Nietzsche in Hollywood : Images of the Übermensch in Early American Cinema

Nietzsche in Hollywood offers a compelling and startling history of Hollywood film in which the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and his idea of the Übermensch looms large. Though Nietzsche's philosophy was attacked as egoistic and a sociopathic version of Darwinism in films from the 1910s, it undergoes a series of cinematic and philosophical transformations in the 1920s and 1930s under the eye and pen of some of the most significant names in early Hollywood, including Erich von Stroheim, Josef von Sternberg, Ben Hecht, Howard Hawks, and Ernst Lubitsch. In addition to establishing historical connections between Nietzsche's philosophy and these filmmakers, the book provides philosophical readings of many Hollywood films through the lens of the Nietzschean ideas of perspectivism and the critique of morality. Offering a new history of classic Hollywood films as well as a new approach to film philosophy, Nietzsche in Hollywood reveals a reading of the philosopher in American culture that has largely been ignored. Dedication 6 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations of Nietzsche’s Works 12 Introduction: Approaching Film with Nietzsche 14 1 The Inhuman in the Human: Social Darwinism and the Übermensch in the Silent Era 28 2 The Weakness in Strength: The Übermensch as Degenerate in the Films of Erich von Stroheim 50 3 The Criminal Law: The Übermensch as Gangster and the Will to Power 74 4 The Salvation of Sin: The Übermensch as Superwoman and the Role of Gender 98 5 The Truth of Lies: The Übermensch as Genius in the Comedies of Ben Hecht 126 6 The Freedom in Fate: The Übermensch as Dionysius in the Films of Josef von Sternberg 154 7 The Revealing Mask: The Übermensch as Free Spirit in the Comedies of Ernst Lubitsch 182 Conclusion: A Nietzschean Philosophy of Film 210 Notes 234 Bibliography 276 Index 290 "Argues that Nietzsche's idea of the Übermensch was a central concern of filmmakers in the 1920s and 1930s"-- Provided by publisher