Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergence with Art, Humanities and Sociology Vol.1, No.2 (2011), pp. 53-60 http://dx.doi.org/10.14257/AJMSCAHS.2011.12.04

The Research on the Movie 'Das Experiment’ - About Instinct of Human Being Chang Hyun Cho1) Abstract Explaining that some experience would become the fundamental basis to the expression of feeling I came to know that the real element for the basis accepting the mental state of the subject upon 'Experiment' was an emotion. The thing that was made up by the mechanism of feeling was the actuality. The subject of our movie director about the fact is very significant upon the side of the pursuit of our emotion accepting the fiction and non-fiction. Also, such relationship is extraordinary on the point that it suggests us the relationship between the social structure and individual to us. On the other hand, this movie is a social criticism on the point that it explains the role and function of the people in one society as the realization of the power and the will. From this point of view, this paper has its own meaning to present the manifestation of human-beings’ psychology, the notion of space making us think deeply about the reality, and the research of the relationship between the emotion and the equipment like the fiction within movie as the side of pathological symptom Keywords : Expressionism, Philip Zimbardo, Tarek

1. Preface About the time when darkness makes anxious spirit fall asleep, I leave the lights off and open the window. I expose myself to the wind which is still too chilly to be exposed to bare flesh. My ears fill with a symphony of thunder or rain. I listen carefully to the pattering of raindrops. Most are fast asleep; a banquet that only the still awake can enjoy has just begun. The tactile sensation of the rain and the wind provoke my imagination, and I enjoy it fully. How do I convey this moment to others? How can I express my impression of this moment? The problem of conveying an expression begins this way. How can a writer, after witnessing something profound, express his deep emotion to others? How can he find sympathetic ears? The artists who follow expressionism begin their long and arduous road to self-expression through their works this way.

Received(July 19, 2011), Review request(July 20, 2011), Review Result(1st: August 15, 2011) Accepted(December 31, 2011) 1Da Vinci College of General

Education, Chung-Ang University email: [email protected]

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2. Main Subject 2.1 The history of German expressionism If we study the origin of the history of expressionism, the style of arts such as music, literature, play, dance, and architecture has the same current as a specific trend of thought. The current of a trend of thought begins from classicism centering on rationality and is linked to romanticism centering on very subjective emotions. Romanticism, with the elimination of the excessive subjectivism, is substituted for naturalism, and realism tries to repeat facts as they are. However, if facts do not reflect the truth, the trend of thought will be linked to the anti-realism, symbolism, and expressionism. Accordingly, expressionism is linked to futurism, Dada, and surrealism. From futurism, Dada, and surrealism, we can identify the change in the thought through the artistic presentation. Above all, expressionism has originated from Germany. Expressionism has started with a style of art. Painters of the impressionist school such as Gogh, Manet, and Monet expressed their works, maximizing the use of the cubic effect with light and color. In addition, with the influence of the musician Reinhardt Wagner, expressionism has affected drama. Furthermore, expressionism has expanded its territory to include movie and literature. Expressionism uses the presentation of original colors, bold techniques, and unusual subjects to distort the inner-world of expressed subjects with a complex of fantastical and real elements to express an outlook on the world that is recognized subjectively by the writer. Recently, while performing research on the experimental drama of German expressionism and appreciating works of expressionism, I was struck with a profound realization that works of impressionism are symbolic and picturesque, commonly exhibiting strength and sharpness. In particular, the movie “Das Experiment,” which is a product of expressionism in the hands of the German director Oliver Hirschviegel, has made a deep impression on me.

2.2 Dramatizing a real experiment-accident in a movie In 1971, Stanford University professor Philip Zimbardo performed a research on the factors that cause psychological changes in people through the use of a simulated prison environment. To what extent can the instinct of human beings overcome difficulties? In order to investigate the instinct of human beings scientifically, Zimbardo established a simulated prison environment within a research facility of Stanford University and recruited subjects through a newspaper advertisement. The participants for the experiment were selected through a regimen of interviews and examinations focused on personality factors. Of these, Zimbardo

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selected 24 persons who were of a healthy mental state. The compensation for participating in the experiment was $15 per day. The experiment was scheduled for two weeks, but it had finished after only five days. Many people who watched the movie “Das Experiment” by Oliver Hirschviegel were shocked. The movie narrates the result of Philip Zimbardo’s research; it was produced by borrowing the style of expressionism with the motive of recreating a real accident. The movie describes a shocking psychology experiment that delved into the original human nature through the eyes of the selected participants recruited by Dr. Tone. Dr. Tone divides the applicants into two and places them in a labyrinth-like underground prison for two weeks. One group is comprised of 12 prisoners and the other consists of 8 guards; the participants are expected to play the roles that are assigned to them. The researcher sets up cameras in several places throughout the prison and observes them without intervening in the affairs of the participants. The guards are told to use prisoner numbers instead of their names. The prisoners are required to obey the guards, such as eating all food served. The guards demand the absolute obedience of the prisoners. On the first day, the prisoners and guards are shown to interact normally. However, on the third day, over a glass of milk, a conflict between the two groups begins. A reporter named Tarek, who is imbedded in the experiment to divulge its secrets, makes recordings and photos using special equipment. He is not an ordinary individual but a three-dimensional one. As such, he does not accept guard orders like the other prisoners, deepening the existing conflict. Under the atmosphere of authoritarianism where prisoners must obey guards at all times, the prisoners who disturb public order are subjected to disgrace and indignity that are beneath human dignity. For example, the guards turn off the lights, and in the darkness, they spray fire extinguishers on the prisoners and make them strip, striking terror in the hearts of the prisoners. Then the violence starts to become extreme. The guards taunt frail prisoners by referring them as women; the guards harass them and use violence to cower the prisoners. The prisoners start to demand an end to the experiment. However, Dr. Tone does not permit it, wishing to complete the study. When the guards begin assaulting the prisoners and start using extreme insults, the scope of research starts to deviate from the original intent, forcing an end to the experiment. Taking advantage of Dr. Tone’s absence, the guards initiate a riot to exercise their ill-begotten authority not only on the prisoners but also on the researchers, resulting in an accidental homicide and chaos

2.3 Suspicion, tension, and anxiety Suspicion, tension, and anxiety represent the words that describe the general psychological reaction of the audience. The audience quietly watched the movie with a feeling anxiety and tension, even before the experiment begins in earnest. When the experiment was set in a dramatic situation and the audience could witness the faithful roles the participants played (situations of successive violence in disguise of nonviolence being stirred by receiver repressive measure that was led by Beruhs), the audience was in a terrible shock (this

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The research on the movie 'Das Experiment' - About instinct of human being is inevitable, because they are human beings). The faces of the audience became distorted by the astonishing shock they felt when the researchers finally disclosed their double-sided nature (the researchers knew that this experiment was dehumanized, but they wanted to achieve fame by forcing such an extreme situation). When a participant met a cruel, real-life end (the real death of Schutte, an innocent prisoner who took part in the experiment to buy a Ferrari with the money would have received from participating in the experiment), the audience went from a state of shock to that of anger (it goes without saying that, during the course of this anger, human agony was accompanied). However, this first psychological reaction of the audience is not reflective of security; the important aspect is why they could not restrain their emotion. This suggests that the audience was angry and shared the pain of the prisoners throughout the movie. The audience must have had some doubts and must have thought deeply about their own feelings with respect to the movie. If the audience had been in possession of consciousness to a certain extent, from the moment when the movie enticed the audience with “the experiment of a simulated prison,” they would have been distrustful of the purpose of this massive human experiment. What is the hypothesis of this experiment, and what purpose does the effort to induce the conclusion of the experiment in one direction serve? Every member of the audience knew that this movie was a dramatization of an actual psychological experiment that succeeded in inducing the evil spirit of people and that the experiment caused a real-life tragic death of a participant, resulting in the failure of the experiment to investigate the original nature of humanity; this makes their doubt understandable. The purpose of the experiment, according to the study construction, was to examine the nature of humanity. That is, “can human beings overcome extreme situations with good will?” The experiment observed the psychological change in participants who had differing roles. The experiment came to a close after only five days due to the violent attitude of the guards. What does the incomplete experiment tell us? Can the conclusion somehow indicate the hypocritical purpose? In a sense, the experiment itself may not represent the source of a definite conclusion. The source may be found in Drs. Grimm and Tone: Dr. Grimm, who wants to stop the experiment (with a statement “we are losing the control”), and Dr. Tone, who says that the results were expected and that the real experiment had just begun. Dr. Tone wishes to continue the experiment. The conflict between Drs. Tone and Grimm shows that they foresaw the violent situations among the participants. In other words, the experiment didn't start from innocent questions such as “does humanity possess free will?” or “can humanity overcome extreme situations with good will?” Rather, the researchers might have been looking for evidence to support their predetermined real conclusion: “Human beings have no free will under power and oppression. Therefore, humanity cannot overcome extreme situations simply by displaying good will.” As such, the audience might have been directing their frustration and anger not toward Behrus, the tormentor, but toward the researchers who set such a dangerous experiment, despite the fact that the audience knew even prior to the movie that they would be witnessing a dramatization of a violation of personal rights. The underlying motive behind the researchers is

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their fabricated desire to achieve, in the words of Dr. Tone, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In this light, the dehumanized experiment still continues, albeit under different forms and situations. Without realizing it, people go through such violent experiments all the time. The subject of such experiments could be one individual or a collective body. It could even be the mass public or an entire society. In this way, we have been threatened, and we are now being threatened. And we will continue to be threatened in future. This German movie presents, persistently and actually, the problem of ontology, “can humanity protect itself against the evils that oppress it?” The message of existence that this movie offers is that we live in a world filled with never-ending anxiety and threat. In a sense, the movie is itself an experiment, where an audience is the subject; as soon as the audience is forced to watch the movie, they will be subjected to similar types of threat and oppression that the actual experimental subjects might have felt.

2.4 The power and human being The psychological line of characters appearing in the movie is in accordance with power. The power is first in the hands of the researchers who supervise the dangerous experiment. The researchers divide the participants into guards and prisoners and expose them to a completely isolated prison environment. Then, they observe changes in psychological behaviors of the participants. However, their power slowly transfers to the guards. When the experiment first starts, the guards have trouble controlling the prisoners. However, once they find out how to oppress and control the prisoners, they begin to abuse their power simply by avoiding one prohibition: “only violence is now allowed.” In other words, the guards become conscious of the power that their uniform granted them. The uniform of the prisoners, which had a number printed on the shoulder to eliminate individualization, functions as a mechanism to keep them silent, even in the face of an unjust conduct. However, the uniform of the guards is as a symbol of the power that they have and play an important role in controlling the psychology of the prisoners. However, the turning point in the experiment comes when the guards can no longer control a particular situation; that is, an extreme situation takes place. This is the moment when the feeble-minded psychology of humanity is violated. The character who grasps the moment well is Beruhs. Beruhs is a typical character who is incompetent and weak in the actual world. He is depicted early on in the movie as someone who cannot fill the role of a proper father and who is the target of contempt and disgrace from the prisoners as well as fellow guards. What transforms him into a dictator who oppresses the prisoners and commands the guards? (He reminds us of Hitler who made a living by selling postcards after failing enter an art school.) The answer can be found in the power of the uniform. To him, the uniform is protection and a weapon to attack others. The subject of his attack extends from Tarek, who irritates him at the opening of the movie, to all of the prisoners who opposes his opinions. He even overthrows the researchers. Does the power, which lasts for five days, come to him perfectly? The answer is no. In fact,

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The research on the movie 'Das Experiment' - About instinct of human being Beruhs does not obtain any real power; he is only at the mercy of the power. In other words, Beruhs is no more than a sacrifice of the power which has given rise to violence, a homicide, and pure madness

3. Conclusion The movie inspires by making a full use of movie-making techniques and image skills. This movie also makes use of primary colors such as blue and red to the filter the film; this properly expresses the heavy background, which is comprised of murder, the terror of prison, and the nature of humanity. On the whole, a dark atmosphere is presented. The primary colors are mainly used to reflect expressionism. It suitably conveys the feelings of the characters. This movie also uses mirrors to portray the psychological uneasiness. The delicate psychology between Tarek and his girlfriend is facilitated by the use of reflected eyes on a mirror. Eyes, in comparison to other body parts, can best symbolize the feeling of uneasiness; we can easily and clearly express the state of our mind through our eyes. A movie that follows expressionism can itself become a symbol, an image, or a metaphor. A movie is a system of signs and symbols. Thus, the difficulty of a writer who follows expressionism lies in correctly expressing the inner world of characters. Since this is a difficult task, words and physical action are complemented with instrumental images. In addition, since it is impossible to directly intervene in accidents to explain something (similar to a novel), a movie needs appropriate techniques. The essence of appreciating works of expressionism lies not in simply accepting the works as they are but in the interpretation. Thus, expressionism is not an expression but a representation.

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References

[1] S. Kracauer, “From Caligari to Hitler: a psychological history of the German film”, Princeton University Press, (1947). [2] J. Carey and W.Golding, “The man who wrote Lord of the Flies”, New York ; Simon & Schuster, (2009). [3] J. Mortimer, Character Parts, London, (1986). [4] J. D. Barlow, German Expressionist Film, Boston: Twayne Publishers, (1987). [5] I. Buruma, “Desire in Berlin”, New York Review of books, (2008). [6] R. S. Furness, Expressionism, London : Melthuen, (1973), pp. 81. [7] L. H. Eisner, “The Haunted Screen-Expressionism in the German Cinema and the Influence of Max Reinhardt”, Los Angeles & Berklry: University of California Press, (1994). [8] The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, (1976), edition, pp. 294. [9] W. H. Sokel, The writer in Extremis. Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, (1959), pp. 1. [10] D. Elgar, Expressionism, Taschen, (1989), pp. 10. [11] Expressionism from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [12] www.cine-international.com/2011/06/das-experiment.

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