The blue angel

Is this film nihilistic or does it reinforce traditional notions of morality?

I think this film very much reinforce traditional notion of morality because it shows actual life situation, if one makes wrongful decisions they would have to face later repercussion and that what Rath faced in the movie.

For this week's reflection paper, like last week, pick a scene from the film and describe the action in the scene; interpret the meaning of this scene; and then explain why you chose it.

         The scene I choose from the movie is the scene where Rath walks into his classroom and finds the pictures of him and Lola drawn on the board. This is where Rath begin to lose all the respect he had as a professor, giving that at that time education was such a major thing to accomplish, let alone becoming a professor. Although he was very strict, he was well respected because of his education level. This scene signified how much respect he lost from being involved with lola. Normally when he walks into class his students stand up to welcome him and sit down when he tells them to. But on this day the students begin to make a mockery of him and he then lost total control of his class. I think this scene signifies how one can lose their position in life due to the choice they make. I chose this scene because I believe this is where he starts to lose control over his entire life. His students used to be so fearful of him, but here he lost control over them and wasn’t able to regain control after this scene.

Please also complete the following questions:
1. How would you compare Rath/Lola to Siddhartha/Kamala?

In comparison of Rath/Lola to Siddhartha/Kamala Lola and Kamala both symbolize a turning point in each of their lives where they realize their inner personal self struggles, but kamala helped Siddhartha to evolve in the sense where she helped him in the journey to find who he is while Lola led Rath down the road of his down fall.
2. Is Lola an emancipated woman or "totally impassive?"

I think Lola is totally impassive because she didn’t stand up for herself the entire movie. She seems to just do whatever it is to keep making money. Even when Rath proposed to her and she took it as a joke she still agreed to marry him. she really didn’t stand up for herself throughout the whole movie, in my opinion she is very impassive
3. What is the significance of the clown?

In reference to when Rath was dressed as a clown, I think it was to make a mockery of him, it really showed how far he fell from being a professor to having a job as a clown.
4. How is chaos thematically represented in the film?

Chaos is represented in the film starting from when he first meets Lola and become obsessed with her. Rath then loses his authoritative role as a professor which was the start of his down fall. He then marries her, realizing that he is unable to deal with her wayward way of living he becomes very aggressive.
5. How would you interpret the overall meaning of the film?

I feel as though the moral of the movie was to show how one is not able to control their desires it can lead them down a destructive road. Rath should have been able to control himself enough to understand that getting involved with Lola was only going to bring destruction to him. He is a professor and she is a dancer for a living. This film interprets how quick one can fall down the social ladder and how tough it is to regain their position due to making a wrong decision.
6. Why did I compare Rath to the Haussmann painting/montage? Would you suggest a better comparison?

I think the painting suits the film well because it references Rath over seriousness with his career.  He was obsessed with punctuality, so the clock on the head of the painting relates to how being on time is everything, it takes over the head of the painting which draws the viewers attention directly to it.