Palaces of Misrecognition

Abstract

This thesis discusses the duality of the self in Robert Wiene’s 1920 film, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The author introduces the theories of Lacan, Baudry, and Kracauer to trace the causes and results of misrecognition throughout German film history. The author examines productions from an era in German cinema, the New German Cinema, which tackled the continuing anxieties of a society in post-war Germany looking for cultural identities and ideal amidst the division of Germany. Methodology includes exploration into the cinematic response to reunification, particularly in terms of how these post-war films represent the idealizations, hopes, and fears present in an undeniably multicultural society where identities are daily negotiated. The author also maps the trends and developments of a relatively few number of films from 1895 to 1998 to provide a greater understanding of both the role in which films play in viewers’ lives and the effect these films have on viewers, both German and non-German