Still uit de film The Love Parade 1929

This is a photograph of a scene from the German film, The Love Parade. The movie dates from 1929, towards the end of the silent film era. In the image, we see an actress dressed in stylized military uniform, flanked by a guard of soldiers. Although comic, the imagery harks back to the pre-war pomp and militarism of the German Empire. After the trauma of World War One, many Germans were drawn to the reassurance of traditional values. The Love Parade, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, captured that mood of nostalgia, but also presented a slightly subversive satire of power. To understand the film and this still, we can look at publications from the Weimar era, as well as the records of film studios such as UFA. By doing so, we can understand how this lighthearted movie touched on the cultural and political tensions of its time.