Melissa Gautier

History 399

Professor Schwartz

November 5, 2001

 

The “Mother” Figure in Film: A Unifying Image

 

In the three films “Triumph of the Will”, “La Marseillaise”, and “Lifeboat” the traditional role of “mother” is assigned to female characters and used as a tool in order to unify the population of each country (Germany, France, and the United States respectively), during times of social and political upheaval, with renewed nationalistic sentiments. The image of a mother caring for her child is a powerful one and as such has become a much used propaganda device, in the case of these films a device used to unify a population behind a particular ideology. “The image, often constructed as part of a persuasion or propaganda campaign can influence the destiny of a nation as much as economic fluctuations or climate change.” [1] Thus this image of the “mother” cannot be overlooked as part of each film’s effort to gain nationalistic support for a leader, a government, or a war as the case may be. In order to illustrate the significance of this “mother” role this essay will examine one scene from each of the three films. From the first film, “Triumph of the Will”, the scene that presents the German mother bringing flowers to Hitler, then in “La Marseillaise” there is the scene with the young mother walking by the resting soldiers, and finally, in “Lifeboat” the scene where Mrs. Higgley finally realizes her baby is dead and her subsequent grief will be examined.

 

            Mothers have been, and in many ways still are, important symbolic images. The image of the caring mother is one that strikes cords in human hearts almost universally. Images of mothers invoke strong emotional responses reminiscent of our own mothers and our childhood. Mothers are literally the means by which a people survive; through mothers the next generation is produced. They are caretakers and teachers for the future generations; they uphold traditions and pass on the culture of a given people. As the means to the future, through their wombs, mothers are to be protected and revered to a certain extent and therefore provide a powerful unifying figure that calls upon emotional responses in a population. For this reason the role of “mother” is used by filmmakers in attempts to bring a nation together.

 

            “Triumph of the Will” is the first film that this essay will look at, however to better understand the importance of the “mother” figure within the larger goals of the film it is necessary to provide, at least, a brief historical context for the film. “Triumph of the Will” is a German propaganda film produced by Leni Reifenstahl at the Nuremberg Rally in 1934 and released to the German public in 1935. The Depression had hit Germany hard, especially with the additional economic strains that were placed on the nation after World War I with the treaty of Versailles; people were out of work and unable to feed their families. It was amidst this economic crisis that Hitler began expanding his power base and by the time the film was released he had gained firm control of the German state. In 1934 two important events took place that helped cement Hitler’s power – the Night of the Long Knives and the death of President Paul Von Hindenburg. The Night of the Long Knives in June of 1934 was a purge of the SA and resulted in the death of Rohm, Hitler’s one possible rival for power and then upon the death of Hindenburg Hitler eliminated the Office of the President and named himself Fuehrer, a step he was reluctant to take before Hindenburg’s death for fear of a public outcry. [2] This basically leaves Hitler as the sole contender for control of Germany.

 

            It was right around this time that Hitler commissioned Leni Reifenstahl to make “Triumph of the Will.” He wanted to present a favorable picture of the Nazi party to the German public, with a special emphasis on drawing in the working class who had maintained in their resistance to the party. He believed that the film could be used as a valuable piece of propaganda and with this in mind provided Reifenstahl with an unlimited budget. Therefore every image and scene was choreographed with a specific message in mind with the hopes of conveying this message to the audience, as is the case with the “mother scene.”

 

            In “Triumph of the Will” the mother who runs up to Hitler with the bouquet of flowers firmly clasped in her hand while carrying her child can be read in a variety of different ways. Obviously of foremost importance to this essay is her “motherhood,” which places her in a traditional female gender role and tells the audience something about Hitler’s views on women – they should be at home having children not working or taking jobs from men who need to provide for their families. In addition to giving a view into Hitler’s thoughts and feelings about women this one woman represents more; her face has a look of awe and happiness when the camera goes in for a close up as she hands over the flowers and the child securely held to her hip is the perfect Arian child, Germany’s future carefully held in the safety of the mother’s arms. Also, of importance is the fact that both mother and child are well dressed and look to be happy and healthy, not of little consequence during the difficult economic times; she did not need to worry about money, finding work, or food for her children. There are no worries or anxieties with Hitler as our leader seems to be the message.

 

            “Triumph of the Will” has a small number of representations of either women or individuals and thus it is significant that one of the few individuals in a film containing large marching scenes of the faceless multitudes is of a woman and not just any woman, but a mother. Despite Hitler’s conservative gender politics and his belief that women should be at home reproducing little Nazi children for the future, he recognized the importance of the “mother” role in rallying support for his policies and he was intuitive to do so. “By offsetting the brutal masculine type [recruited by] Hitler their (women’s) images of loving womanhood made a vital contribution to the party’s success.” [3] Therefore it is easy to see that the “mother scene” in “Triumph of the Will” was of great consequence; it told the audience that Hitler was a capable leader who had the best interests of Germany in mind. This mother with her happy healthy child becomes a representative for all German motherhood. The message is clear in her glazed admiring glance – this is the man to save Germany; with Hitler my child, and yours too, has a safe and prosperous future. This woman becomes a uniting point for the German public, “if she supports Hitler then so should we support him.” Though Hitler wished to maintain a strict gender hierarchy he was conscious of the strong support base German motherhood could provide in his campaign to unify Germany behind the Nazi party. The woman who rushes to Hitler with the flowers brings more than just flowers, symbolically she brings with her other German mothers who will raise their children as Nazi supporters. In this way Reifenstahl uses the traditional “mother” role to portray Hitler and the Nazi party in a positive light, which will in her mind, hopefully advance the party’s goals. So though the scene is brief in the two-hour plus film it is important to the film’s overall goal to promote Hitler as a dynamic and strong leader who will revitalize Germany.

 

            The next film that will be discussed is “La Marseillaise” which was filmed four years after “Triumph of the Will” by Jean Renoir in 1938, during a time of much political and social chaos in France. On the surface the film is about the French Revolution, however one can find a resonance of many of the problems facing the French state in the latter part of the 1930s in the film if one looks closely. In 1938 France was facing economic troubles due to the Depression and an influx of immigrants along with the problems of an unstable government. These factors combined to contribute to France’s failure to act against Hitler and the fascist threat in time.

 

            Again a contextual basis will be important to understanding how Renoir tried to use images of “motherhood” in his goal to unite France behind a common cause. The Depression hit France later than in most other countries. This gave the French a false confidence about their economic stability so that they were ill prepared for the crisis when it did hit. This false confidence helped to exacerbate many of the other problems facing the French State. For example, at this time there was substantial migration of Italians and Poles fleeing Mussolini and Hitler along with significant numbers of students who had gone to France to study and had decide to stay – the percent of foreign born citizens rose from 4% to 10% in a county with a population of only 37 million. This increased migration combined with the economic tensions that came with the Depression caused a sense of Xenophobia to spread across the nation. The French population was finding it difficult to employ their own citizens and fears began to arise that the immigrants were stealing jobs, which gave rise to the slogan “France for the French.” [4]

 

            While discussing France pre-World War II one must also take into account the devastation that was visited on the nation during World War I. The fear of another such war was not insignificant. In World War I France lost more men than any other nation; an entire generation of young men were either killed or injured beyond repair. At this time in France the population wasn’t even reproducing itself and the French had understandable fears about their ability to survive another such war. [5] In addition to the fear of war and the economic problems of the state the government in France at this time was very unstable. The French had lost faith in their government “democracy and the Republic itself were discredited in the minds of countless Frenchmen,” as corruption was rife in government offices. [6] There was much infighting and many political factions to deal with; the population was never certain who would be leading the country from day to day. While the Popular Front, a coalition government comprised of the Communist party, the Social Democrats, and the French Radicals, was in power Renoir was given government funds to make “La Marseillaise.” Even he, an avowed pacifist, knew it was time for France to unite and stand against the Nazi threat so he made the film of the French Revolution, a time in France when the population had come together to oust the enemy. In “La Marseillaise” the audience can see Renoir’s attempt to bring the population together with a sense of national pride.

 

            One of the primary goals of in the creation of “La Marseillaise” was to promote unity and French nationalism and Renoir did this in part by using the “mother” figure. The scene where the mother happens along the resting soldiers and upbraids them for sitting eating peacefully while women and children are being attacked by the Austrians sends a powerful message to the French public, especially if one reads the film as an allegory of the problem with Germany that was facing France in the 1930s. Here is this enraged mother forced to leave her home and travel unprotected to Paris while able-bodied French men sit and do nothing for her aid. Just as contemporary French women and children were in danger of being left unprotected against Hitler’s wrath if France failed to present a united front against the encroachment of the Nazis. This woman is not so much criticizing the French soldiers in 1789, but rather critiquing the French government and an apathetic population of 1938 that had continually failed to act in the best interests of France.

 

            The unprotected mother who is willing to act when left to her own devices is used by Renoir to invoke a sense of shame in the current populace. This scene sends an obvious message with her short but angry tirade at the resting soldiers. Renoir is using this image of courageous motherhood to encourage the population to cease their apathy and fear, to stop the internal fighting, to unite against the enemy – Hitler. One of the main reasons this image can be so effective a tool is a result of all the symbolic meanings that come along with the image of the “mother,” which were discussed above. The mother in this film should be sitting in front a nice warm fire with her child at home, not trudging through the night dragging the child behind her and it is a major failure on the part of French men that she is not able to do so. The same way the coming occupation by Hitler was a failure on the part of French men to act and protect the innocent women and children. From this scene in “La Marseillaise” the audience is told of the tragic state of affairs that has mothers and children fending for themselves alone in the dark cold night. Renoir uses this motherhood scene to shame the current population into overcoming their fear and differences so that their “mothers” will not be left in the same state – defenseless and exposed to the elements.

 

            The final film this essay will look at is the film “Lifeboat” that Alfred Hitchcock made in 1944 during World War II. One of the goals of this film seems to be to unify the population behind the American War effort in Europe and at the same time overcome internal divisions resulting from racial tensions. By focusing on the foreign enemy with the character of Willy the film served to take the limelight away from internal racial conflicts going on at this time. In 1943 there had been a rash of race riots across the United States is many cities with divisive effects on the population. One example is in the city of Detroit where the largest and most violent of the riots occurred; 34 people were killed, 700 were injured, and there was 2 million dollars incurred in damages. [7] Riots such as this exacerbated the racial tensions and divided the population at a time when it was crucial for the United States to present a united front in order to successfully fight the war in Europe. “During a strike of a Packard plant that made engines for bombers and PT boats a voices was reported to have shouted, ‘I’d rather see Hitler and Hirohito win than work beside a nigger on the assembly line.’” [8] Attitudes such as this were spreading across the country and were counter-productive to the United State’s goals; it is doubly difficult to fight an external enemy when a nation is faced with internal conflicts and disagreements, which work to divide the population.

 

            In “Lifeboat” Hitchcock presents a microcosm of United States society in the early forties with the group divided by racial and class lines. However, as the film progresses the individual residents of the boat are able to overcome their differences, which is his hope for the audience. Hitchcock gives the audience a clear enemy to focus its anger and resentment at in the German ship captain who takes control of the lifeboat and murders Gus. Hitchcock seems to be trying to unite the audience as the boat passengers unite, overcoming the foreign enemy when they finally band together and throw Willy overboard, which is very much in line with the Bureau of Motion Pictures’ goals as part of the Office of War Information created by Roosevelt which “sought to produce movies that would help the war effort.” [9] In this aim one of many unifying images presented throughout the film is the character of Mrs. Higgley. She brings to reality the heinous crimes that are being committed on innocent mothers and children by the German enemy – again the powerful symbolism of the “mother” is at work.

 

            The scenes involving Mrs. Higgley and Johnny are particularly wrenching; all within the space of a few shorts minutes on the screen the audience sees Mrs. Higgley pass the gamut of emotions from disbelieve, to rage, to shock, back to disbelief, and finally inconsolable grief when she jumps overboard to be with her dead son. Willy, the enemy, has bombed the United States ship and Johnny’s young life has been snuffed out even before it had a chance to really begin. Mrs. Higgley is presented as the tragic figure of a mother who has been the victim of the most horrible of crimes – she has had the life of her child taken from her. Mrs. Higgley cannot live with this loss and thus ends her life and so now the enemy has not only taken Johnny’s life but also he is now responsible for the death of Mrs. Higgley. Perhaps even more tragic than the death of either Johnny or Mrs. Higgley is her unwillingness to accept the fact that she has been deprived of her motherhood with the death of her child; in being deprived of her natural role in life she no longer has any reason to live and so commits suicide. The figure of Mrs. Higgley becomes a reference point for bringing the audience together with common feelings for her pain and righteous anger at the enemy for causing her suffering.

 

            The character of Mrs. Higgley is a powerful image for drawing on the sympathies of the American audience, which reinforces Willy as the enemy and this in turn allows an outlet for anger and resentment that is not internal. In “Lifeboat” everybody puts aside his or her individual differences to aid Mrs. Higgley in her sorrow; Alice makes sure she is physically well, Connie lends her her fur coat to keep warm, and Joe recites the pray for her son’s burial at sea. The message seems clear enough to the audience sitting in the theatre watching the film – put aside your differences and unite as one country, one nation, and one people for the protection of the innocent being harmed by the German foe.

 

            The image of the “mother” and ideas about motherhood are used to invoke emotional responses in a population whether through a painting, a story, a photograph, or a film. “Triumph of the Will”, “La Marseillaise”, and “Lifeboat” all use the image of a “mother” figure in some manner to unite their potential audience in support of a specific cause. “Triumph of the Will” used the scene with the German mother and child to bring together the German population, with specific emphasis on working class mothers, in support of Hitler and the Nazi Party. “La Marseillaise” used the mother walking through the night with her child alone and unprotected to chastise the French population for their fear and factious infighting, which was leading to inaction against the Nazi threat. Then in “Lifeboat” the figure of Mrs. Higgley is used to unify the United States audience for the war effort in Europe which worked to place the focus on the external German enemy and so hopefully helped to ease some of the divisions that were taken place in the country due to racial tensions.

 

            In the broad historical context the use of the “mother” image tells us that gender and ideas about traditional gender roles are important aspects of any historical study. Even today in our modern society we can see images representing traditional gender roles used to influence the population. A perfect example of this is the many images of traditional gender roles we are presented with in television advertisements – the cough syrup ad with the mother kindly caring for her sick child or the household cleaning materials that always present a female authority figure because that is who takes care of the housecleaning. Traditional gender roles are present throughout history and help to reinforce existing gender hierarchies, much like a circular cycle – we use images of women to sell cleaning supplies because women are the people who clean which then reinforces this idea that women are the people who are suppose to be doing the housework. Also, as has been shown, in studying history one must not overlook how images such as that of the “mother” can be used as tools in accomplishing a greater goal or ignore the significance of these images of traditional gender roles as they are chosen for specific reasons with goals in mind.

 

WORKS CITED

 

Films:

 

“La Marseillaise” directed by Jean Renoir 1938.

 

“Lifeboat” directed by Alfred Hitchcock 1944.

 

“Triumph of the Will” directed by Leni Reifenstahl 1935.

 

Other:

 

Baulch, Vivian M. and Patricia Zacharias, “The 1943 Detroit Race Riots,” The Detroit

News, 2000, http://detnews.com/history/riot/riot.htm (October 23, 2001) in Robert

Schwartz 399 History CLIO By the Book and in the Movies Handout “Racial Tensions and Race Riots in 1943,” October 25, 2001.

 

History 399 “CLIO By the Book and in the Movies” course notes October 1, 2001

 

Perlmutter,  David D., “Visual Historical Methods,” in Historical Methods 27 (1994):

167-180.

 

Renda, Mary, “’Lifeboat’ Movies as Primary Sources” in History 399 CLIO By the Book

and in the Movies Course pack Mount Holyoke College Fall Semester 2001.

 

Schwartz, Robert 399 History CLIO By the Book and in the Movies Handout “Racial

Tensions and Race Riots in 1943,” October 25, 2001.

 

Wall, Donald D., Nazi Germany and World War II. Minneapolis: West Publishing

Company.

 

Wilkinson, James and H. Stuart Hughes, Contemporary Europe: A History. Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Prentice Hall.