Triumph of the Will

Del posted that you have just watched 'Triumph of the Will'.

I know it gets rave reviews from film people for style and propaganda people for effectiveness, but I don't get it! Maybe it's because I am old and so far separated by time, but I find it profoundly boring. To me, you can only see so many swastikas, so many SS men, hear so many rousing speeches, before it all becomes a bit ho hum.

I want you to consider this. A friend of mine who was in car sales once told me that those ads for cars that don't really mention any price or deal, but simply show the car purring along on country roads with beautiful people inside, etc... were not actually intended to "sell" me a car.They were actually made to help reinforce / convince people who already owned that brand that they had made the right choice, that they were part of an exclusive club. So that they would be happy with their purchase and be brand loyal at their next purchase.

If this is the case with 'Triumph of the Will', that it wasn't really designed to sell Nazi beliefs to non-believers, but reinforce the loyalty of Nazis themselves, is what Riefenstahl has done here really that important? Is Riefenstahl really that important if she is only making feel good movies for the Nazis? Is it then really propaganda???