The scene that I chose to screenshot was when Hitler enters the theatre near the end of the film. Before this shot, Hitler himself is not actually shown on screen, and is only visually represented by others dressed as him. What I found so interesting about this was that up to this point in the film, Hitler has been referred to and defined by his “little mustache,” and yet when we finally see the actual man, his mustache is nowhere to be seen. In class, we talked about how this film asks what exactly Hitler is, and we discussed the major role that facial hair plays in that. However, the viewer does not ever get to actually see Hitler’s defining feature, so in this shot, we have to draw from everything else in the scene to define who or what Hitler is.

In this shot alone, Hitler’s power and influence is evident by all of the people in the background heiling him and focusing all of their attention on his presence in the foreground. His power is also illustrated by the use of a high angle shot, belittling all of his subordinates and highlighting the idea that he has full control over all of those who follow him. However, this camera position also belittles Hitler himself, just not as drastically as it does his followers. The camera is not immune to critiquing Hitler; it recognizes his power as well as his absurdity by placing him below the eye-line of the camera. Also, in not showing Hitler’s face, the film shows that he has more power as a symbol than just a man; the idea of him is more frightening than he himself is. Like earlier in the film when the portrait of Hitler looses its power once the director realizes that it is just Bronski dressed as him, Hitler as an anonymous symbol of his ideals is more threatening and imposing than Hitler the person. I just find this shot interesting due to the idea that the viewer now has to see Hitler not just as a “man with a mustache,” but is forced to confront the reality of what he stands for and the total control that he has over his followers.