DESIGN ELEMENTS IN GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST CINEMA: THE VISUAL NARRATIVE OF THE STUDENT OF PRAGUE

This study aims to analyze the visual language and design elements of The Student of Prague (Der Student von Prag, 1926) within the framework of German Expressionist cinema. Expressionism, which emerged in early 20th-century Germany, is an art movement that externalizes the individual’s inner world, fears, subconscious, and psychological conflicts, reconstructing reality through a subjective lens. In this aesthetic understanding, where reality is formally distorted, the balance of light and shadow, exaggerated perspectives, sharp lines, stylized sets, intense contrasts, and theatrical acting styles are employed to express inner emotional states. In this context, the film’s use of contrasting light, geometric spatial constructions, decorative excesses, and bodily gestures supports themes of fragmentation, identity division, loneliness, and social alienation. The protagonist’s confrontation with his own reflection becomes a visual conflict through mirrors and spatial deformations, while the transitions between consciousness and the subconscious are symbolically represented. Through detailed visual analyses of key scenes—along with examinations of art direction, costume, set design, lighting, and cinematography—the aesthetic codes of Expressionist cinema are deciphered. Ultimately, The Student of Prague reflects the spiritual atmosphere and social anxiety of post-war Germany, conveying the individual’s inner dilemmas, identity crisis, and sense of alienation through the visual language of cinema. The film reveals not only psychological disintegration but also a symbolic fracture within collective consciousness.

Keywords

Expressionism, German Cinema, Visual Narrative, Cinematic Aesthetics, Design Elements, The Student of Prague