Even though power can be used to build, heal and for other constructive purposes, one usually encounters the term in the context of someone imposing his/her own will on others. The notion of power can be examined at various levels, and from multiple perspectives, such as in our personal relationships, among certain social groups or in an institutional set-up. The chain of conflicts between people in a power position and the oppressed is one possible central concept in historiography and social sciences, since numerous events in the past and present as well as certain phenomena in our social or private lives can be examined in this regard. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that conflict between powers, people in power and their subordinates is a frequently and passionately used theme in works of art.

Still from Tell Your Children (2007)

Cinematography presents a multitude of examples where power is depicted as an oppressive, sadistic political force acting on the individual. This is one of the main themes of Zoltán Fábri’s The Fifth Seal (original title: Az ötödik pecsét), and Szabolcs Hajdu’s White Palms (original title: Fehér tenyér). However, these movies feature the dynamics of power at two entirely different levels.
One of the primary objectives of totalitarian regimes is to abolish personal autonomy in order to merge citizens into a homogenous crowd which serves the political regime without criticism. To achieve this goal, concise, intensive, and one-way ideological communication is required besides other instruments of oppression. Cinematographic texts are especially suitable for this kind of communication, since films can have a huge influence on people due to their powerful capacity to create illusion of reality. Both the Nazi and Bolshevik dictatorships were aware of this fact, so it comes as no surprise that they allocated substantial financial and institutional resources to the creation of propaganda movies.
As films display a twofold quality, they can allude to power that manipulates and, in this way, can also unveil such manipulation. The cast of characters, dialogues, camera movements, shifts in viewpoints and other cinematographic devices have the ability to evoke criticism or sympathy in the audience by documenting and portraying the means of physical and psychological oppression, as well as the manifestations of violence aimed at distorting and abolishing the individual.

In the world of contemporary fine arts graffiti is often considered marginal. Nevertheless, it raises important questions, such as power relations. This generally means resisting the authorities, since most graffitiGraffiticlose displayed in public or privately owned places are deemed illegal. That is the reason why, as opposed to other artists, street artists never reveal their identities. The making of graffiti itself conveys the personality traits of the rebel, since it is embodied in the arbitrary taking back of bleak urban areas. This underlying sense of rebellion, anonymity and the arbitrary artistic emergence in busy urban places almost predestine this art form to spreading political messages. Several street artists set such objectives. Banksy, for example, is a contemporary anonymous British street artist and director whose organic, sophisticated graffiti work reflecting on capitalism, immigration, homelessness and other social inequalities appears on street walls and bridges worldwide.

In this sense, both film and graffitiGraffiticlose are ideally suited for addressing social issues and mobilizing people to take action. For this reason, great responsibility is placed on street artists. Since the dominant political regimes are consciously striving for the efficient dissemination of their ideologies, the most prominent artists of a given time were often pressured into contributing to this mission. An excellent (but also sad) example of this in the history of cinematography is the outstandingly talented German propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl’s prolific output in the Third Reich.

However, we must not forget the viewers’ responsibility and spiritual freedom, either. It is important to know about the language of the moving picture and to acquire adequate skills for reading it, because it enables us to reflect on contents transmitted by the leading medium of our time through movie screens, television, computers and smartphones. This can help us to become immune to all forms of manipulation and it can also help us to understand artistic messages of oppression, social injustice or any oppressive ideology. It can even help us to learn to communicate through the medium ourselves, to respond to the messages we receive and to create our own.