“War nods off to sleep, but keeps one eye always open” — Jean Cayrol, Nuit et Brouillard, 1955
Did you know that mind control was not originally invented by the Nazi’s as a tactic of war, but it permeated the culture from the use of propaganda to gain supporters, to the sinister experiments conducted at concentration camps? Alan Resnais’ 1955 short film, Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog), gives a deeply disturbing portrait of the Holocaust, and illuminates through imagery the ways mind control ignited and propelled such mind-boggling and tragic events.
Resnais begs of his viewer to reflect on the capabilities of humanity to control and be controlled. He asks, “Who is on the look-out from this strange watch-tower to warn us of our new executioners’ arrival? Are their faces really different from ours?”
Most disturbing of all, Nuit et Brouillard ends at the Nuremberg trials, where Nazi’s deny any culpability, repeating the chant, “Je ne suis pas responsable (I am not responsible).”
Watch the beginning of Nuit et Brouillard here and here
Check out Taking Sides, a new exhibit about war curated by Zak and Robin Williams on Paddle8