German Expressionism
German Expressionism was an answer to the grim reality of daily life. But it was not so much a direct relay of life to art. Rather, it was more of a filter; a way of assembling the clutter of post-war Germany to coherence on the screen. It was a way to represent and bring across the reality few could imagine. Sex murders, depression, veterans ghoulishly mangled in the war, the loss of innocence and complete rejection of the past were the things the German people dealt with during the post-war years.
German expressionism was created during WWI due to the isolation created by the war. This isolation can be felt through the use of shading and the lack of color. On one hand German expressionism has elements of realism or hyper realism for example Max Beckmann's self portrait seen above. However on the other hand we see a lot of distortion in plays, movies and paintings through the excessive use of shadow.