Quote:
Originally posted by hollywoodgothiq
This only further underlines my point: it's okay to take aim at DRACULA, but NOSFERATU is off limits.
This is especially egregious in the case of the accusation of anti-semitism, because the charge really doesn't hold up in regards to DRACULA. Most obviously, the Count's medal looks nothing like a star, let alone a Star of David. (It's actually a circle, with lines radiating out from the center. These lines may give the impression of being the points of a star in long shots, but they are not.)
As for NOSFERATU, well, the film is a metaphor for post-World War I Germany, with the lifeblood of the Fatherland being drained away by Orlock, whose makeup and appearance suggest Shakespeare' Shylock more than Bram Stoker's Dracula. Fortunately, the virtuous Rhinemaiden's sacrifice destroys the evil, so that Germany can rise again... and we all know what that led to. (At least Werner Herzog had the good sense to tag a highly ironic ending onto his remake.)
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hmm. . . well to continue the debate: if a viewer can freeze frame the medallion on Dracula (and on high quality tv screen) it is not a star of david - that said, at quick glance as its shown it is easy to mistake the two.
as for metaphor - let's not forget that the first sweeping anti-immigration laws were passed in the US in 1920, 24 and 29 and mainly targetted eastern europeans (and these laws were deeply driven by antisemitism). So, there was a huge level of antisemitism in the US in the early 30s and many of the stereotypes that are evident in Nosferatu are also evident (though in a less 'caricatured' way in Dracula - with the addition that Dracula is a shrewd business man, another stereotype)