1 Introduction
In adapting Stoker’s Dracula, Murnau has made quite a few changes to the original plot. Some of them were made due to economic and practical reasons, such as moving the setting and locations to Germany, some of them in order to avoid charges of copyright infringement, such as changing the characters’ names, as Murnau was not authorised to make an adaptation.
However, Murnau doesn’t simply copy Dracula. Stoker’s novel about the intrusion of an alien evil into English society is transformed into a story mirroring the fears that prevailed in Germany in the late 1910’s. Screenwriter Henrik Galeen and di¬rector Murnau were obviously influenced by the impressions that both World War I and the influenza pandemic had left. The war had left large areas in Central Europe in ruins and had triggered many political changes. Often, the new-founded Weimar Republic was seen as weak and incapable of acting. Moreover, the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918 proved no less devastating, ranking “with the plague of Justinian and the Black Death as one of the three most destructive human epidemics.”(1) Assisted by large troop movements and disastrous hygienic con¬ditions after the armistice, the disease spread across the globe within less than three months. Physicians and scientist were helpless. There was no immunization available: the influenza virus could not be isolated and positively identified as the pathogene until 1932. In fact, even today there are no means of preventing another influenza epidemic(2) .
Murnau begins with a caption that presents the movie as a record of an epidemic: “Aufzeichnung über das große Sterben in Wisborg.” The vampire is not the party animal that Lugosi impersonated; instead, Murnau draws on a tradition that associates vampires with unexpected or inexplicable death. His creature feeds on a society which is defenseless against him, either because its members are too weakened or too terrified to take action. Thus, though set almost one hundred years in the past, Nosferatu presents an actualisation of Dracula.
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(1) Potter, C.W. “A history of influenza”. Journal of Applied Microbiology 31. 2001: 575.
(2) cf. ibid., 572.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Inside, Outside
3 Death and Disease
4 Invisibility
5 Ubiquity
6 Paralysis
7 Conclusion
8 Sources
Objectives and Themes
This academic work explores how F.W. Murnau’s film Nosferatu transcends a mere adaptation of the Dracula narrative by reflecting the profound societal anxieties and traumas prevalent in Germany during the early 1920s, specifically examining the metaphors of death, disease, and helplessness in a post-World War I and influenza-stricken landscape.
- The historical influence of World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic on the film's narrative.
- The transformation of the vampire figure from a singular evil into an allegorical representation of decay and death.
- The analysis of cinematographic techniques used to establish the vampire's invisibility and ubiquity.
- The portrayal of societal paralysis and the failure of traditional male authority figures in the face of crisis.
Excerpt from the Book
3 Death and Disease
The vampire’s journey by ship is given a remarkable amount of screen time. The connotation with colonization in reverse it has in Dracula is lost when the story is translated from an English to a German setting. In Nosferatu, instead, it parallels the history of the Plague, which in medieval times hit sea ports first (among others Constantinople in 1347, Venice and Marseilles in 1348).
In both Stoker’s and Murnau’s version, the vampire kills the crew and arrives on a ghost ship. The connection to the Plague implied there might have been a minor aspect in the original. In Murnau’s time, however, it gains an alarming actuality: the influenza pandemic, too, spread along shipping lines to North America, Africa, East Asia, and Australia. In Central Europe it started from Brest, one of France’s main ports. Nosferatu can turn himself into a mass of rats to avoid detection.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: This chapter contextualizes Murnau’s film within the historical setting of the Weimar Republic, influenced by the aftermath of World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic.
2 Inside, Outside: This section contrasts Count Orlok’s repulsive, inhuman nature with typical vampire tropes, highlighting his role as an outsider who evokes disgust rather than fascination.
3 Death and Disease: This chapter analyzes how the film mirrors the spread of the influenza pandemic and connects the vampire to death, decay, and the socio-economic collapse of the era.
4 Invisibility: This section explores how the film uses cinematography to portray the vampire's presence as an unseen, yet constant, threat that is systematically ignored by society and science.
5 Ubiquity: This chapter discusses how Murnau utilizes special effects and visual composition to make the vampire a pervasive, allegorical force of destruction.
6 Paralysis: This section investigates the theme of helplessness and the failure of traditional male authority figures to confront the encroaching catastrophe.
7 Conclusion: This chapter synthesizes the main arguments, asserting that the film satirizes the naive trust in traditional power structures and reflects a society already defeated by trauma.
8 Sources: This chapter lists the academic references, medical papers, and literary works utilized to support the analysis.
Keywords
Nosferatu, F.W. Murnau, Dracula, Influenza pandemic, Weimar Republic, World War I, Vampirism, Death, Disease, Paralysis, Allegory, Cinema, Cultural Studies, Decay, Pathologization.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this academic work?
The paper explores how Murnau’s Nosferatu acts as a mirror to the societal fears and cultural atmosphere of Germany in the early 1920s, specifically regarding the trauma of World War I and the influenza pandemic.
Which historical events influenced the film's narrative?
The author highlights the devastating impact of World War I, which caused political and social instability in the new-founded Weimar Republic, and the global influenza pandemic of 1918.
What is the primary objective of the analysis?
The study aims to demonstrate that Nosferatu is not just a horror film but an allegorical work that reflects a society paralyzed by fear, death, and a loss of faith in traditional authorities.
What scientific methods are applied in the paper?
The work employs film analysis, historical contextualization, and literary comparison to link the movie’s visual elements to broader socio-political realities of the 20th century.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the text?
The main body examines the vampire's physical portrayal, his association with disease, his invisibility within society, his ubiquitous nature, and the recurring theme of human paralysis.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include Nosferatu, Weimar Republic, influenza pandemic, allegory, social paralysis, and cinematic representation of death.
How does the author interpret the figure of Count Orlok?
The author argues that Orlok is transformed from a singular monster into an abstract concept representing the uncontrollable, pervasive threats of death and decay facing society.
Why does the author focus on the "paralysis" of the characters?
The author uses the characters' inability to act as a metaphor for the weak state of German society at the time, which was reeling from defeat and unable to respond effectively to new crises.
- Quote paper
- Jens Rymes (Author), 2004, A Devil Sick of Sin: Images of Death and Disease in Murnau's "Nosferatu", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/45796
