{"id":48730,"date":"2026-02-02T09:53:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T17:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=48730"},"modified":"2026-02-02T09:53:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T17:53:21","slug":"how-downfall-the-lives-of-others-and-capernaum-frame-the-past-while-manipulating-political-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/?p=48730","title":{"rendered":"How \u201cDownfall,\u201d \u201cThe Lives of Others,\u201d and \u201cCapernaum\u201d Frame the Past While Manipulating Political Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Paper by Sela Diab.<\/p>\n

\"\"Political films may seem like they are made solely for entertainment, but they also reconstruct history and frame how political and historical trauma is remembered by society. They use emotional storytelling to form audiences\u2019 memories about past vents. Intensifying selective voices and certain aesthetics work together to change how history is viewed by the public. Political films form how viewers interpret suffering, responsibility, and guilt by turning real stories and events into emotional arratives. Three films that depict cultural memory and trauma differently than the actual political history are \u201cDownfall\u201d (2004), directed by Oliver Hirschbiegal, \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d (2006), directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, and \u201cCapernaum\u201d (2018), directed by Nadine Labaki. Not only do these political movies reconstruct political trauma, but they redefine how people remember hurtful systems, perpetrators, and victims. Realism, formed by emotional intensity, downplays collective memory of the Holocaust and East German Stasi surveillance in \u201cDownfall and \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d by humanizing harmful, violent, and oppressive historical figures. Documentary-like realism is used in \u201cCapernaum\u201d to reveal how structural violence used to and continues to shape post-civil war Lebanon. Political cinema can change and reframe national memory but can also clarify it. This is determined by whose point of view the film follows. By using cinematic realism, \u201cDownfall,\u201d
\n\u201cThe Lives of Others,\u201d and \u201cCapernaum\u201d alter historical responsibility by exposing and humanizing political trauma. The film scholarship, mise-en-sc\u00e8ne, narrative format, and performance in the films demonstrate why filmmakers should be liable for their political cinema shaping collective memory.<\/p>\n

Public memory, challenged narratives, and national trauma shape how political films
\nrespond to history. The way the Nazis and Stasis are represented in Germany in real life is
\npolitically charged due to shared collective memory among generations and unresolved national
\nguilt. In the article \u201cReady for His Close Up? Representing Hitler in Der Untergang\u201d by
\nChristine Haase, the author argues that it is always risky to portray Hitler on screen because the
\nviewers may shift their attitude and even become more sympathetic towards him. Haase writes
\nabout how visual proximity leads to emotional closeness from audiences (189). The way
\nHirschbiegal depicted Adolf Hitler and Nazis in the F\u00fchrerbunker contributes to the controversy
\nof humanizing them. Haase adds on to this by saying there is tension in postwar Germany when
\nHitler\u2019s personal side is portrayed in films because making him seem the slightest bit relatable
\nnormalizes the catastrophe and crimes he caused (191). Realism in cinema can blur actual
\nhistorical events by making criminals, like Hitler, who caused great suffering, familiar to
\nviewers. This softened effect is heightened by the mise-en-sc\u00e8ne Hirshbiegal incorporates into
\n\u201cDownfall.\u201d The bunker is dimly lit which makes it seem more intimate. Also, the interior is
\ncramped which makes for the physical proximity closer between Hitler and his inner circle. On
\ntop of that, medium close-up shots are often used which puts Hitler in a position to be
\nsympathized with and seen as emotionally recognizable to viewers, instead of as the inhumane
\nperson he was. The sounds of the film also add to the humanization of him. Hitler\u2019s breathing,
\nand even footsteps and whispering, makes the audience immersed in his sensory environment.
\nFurthermore, Hitler\u2019s last days of life being shown, and his depression after realizing there is no
\nhope to win the war, gets the viewers to see him as a tragic main character instead of the leader
\nof a genocide, showing how editing gets spectators to emotionally identity with him.
\nIn addition, the article by David Bathrick and Rachel Magshamrain, \u201cWhose Hi\/story Is
\nIt? The U.S. Reception of \u2018Downfall,\u2019\u201d shows how alarming the focus on Hitler\u2019s everyday life
\nis because there is a risk of downplaying Hitler\u2019s actions not just in Germany, but internationally
\n(3-4). Bathrick and Magshamrain add to Haases\u2019s point that emotional proximity can alter how
\naudiences around the globe interpret the political understanding of Nazism.<\/p>\n

Bathrick and Magshamrain\u2019s article explains why the shot composition of the film,
\nespecially in the scenes where Hitler is exhausted, weak, and hunched over, creates the
\nemotional narrative of him being defeated instead of him getting what he deserves after the terror
\nhe caused. These visual aspects turn Hitler into a frail, fallen leader who is losing control when
\nhe once was the head of a mass murder (3-4).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d also contributes to the conflicted memory of the surveillance state
\nof East Germany in the 1980s. In the article \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d by Matthew Bernstein, how
\nthe Stasis relied on manipulating daily lives of citizens and psychologically intimidating them,
\nwhile constantly surveilling them to the point where it was inescapable was discussed (30-31).
\nThe film shows how the Stasis were, and even amplify their actions at some points too, from
\ncreatively controlling Dreyman and Christa Maria, to constantly listening to them behind their
\nhome walls. Bernstein also highlights Wiesler\u2019s transformation from a strict and rule following
\nStasi to an empathetic, moral human. This distracts the audiences from how the system was built
\non political authority, and instead shows how the officers made subtle, human choices, like
\nWiesler not recording everything illegal he heard Dreyman say. (Bernstein 31). With that said,
\ndepicting a Stasi as someone who has redeemable qualities, especially as guilty or empathetic,
\nshows how films like \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d may alter how the public remembers the controlling
\nand extreme East German Stasis.<\/p>\n

The sound design in \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d contributes to the shift of Wiesler which
\ncreates a softened view of the Stasis. This is shown in the scenes of Wiesler quietly listening to
\nDreyman talking, the buzz of recording equipment, and the typewriters clicking. These sounds
\nmake Wiesler appear as someone who is just doing their job, not a powerful Stasi. Him
\nmonitoring Dreyman by himself makes him appear isolated which gets viewers to sympathize
\nwith him. This sympathy can be felt even before he decides to save Dreyman\u2019s typewriter from
\nbeing found by other Stasis raiding his home.<\/p>\n

The cinematography in the film reinforces this by using high-angle shots that make
\nWiesler look small when he is surveilling. Instead of feeling empowered by the system, this
\nmakes him look trapped by it. Also, the colors of \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d are very green and gray
\nwhich is an emotional lens. Instead of the viewers seeing the brutality he is a part of, they
\nexperience Wiesler\u2019s feelings of entrapment.<\/p>\n

Gerry Coulter, author of \u201cVisual Story Telling and History as a Great Toy- \u2018The Lives of
\nOthers,\u2019\u201d writes how the anti-aesthetic and gray looks of the film create a theme of hopelessness
\nwhich frames how the viewers understand the German Democratic Republic (2-3). Also, the
\nauthor notes that cinematic visuals \u201ccontaminate reality\u201d when history is dramatized, which
\nmakes the way surveillance is shaped through aesthetics more persuasive than history itself
\n(Coulter, 6). The editing in the movie uses long takes and slow crossfades to reinforce this since
\nWiesler\u2019s doubts are shown in those moments. Time seems to slow down which gets the
\naudience to be a part of Wiesler\u2019s internal struggle. Dreyman\u2019s expressive body language
\ncontrasts with Wiesler\u2019s stillness and rigid body gestures which does not show Wiesler as
\nrepressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cDownfall\u201d and \u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d humanize perpetrators which makes national
\nmemory confusing, while \u201cCapernaum\u201d focuses on victims of structural violence and their point
\nof view to retell political trauma. Labaki focuses on the failing social systems of Lebanon and
\nhow children, like protagonist Zain, are a result of it, not on the humanization of the perpetrators
\nthat cause it. In the article \u201cCapernaum, A Lebanese Refugee Drama Film\u201d by Manar Hesino and
\nManal al-Natour, the film is said to show the \u201cpredicament of the Syrian civil war\u201d and how it
\nlinks to child suffering, poverty, and displacement (Hesino and al-Natour, 2). The article also
\ntalks about how the lack of documentation, economic crisis, and system collapse of Lebanon
\nleads to \u201cextreme conditions of poverty\u201d for refugees and Lebanon-born people (Hesino and al-
\nNatour, 2). The severe trauma is done on purpose using realism which keeps the viewers aware
\nof outcomes that stem from political neglect. The mise-en-sc\u00e8ne Labaki uses is crowds of
\nchildren, chaotic street markets, piles of trash, and cramped homes which shows the structural
\nviolence and abandonment of the state. This is reinforced by the intense, natural lighting which
\nallows the viewers to see the true, uncomfortable environment.<\/p>\n

A way to understand this political neglect is through Sune Haugbolle\u2019s article called \u201cA
\nModern History of Lebanon.\u201d This article discusses how decades of militia rule, political
\nsectarianism, and civil war in Lebanon resulted in the country now facing instability and made
\ngovernmental institutions weak (144-146). Zain\u2019s suffering was not caused by isolated events,
\nbut by structural failures that are deeply rooted in Lebanon\u2019s history. Real, refugee children
\nbeing used as the actors makes this message even more intense. Instead of professional actors
\ndramatizing these events, the performances of the children hold real experience. The soundscape
\nshows the political abandonment, too, since it includes crying babies, shouting vendors, and
\ntraffic.<\/p>\n

Likewise, in the article \u201cNadine Labaki\u2019s \u2018Capernaum\u2019 and the human rights discourse:
\nAn analysis in visual history\u201d by Verena Dopplinger, it is argued that violations of children
\nrights are exposed by Labaki. This includes child labor, lacking legal papers and identity, and
\nparental neglect, all shaped through a human rights lens to frame Zain\u2019s story (4-6). Spectators of
\n\u201cCapernaum\u201d are made to confront the failed Lebanese government system. The courtroom
\nscene in the movie is when Zain direct says these accusations. He is not only talking to his
\nparents but also speaking to the Lebanese government. The close-up shots and dialogue intensify
\nthe scene because it shows how his childhood trauma turned into a political criticism.
\nBeirut has overcrowded slums and a declining government which leads to insecurity in
\nchildren and refugees, as explained by Bilal Quereshi, author of the article \u201cBroke in Beirut.\u201d
\nThis supports the documentary-like realism Labaki used because these two inclusions of
\nLebanon and Zain\u2019s journey were major aspects of the film. This type of realism is also seen
\nusing natural lighting, handheld cameras, and long takes which make the film seem unscripted
\n(104-105).<\/p>\n

Beirut\u2019s collapsing system is shown through shots of Zain constantly running, searching,
\nand wandering. This shows how unstable Beirut is and the geography of it, too. Long tracking
\nshots are used to reveal this and shows how Labaki is determined to expose political collapse
\nmany Lebanese and refugees live in.<\/p>\n

Another controversy of one of the three films is shown in Haase\u2019s article about
\n\u201cDownfall.\u201d The author spoke about the film being controversial because of realistic techniques
\nbeing used which makes the audience inside the bunker sympathize with Hitler and his followers
\n(190). Bathrick and Magshamrain add on to this by explaining how making the bunker
\nimmersive makes Western viewers\u2019 judgement of Hitler blurred since they do not have the same
\nhistorical context Germans have (12).<\/p>\n

\u201cDownfall,\u201d \u201cThe Lives of Others,\u201d and \u201cCapernaum\u201d all use realism as their most
\neffective tool because it shapes how the trauma of each story is remembered. The realism in
\n\u201cDownfall\u201d creates sympathy for perpetrators because the focus is on their personal emotions.
\n\u201cThe Lives of Others\u201d forms a narrative that Stasis\u201d oppression was simpler than it really was
\nduring East German surveillance. In \u201cCapernaum,\u201d trauma is shown through realism because the
\noppressive social structures are exposed instead of weakened. The protagonists, like Hitler,
\nWiesler, and Zain, are all framed to increase empathy or communicate a failing system.<\/p>\n

Filmmakers can retell history unintentionally because emotional stories are the priority
\nfor them instead of being fully accurate, according to Coulter. This leads to visuals being the
\nmain memories of the films over the documentation of historical events, which turns cinema into
\na \u201ctoy\u201d that alters national memory (9). Haase, Bathrick, and Magshamrain use this idea when
\ndiscussing \u201cDownfall.\u201d They do this by humanizing Hitler which risks an emotional narrative
\ntaking over the Third Reich memory (190, 3-4). Bernstein also exemplifies this risk in his article
\nby talking about Wiesler\u2019s redemption arc which takes over and blurs the collective memory of
\nthe brutal Stasi rule. Moral choices of Wiesler are highlighted over the violent Stasi system (31-
\n32). Cinema uses editing, performance, music, and visual cues to help trigger an emotional
\nreaction from the audience which gets them to remember these versions of historical events over
\nthe accurate, real-life ones.<\/p>\n

With that said, Hesino, al Natour, Dopplinger, Qureshi, and Haugbolle, authors who
\ndiscussed \u201cCapernaum,\u201d show how realism can be ethical if it confronts systemic injustice.
\nHesino and al-Natour write about how the movie reveals poverty and governmental neglect
\nwhich was created by Lebanon\u2019s political and economic collapse (2-3). Dopplinger takes this
\npoint further by saying how Zain\u2019s story in \u201cCapernaum\u201d is a way to show state failure and how
\nLebanon should protect undocumented people (4-6). Qureshi\u2019s writing on Beirut shows how
\nZain, and real Lebanese children like him, are able to barely survive in the collapsing systems
\nand cities of Lebanon (104-105). These articles, along with Haugbolle\u2019s writing of Lebanon
\npost-civil war, and how the instability led to situations like Zain\u2019s desire to leave home because
\nhe saw no future for himself, all show political abandonment. This includes the government
\nrejecting to care for the undocumented, politically abandoned, and poor.<\/p>\n

Political filmmakers should all be aware of their choices, including casting, point of view,
\nnarrative framing, and camera angles. In today\u2019s world, political films are a part of the collective
\narchive of history. Films like \u201cDownfall,\u201d \u201cThe Lives of Others,\u201d and \u201cCapernaum\u201d all influence
\nwhat future generations of the world forget and remember about historical events, and even who
\nthey sympathize and blame. Emotional memory is also shaped by the technical choices of the
\nfilm, including the intimate bunker in \u201cDownfall,\u201d the gray aesthetic of \u201cThe Lives of Others,\u201d
\nand the handheld camera used to show street realism in \u201cCapernaum.\u201d<\/p>\n

Collective memory, historical trauma, and national guilt are all shaped by how political
\nfilms understand these aspects. Three differing types of realism are shown in \u201cDownfall,\u201d \u201cThe
\nLives of Others,\u201d and \u201cCapernaum.\u201d These include, the humanization of perpetrators, blurring
\nthe line of reality in terms of systems of oppression, and the uncovering of structural violence.
\nHaase, Bathrick, and Magshamrain contribute to the argument of realism in \u201cDownfall\u201d risking a
\nnew way Hitler is defined (189-191, 3-4). Bernstein and Coulter expose how \u201cThe Lives of
\nOthers\u201d created a narrative of a Stasi member having a moral compass which can modify how
\nsurveillance and state violence is remembered by the public (30-32, 2-3). In contrast, Hesino, al-
\nNatour, Dopplinger, Qureshi, and Haugbolle all show how \u201cCapernaum\u201d reveals the long-term
\npolitical factors leading to poverty in Lebanon and systemic failures of the country (1-3, 4-6,
\n104-105, 144-146). Filmmakers have the ethical obligation to take certain choices into account if
\nit has the possibility of falsely and negatively swaying public memory since cinematic realism is
\nso emotionally powerful. Political films inevitably frame how nations remember their own, and
\nothers\u2019, historical past whether it is distorted or truthful.<\/p>\n

Works Cited<\/strong>
\nBathrick, David, and Rachel Leah Magshamrain. \u201cWhose Hi\/story Is It? The U.S. Reception of
\n\u2018Downfall\u2019.\u201d pp. 1-17.
\nBernstein, Matthew. \u201cThe Lives of Others.\u201d Film Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 1, Fall 2007, pp. 30-36.
\n\u201cCapernaum.\u201d Directed by Nadine Labaki, performed by Zain al-Rafeea and Nadine Labaki,
\nMooz Films, 2018.
\nCoulter, Gerry. \u201cVisual Story Telling and History as a Great Toy-The Lives of Others\u2019.\u201d The
\nInternational Journal of Baudrillard Studies, vol. 6, no. 2, July 2009, pp. 1-10.
\n\u201cDownfall.\u201d Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, performed by Bruno Ganz and Alexandra Maria
\nLara, Constantin Film, 2004.
\nDopplinger, Verena. \u201cNadine Labaki\u2019s \u2018Capernaum\u2019 and the Human Rights Discourse: An
\nAnalysis in Visual History.\u201d pp.1-15.
\nHaase, Christine. \u201cReady for His Close-Up? Representing Hitler in Der Untergang.\u201d pp. 187-
\n200.
\nHaugbolle, Sune. Review of A Modern History of Lebanon, by Fawwaz Traboulsi. Middle East
\nJournal, vol. 66, no. 1, Winter 2012, pp. 143-146.
\nHesino, Manar, and Manal al-Natour. \u201cCapernaum, A Lebanese Refugee Drama Film.\u201d pp. 1-3.
\nQureshi, Bilal. \u201cBroke in Beirut.\u201d Foreign Policy, no. 226, July-Aug. 2017, pp. 104-105.
\n\u201cThe Lives of Others.\u201d Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, performaned by Ulrich
\nM\u00fche, Sebastian Koch, and Martina Gedeck, Buena Vista International, 2006.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paper by Sela Diab. Political films may seem like they are made solely for entertainment, but they also reconstruct history and frame how political and historical trauma is remembered by society. They use emotional storytelling to form audiences\u2019 memories about past vents. Intensifying selective voices and certain aesthetics work together to change how history is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":504,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-papers","category-films"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/504"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=48730"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48733,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730\/revisions\/48733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=48730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=48730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=48730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}