series of images, to display motion that resembles real life situations. As time goes on, film will continue to challenge reality with its use of green screens, graphic manipulation and special effects that has the ability to recreate our definitions of reality.

In the silent film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a german horror movie that was directed by Robert Wiene in 1920, was able to manipulate audiences through its various depictions of shapes and conceptions of reality. Through its initial use of silence, Wiene was able to cancel out the effects of sound. Sound is able to allow viewers to visualize reality by utilizing a sense that is integral in our aspect of reality. By replacing actual spoken words from actors with intertitles, Robert Wiene was able to control the reality that was depicted to us. Similar with the use of captions, that take the attention away from viewers to sometimes focus on the text rather than the video allows the creator to get away with video manipulation that may not be seen by the viewers due to a distracted focus.

The cinematography of the silent film was able to create a facade of reality through its use of special effects. From the distorted geometric shapes of landscapes and backgrounds, viewers were able to visualize the creator’s settings and locations. By utilizing music, Robert Wiene was also able to capture the heightened scenes of his film. The loud and creepy violin and other instruments in the back created a sense of suspense during scenes such as the kidnapping, where the sudden crescendo and forzando of the music frightened many viewers.

If I were to create a modern-day murder mystery in New York City I would definitely incorporate the sounds of the city. Sounds such as the squeals from subway tracks, taxi drivers honking at one another and sirens being heard in the distance. These sounds would help to capture the attention of viewers, possibly giving me the window of opportunity to manipulate the reality of the film without the audience realizing. Scenes of the multitude of people could be used to drive home the main theme of the murder mystery by reminding audiences of reality, finding a killer in the streets of New York City is very unlikely in a city with 8.5+ million people. Overall, manipulation of senses is what made the silent horror film scary and will have the same effects for my own horror film.

– Abishek Johnson (AJ)

Photography has the power to capture one singular moment, framing a millisecond of an event, emotion, or reaction. The way a photograph snapshots a moment of reality is far different when compared to a way film captures a series of moments. Film and videography has the power to narrate an entire story while incorporating movement and action. Once film was introduced, artists were able to narrate stories through actors, sound, and special effects. For the first time, an artist had the power manipulate a scene, while playing with the concept of reality.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene in 1920, was one of the first murder-mystery films that allowed a viewer to question reality. While all films at this time were silent, the director was restricted to creating the film’s scenery, the actor’s expressions, the sounds behind each scene, as well as the special effects used in each scene. The scenery and stage effects used in this film were Tim Burton-like, including tilted walls, crooked door frames, and dull, unrealistic colors and shapes for real-like objects. The medium of film and video gave directors the ability to change the background scenery to accompany the storyline at play. To accompany the mystery and angst of the film, the director chose to use scenery that was unlike anything you would see in reality.

The most notable effects of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari were the use of sound effects without the use of voice, the font used to describe each scene, as well as the unusual scenery incorporated into each background. If I were to create a silent murder mystery film in modern-day New York City, I would use my surroundings and any visual representations to my advantage. In order to promote angst and worry, I would shoot many scenes in alleyways or places with dim-light. I would incorporate the creepy, unsatisfying aspects of the city in order to promote a sense of fear and wonder. I would even consider using a psychic as a character in the film to promote the questioning of reality and what’s real. Murder-mysteries are meant to cause question and panic in the viewer, which can only be described through scenery, the actions of the actors, and the sound effects in a silent film. Without the help of constant narration of voices in a silent film, a director has the responsibility to demonstrate the story line through other ways than the actors itself.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is the first silent film I have ever watched. It was also a horror film, which is a genre I am really not a fan of. I didn’t have expectations before watching the film, however now that I have watched it, the impression it left is very strong. The first thing that made an impression on me was how much I didn’t understand, due to the lack of speech. I would think that actions speak louder than words, but the shock was as intense as it must have been to watch a movie with dialog/speech for the first time. The intertitles seemed very funny at first, but thinking about it, it was the only way at the time to add words and I became accustomed to it at one point. Another aspect of the movie that left an unimaginable impression on me was the music that accompanied the film. It was very dark and creepy. The difference between today’s sound effects and those made with instruments at that time is incredible. The music accompanied the events well and fit the mood that was being acted out. The music was most helpful to understanding the plot of the movie and it really made it seem like a horror film. The lack of proportions and logical structure of the scenery made it more confusing and eerie for me. The doors were all sideways and the trees and shadows were sharp. I also couldn’t understand if it was day or night and sometimes whether the scene was inside or outside! All things considered, the amount that the directors and producers accomplished at this time is noble, however, in today’s day and age, the unfamiliarity with the elements of the film made it very difficult for me to follow and understand.

That being said, if I had to direct a silent film in New York City today, I would certainly try to focus on the other elements of a film, like scenery, music, and plot, to make it as clear to the viewers as possible. Music has proved itself to be the most effective for creating horror, so I would certainly rely on that to make my film a scary one. Additionally, I would use the city’s architecture to create the ideal scene for mystery. The buildings are primarily grey and brown, with perfect squares and rectangles for windows. Their redundancy creates an excellent background, that could make the actors stand out whether they are wearing bizarre costumes or simply colored clothing. The most terrifying thing that could happen in New York City is if it became abnormally empty and estranged. The crowdedness today is overwhelming; however, it has become a norm. These elements would help me create a perfect setting for a horror film. In conclusion, the “silent” element would be compromised for with musical accompaniment and visual simplicity, while New York’s architecture would be used to create the perfect murder mystery!

Ellen Stoyanov

In 2017, we have such advanced technology when it comes to filmmaking that we expect movies, especially horror, thriller, or psychological ones to include cool special effects and recording techniques to make us feel like we’re really there experiencing what is happening on screen.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a surreal, expressionist, German silent film that was released in 1920. This was right on the cusp of when films with sound started being produced, but you can see how The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari operates to interest the viewer without the need of sound. Some of these techniques include lighting, which plays a big role in the film- some scenes were really well lit while others were intentionally dark and shrouded to convey a sense of spookiness. It also includes showing, rather than telling; like in one of the opening scenes that we first see Dr. Caligari. You can tell that he’s evil and creepy without being told so. Or in the scene where the character who had asked how long he was going to live is then stabbed to death in his bed, but the entire stabbing is shown through its shadow on the wall. Something really special about films like this are the hand drawn backgrounds that are displayed between shots. In the beginning, you see this imagery of pointy, surreal houses crowded onto a hill, with a castle at the top.  This immediately lets the viewer know that they are not looking at Germany, but some other world that defies the laws of our own. Also it hints at what life was like in Germany at the time during the Weimar Regime.

I also think that maybe the setting is so surreal because we are seeing this world through the eyes of a mad man who is telling the story. The producers use a non linear storyline to let the viewer know that the movie is indeed telling a story and not trying to convey reality, I think this is the most notable tactic because it was very unprecedented technique to use at the time.

If I were to create my own murder mystery set in New York City I think I would have it be some kind of apocalyptic battle between different neighborhoods, as a result of the wage-gap between different groups in New York City becoming so disparate. It would be a kind of race war, terrifying, end of times, edge of a revolution kind of thing. I would really play up how lavish and unnecessarily fancy things are in some neighborhoods to contrast with poverty and turmoil in others. I want to highlight things about the city that maybe we don’t think about because we live here, or that viewers who don’t live in New York don’t realize about it. The other day on my way to school I saw a woman lying on top of one of those newspaper containers that had been flipped onto its side, she was passed out and had a lit cigarette in her hand. People in fancy suits and dresses walked by unknowingly, and I don’t necessarily blame them. We are so conditioned to ignore those who are different from us here. I would like to include some imagery like that, I want to really highlight how dire the situation is- people sleeping on the street in front of a coffee shop that sells $7.00 lattes.

Bizarre. That was the first thought I had when viewing The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in class this week. I’m sure I can speak for most of us when I say that film was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

For starters, it was silent. The actors’ mouths were moving but no words were coming out of them. That was a strange concept for me. When I think of films, my mind automatically goes to blockbusters like The Avengers or Wonder Woman – movies with lots of dialogue and lots of action.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is nothing like those movies. In addition to being silent, it is also doesn’t seem to be a high budget production. There isn’t a multitude of graphic effects or a celebrity soundtrack playing in the background. The setting for the movie is much more simplistic. The sets are plain. They consist of lightly decorated courtyards and rooms. None of the luxurious items found in current films are present – which of course is a direct result of the fact that this movie was produced in the year 1920 and many of the advanced technologies we have now weren’t in existence then.

Taking the time period of the film into consideration, helped me appreciate it more. At face value, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari doesn’t seem like much. It appears to be a boring, drawn out movie and quite frankly at certain times it is. I will not lie and say that I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this film because I most certainly did not. But there were aspects of it that I did admire.  For instance, I thought Conrad Veidt, the actor who played Cesare, was phenomenal. I don’t care what anybody says, it’s not easy to play a mindless, controlled puppet. And to play it well.

Another thing, I really enjoyed, and this may sound weird, was the makeup the actors wore, I think it really added to the overall creepy vibe of the film. It made it seem more dramatic, more chilling, and more haunting.

If I were to create my own murder mystery,   I would use the entirety of New York City – all five boroughs – as my playing ground. The murder would take place in Forest Park – a block away from my home in Richmond Hill, Queens. It would be an investigation in to the death of a local favorite – our very own stray, Ranger the German shepherd.

Ranger’s owner passed away three years ago of old age. He was a kind, gentle man whom everyone in the town loved and revered. His death was a solemn time for the whole community. Not only did we lose the man who greeted us every morning, the man who sat on his front steps every night smoking his pipe, the man who gave out the best Halloween treats. We also lost a friend.

Ranger was taken away. The old man’s son adopted him. My sister and I thought we would never see him again. In all honesty, it broke our hearts a little. Ranger was the dog we always wanted, but never had.

One night, as I was tucked in bed, I heard a loud noise – a bark. (Being that this is a silent film, you would see the word “bark” appear in little bubbles on the screen.)  I didn’t think anything of it. There were plenty of dogs in my neighborhood. Nothing to worry about. But as time passed, the barking continued. It grew louder and louder. It was at the point where it would be best identified as a howl. My dad flickered on the lights and went to look out the window. There, right across the street from us, was Ranger sitting on the old man’s front steps. Ranger was home.

The son never came looking for him. Ranger became the town dog. We all fed him, patted him on the head when we saw him, and stopped our cars when he wanted to cross the street. A few of us tried to take him in, but Ranger was never quite content until he was nestled in front of the old man’s house.

Then one day, no one saw him. He wasn’t heard or spotted. He didn’t drop by anyone’s house for a meal. It was weird. No one knew what to do.

And then we turned on the news. The headline read “Local dog found shot and left for dead.” Ranger had been murdered.

Who would murder a dog? A beloved creature? A town favorite?

To say we were appalled would be the least. But what happened next was even more horrific. A day later, three dogs, in various Brooklyn neighborhoods, were shot. The day after that, someone entered a Manhattan pet store and shot all the dogs inside. In Staten Island, someone broke into an animal shelter, killed all the dogs, and piled them up by the front door.

Someone was going around murdering innocent animals. What kind of monster would do that?

After three months, we found our answer. After three months of tirelessly chasing suspect after suspect, we caught the culprit. After three months of dogs being massacred every single day, we found the killer.

Who he was, well that’s something I can’t share with you. Not right now anyway.

I have to save something for the sequel.

-Alyssa Motilal

For the longest time, photography was used to capture reality and be able to give spectator’s a perspective. Film, on the other hand is able to manifest the ‘real’. Film has evolved tremendously since it’s been discovered, it developed the purpose of stimulating people’s minds and developing sentiments. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari challenges the understanding of reality and truth in filmography with its horror genre, depiction of the characters, gestures used when acting, choice of music, and variation of color lighting.

The genre itself, horror plays with your understand of reality by portraying insanity and mental illness. The main character goes through flashbacks of horrific experiences he went through with his fiancé. A notable element that stood out to me was the lighting as the acts progresses the background ranged from yellow, blue, and white. The director used the changing of lighting as a sense of foreshadowing and anticipation that an upcoming dramatic event was going to occur next as well as adding to theme of mental insanity. Another element that impacted the storyline was the over exaggerations and extreme facial expressions. Instead of using a words and script like we do today, the actors were overemphasizing their movements and facial expressions. The eyes’ of the actors and actresses were distorted to be extremely large that the viewers can feel the sense of horror that the film is intended to do. In addition to gaining a frightened reaction from the audience, the music appeals to that purpose as well. When a suspenseful scene was coming up, you can hear the music of the piano intensifying, also foreshadowing an alarming event.

If I were to create my own murder-mystery silent film in New York City, I would distort the norms of the infamous bustling, fast-paced, and crowded city. You usually picture New York City as a huge crowd that’s always on the move with bright lights and lot’s of commotion occurring all the time. I would twist that reality by having it take place in a dark alleyway with a couple of stray black cats running around with no lights, no people, no sound surrounding it whatsoever; Which is not usually how you would depict New York City to look like. The black cats is known to symbolize bad omen adding on to the horror genre. I would intensify it even more by distorting their eyes to be larger like they did in the film with the their characters. Similar to The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari as well, I would use a frightening piano playing to create suspension throughout the acts and get a terrified reaction from my audience. Also the setting would take place in the winter, so there could be an upcoming snowstorm to add to the terrifying theme. I would end the film with a cliffhanger or an unexpected turn, so I’m able to entertain and shock viewers on their understanding of reality.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari truly did undermine and play with the audience’s understanding of reality and truth throughout the entire film. The truth and reality in this film is completley convoluted thanks to the techniques that the film uses so effectively. Being a silent film, the techniques of setting, lighting, and costumes were used so effectively that dialogue between characters was not needed to convey the message of the story.

This film, without a doubt, used lighting to manipulate the audience’s understanding of reality. The difference between the scenes that were exposed to a lot of light versus those that were exposed to very little became very apparent throughout the movie. The lighting gave the movie its creepy feeling at the moments when it needed it the most.

The film’s setting and overall architecture was also essential to this manipulation of the audience’s sense of reality. The beginning of the film was set with backgrounds of angular and jagged shaped walls and buildings. This gave off the immediate feeling of an unreal  place. It was not a setting of any normal place. The audience’s sense of reality was being tested right from the beginning because of this fantasy like setting the film was placed in.

Lastly, I feel that the film did a very good job of using costumes and makeup to manipulate reality throughout. The makeup of Dr. Caligari and Ceasare was changed from being dark and shadow like at the beginning of the film to white and normal towards the end. The makeup characterized the two actors to make them seem evil and then change the audience’s sense of reality to make them have the appearance of normality towards the end when they were the most deceiving.

If I were to create a murder mystery in present day New York City, I would make sure I utilized all of the unique aspects the city has to offer. New York has so many different identities that could be exploited to create the horror effect needed in this film. I would have different parts of the film take parts in parts of New York such as Harlem, Manhattan, Queens, and even Long Island to portray the different scary scenes. I would also love to utilize things like the subways, parks, and insanely tall angular buildings to create a mysterious setting for my film.

I like psychological thrillers, but I just could not wrap my mind around this one. I understand that it was an early film, however, it gave me a headache in all honesty. It is hard for me to follow silent films, because my attention wanders. With that being said, I do think it was fascinating as the work did not seem too different from the present psychological thriller movies. The movie followed a plot as the man in the beginning described how weird Dr. Caligari and the somnambulist were in his life. He also describes the chaos they brought to the town. This reminded me of the stories of Jack the Ripper in England, because no one knew who he was and he brought a lot of terror. The acting was very dramatic which made it easier to follow the plot. One could see when something was negative if the characters started crying or covering their faces. In other scenes, we could see Caligari’s contempt with himself when he threw his hands in the air. In my opinion, the lighting stayed pretty constant except for when they were in the mountain or forest. I think these changes displayed the difference between day and night. There was also the use of dramatic make-up and fashion. An example is the scary eye makeup the somnambulist had. Also, the somnambulist had a skeleton like figure.The most notable element for me was the music. The music displayed the different events in the film very well. The music would speed up to show climax, slow down to show sorrow, or it would have a sudden increase in sound when there was a realization in the film. The scene where the somnambulist killed the first man, you could see a sfrozando in the music. This indicated the swift death of Mr. Alan. Also, when the men were reading Caligari’s diary at the end, the music had a crescendo to display it nearing a climax.  The intertitles also displayed some drawings and symbols to emphasize certain words or concepts.

If I were to create my own silent film, I would also focus on my music element. It is the most effective way to wake up readers and set the mood. The city has many police precincts, so if I was filming a thriller I would go to a precinct at night. Most of the horror would happen at night, because the darkness would signify the horror in the actions, and it is easier to get away with things at night. I would also use parks, especially Central Park. I would use the parks, because they have many hidden places that would be easier for someone to commit a crime in.  I would use a criminal court as a place of truth. All of these aspects exploit certain places and stereotypes in a city. New York is big enough for all of these symbolic elements. I would also frequently use the crescendo feature to show multiple climaxes.

-Marie Traore

Reality is only a concept of how people perceive their surroundings. My perception of reality can differ from each person. This same idea translates in photographs and films. The piece’s sense of reality can be perceived differently depending on the viewer. In the case of the film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, not only were the viewers sense of reality of the film changed, but also the characters in the film itself.

As the film began its conclusion, both the story line’s sense of reality and the viewer’s reality completely changed. Most of us all assumed that the film would conclude with a happy ending in which Dr. Caligari would be caught and peace would once again settle in the town; however, we were met with a different “reality” when Francis turned out to be insane and created a false sense of reality where Dr. Caligari, who was actually the director of the mental asylum that Francis resided in, wasn’t a psychotic murderer. In this sense, the viewer can see the multiple perspectives of reality. To us, the reality of this film was that Francis created a “false” sense of reality and was actually insane, but to Francis that was his “reality” and it was real and true. This film then thoroughly demonstrates this variation and flexibility of the definition and perspective of reality. This film really honed in on the idea that reality is extremely subjective and ambiguous.

This film also manipulated its setting and makeup in order to further the differences of its realities. In the beginning, Dr. Caligari looked like the typical quack doctor with wild eyes and dark shadows. This informed the viewer that he was indeed insane according to his appearance, but as the film concluded, his makeup was removed and instead looked like a “normal” and “typical” doctor and director. This change in makeup was a clear indication of the differences in reality. This was also evident when we saw the before and after of Cesare. In the beginning, Cesare had heavy makeup on his under eyes in order to show his insanity and creepiness. His actions were zombie-like and extremely aggressive, but by the end there was a complete flip. He was more passive and acted like a shy child. His characterization completely changed from this barbaric-like zombie to a passive and shy patient.

Setting also played a large role in skewing our definition of reality. In the beginning, the architecture was slanted, jagged, and almost unstable thus hinting to the viewer that this “reality” seemed almost fantasy-like and even trippy.

If I were to create a murder mystery in present day New York City, lights would be an imperative aspect in the film. The city is known for its endless streets of bright lights. By focusing on more cool-colored luminescent with streak-like patterns, this could create a sense of almost lucid dreaming thus skewing the reality of the film according the viewer. Like how the film used architecture to show a dream-like reality, I would focus more on lights and play with this wave pattern of lights. I’d also play around with the architecture. I’d bend the sky scrapers to have an almost melting element to further enhance this different sense of reality. To me, people react most to their sense of reality visually. By manipulating this “visual” aspect, playing around with the idea of reality would be more intriguing and thought provoking to the viewer.

Claire Ng