S1E00: A Brief History of Modern Germany with Lauren Faulkner Rossi

We begin our journey into the filmography of Ernst Lubitsch with a bit of scene-setting, as Simon Fraser University assistant professor Lauren Rossi joins us to discuss the history of Weimar Germany. Our discussion is wide-ranging, beginning with the Napoleonic era and ending with the downfall of the Weimar republic; in focusing on this period, we aim to provide context as to the political and social forces that shaped Ernst Lubitsch’s worldview and artistic practice. Next Week: FILM FORMALLY co-host Will Ross joins us on December 13th to discuss WHEN I WAS DEAD aka WHERE IS MY TREASURE, Lubitsch’s oldest surviving directorial work. For details on where to find this film, check out our resources page. WORKS CITED: WEIMAR GERMANY : PROMISE AND TRAGEDY by Chris Weitz THE COMING OF THE THIRD REICH by Richard J. Evans WHAT I SAW by Joseph Roth I SHALL BEAR WITNESS: THE DIARIES OF VIKTOR KLEMPERER by Viktor Klemperer MOMA’s Exhibition Catalog for German Expressionism: THE GRAPHIC IMPULSE