Leni Riefenstahl, la bellesa al servei de la ideologia

Abstract

Is art independent from aesthetics and ideology? Starting with two films o( the director Leni Riefenstah, Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will, 1934) and Olympia (1936), we reflect upon the involvement of the filmmaker in Nazi Germany. The life that the director recounts in her memoirs is free of political commitment, and she claims that her collaboration with the Nazis was limited to the making o( a documentary about the party, Triumph ot the Will. This documentary was directly commissioned by Hitler who wanted it to be directed by an artist rather than a propagandist. He hoped to assured of glory by this film and he achieved it inasmuch as the story line centres on the figure of the dictator as the leader ot the German people. Moreover, the fascination that the director felt (or this character is apparent ill the beauty of the images. III Olympia, the director glorifies physical beauty and shows athletes to be modem gods. At the same time, this film permits us to analyse other historical and social aspects.