AGE:
Secondary |
THEME:
Following the Crowd (1): Leni Riefenstahl |
AIM: |
| To look at the life and times of one famous photographer and film-maker and how decisions that she made had unintended and undesired consequences. This is the first in a pair reflecting the same theme, one which is universal and has significant resonances for the various characters in the story of Holy Week. The second unit will develop this more fully. |
RESOURCES: |
You will need:
- Students who are interested in performing this thought-provoking playlet:
- HOST Brash show quiz host or hostess
- PLAYER Maureen or Maurice from Much-Trampling-in-the-Marsh (or somewhere even less glamorous if you prefer)
- COMMENTATOR 1 For final comments
- COMMENTATOR 2 For final comments
- Props and sound effects:
- Quiz show fanfare
- Canned applause - sound effect of enthusiastic applause
- 'Wrong' buzzer - sound effect
- You might want to show some photographs of Leni Riefenstahl and some stills from her films on an OHP or whiteboard (see links below).
- Music to end the reflection. One possibility would be the theme from The Meistersingers by Wagner - another artist who made beautiful music but whose reputation was affected by connection with Hitler and anti-Semitism.
|
PLAYLET: |
During a quiz show-type fanfare, the HOST takes up position.
| HOST: |
Welcome - welcome! Nice to be with you again. We've got another nerve-jangling show lined up for you and the jackpot this week stands at £10,000!!! |
Canned applause.
| HOST: |
Yes - TEN thousand!! Hopefully some lucky player will be going home with a pocketful of gold! It's time to play 'Name that Celebrity!' A round of applause for our first contestant please. |
Canned applause.
PLAYER steps forward - a little nervous.
| HOST: |
Welcome to 'Name that Celebrity!' Please tell us your name.
|
| PLAYER: |
I'm Maureen / Maurice.
|
| HOST: |
And where are you from?
|
| PLAYER: |
Much-Trampling-in-the-Marsh.
|
| HOST: |
Lovely spot - know it well. Now - you know the rules of the game. For every answer you get wrong the prize money reduces by two thousand pounds. So - good luck!
|
| PLAYER: |
I'll do my best.
|
| HOST: |
Your time starts now. Throughout her life this famous woman caused controversy wherever she went - some people hating her and others hailing her as a genius. Her name is...?
|
| PLAYER: |
Margaret Thatcher! |
'Wrong' buzzer sounds.
| HOST: |
Wrong! As an actress in the early days of filmmaking she learned as much as she could about lighting and film equipment and started directing her own films. It wasn't long before she was being described as one of the most talented film directors of that era. She's certainly one of the best-known female film directors of the 20th century. And her name is...?
|
| PLAYER: |
Woman film director? Errr...oooo... her that directed The Piano... errr...
|
| HOST: |
I'll have to hurry you.
|
| PLAYER: |
(clueless and increasingly desperate) Victoria Wood.
|
'Wrong' buzzer sounds!!
| HOST: |
Wrong! This woman claimed she did not realise how much trouble she was getting herself into when she acceded to Hitler's requests for her to create documentaries for the National Socialists in the 1930s. Her first famous documentary film was called Triumph of the Will. This started a great controversy because it shows a Nazi rally to great advantage and people who opposed Hitler considered it nothing better than puerile propaganda. Her name is...?
|
| PLAYER: |
Errr.. So she's German then?
|
| HOST: |
Sorry - I'm not allowed to help you.
|
| PLAYER: |
This is ridiculous. I didn't realise it would be this hard.
|
| HOST: |
Take a guess.
|
| PLAYER: |
Eva Braun. |
'Wrong' buzzer sounds!!
| HOST: |
Wrong! Always an athletic woman, in 1936 she qualified to represent Germany in the cross-country skiing event in the Olympics of that year. Instead, she took up the Nazi government's offer to film the event. This major documentary production was named Olympiad and has been acclaimed around the world for its technical and aesthetic achievements, but it also sealed her fate because many people labelled her a Nazi supporter. Her name is...?
|
| PLAYER: |
(beaten) I'm sorry - I haven't a clue. |
'Wrong' buzzer sounds!!
| HOST: |
You haven't answered any questions correctly and therefore the prize pool now stands at...ZERO!
|
| PLAYER: |
(not impressed) I've come all the way from Much-Trampling-in-the-Marsh and what am I going home with? A pocketful of nothing!! So who is this so-called celebrity then?
|
| HOST: |
The answer, of course, is... Leni Riefenstahl!
|
| PLAYER: |
Lenny? I thought you said it was a woman!
|
| HOST: |
It's a German name.
|
| PLAYER: |
Never heard of her.
|
| HOST: |
Ah, well - that's the point in a way. Leni Riefenstahl had everything going for her until she made a terrible mistake - that of allowing her name to become associated with the Nazis, following that crowd. |
The commentators, who have been watching from the sidelines, now take centre stage and address the gathering directly.
| COMMENTATOR 1: |
And she was associated with the Nazi movement for the rest of her life - no matter how much she denied being a Nazi sympathiser. Of course, Leni Riefenstahl wasn't the only person who got carried along with the crowds who supported Hitler. Millions upon millions of people once idolised Hitler - until they realized that his vision for the future might be badly flawed.
|
| COMMENTATOR 2: |
It's easy, with hindsight, to understand that following the Nazis would lead to one of the worst periods of death and destruction the world has ever seen. And the humiliation of the German peoples. One of the consequences for Leni Riefenstahl was that after the Second World War no-one would finance her films. Nobody wanted to know her - regardless of how talented she was.
|
| COMMENTATOR 1: |
Leni Riefenstahl eventually turned to photography and, over the years, published a number of books of her photographs from around the world. Although these photographic works are astonishingly beautiful, she has never received full recognition of her talent because many people still saw her as Hitler's propagandist.
|
| COMMENTATOR 2: |
In 1993, film director Ray Mueller made a documentary about this famous woman. Its title says it all: The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.
|
| COMMENTATOR 1: |
Are you planning to have a wonderful life or a horrible life?
|
| COMMENTATOR 2: |
Of course, we hope it'll be a wonderful life, but it might be a good idea to keep in mind that following the crowd can lead you down dark alleys that don't lead anywhere you really want to go. The glittering prizes might not always be what they seem.
|
| COMMENTATOR 1: |
And that's what Leni Reifenstahl realised too late...
|
|
REFLECTION: |
Let's pause for a minute and think about all the occasions when we have to decide which path to take, which person to support, what life choices to make. Let's take a moment to think, too, about how we react to other people who make choices that are different from our own.
Pause.
In another quiet moment, let's think about the people we most respect. What beliefs and values guide the choices that they make?
Pause.
And to finish with, let's think about how we, too, can become sensitive and wise so that we can make the right choices for ourselves.
Pause.
Finish with a short sequence of music. You could show some of Riefenstahl's photos at the same time.
|
USEFUL WEBSITES: |
|
|
