“From medium to meaning.” On propaganda forms of expression in the film „Triumph of the Will” by Leni Riefenstahl

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to determine the most frequently used propaganda forms of expression in the film Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl. This research target may be presented in the form of the following questions: Which propaganda forms of expression have been used in the film? Which symbols have been used to convey the message in Leni Riefenstahl’s film? The answers to these questions will be interpreted in the context of Stewart M. Hoover’s theory “from medium to meaning.” Its author paid attention to the essential question: To what extent do media convey meaning? To what extent do they give meaning to a phenomenon? Analogically, a question may be asked, with reference to Riefenstahl’s film: to what extent her film might have given meaning to the Nazi propaganda? What was the role of cinema in Adolf Hitler’s policy and in popularising his views? The article is a review paper. Its indirect goal is to draw attention to the transfer of meaning in audiovisual communication.