The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder Für Sich und Gott Gegen Alle, translation: "Every man for himself and God against all") is a film made in 1974 by Werner Herzog tells the apparently true story of a German teenager who spent the first sixteen years of his life isolated from all human contact and was suddenly released onto the streets of Nuremberg in 1828. The story of the real Kaspar Hauser remains a mystery. day, with speculation about his possible belonging to a royal house - in particular the ruling family of Baden - and others claiming that everything was a fraudulent plan orchestrated by himself. There is obviously a great influence of the director's expressionist and alternative style in the film, but the fact is that the film follows the documented facts of a historical figure very closely. Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay. the first part of the film describes what Kaspar's life was like before he was released. His only social interaction was with his "alleged" captor, who was responsible for Kaspar's basic nutrition and poor ability to speak a few sentences and write his name. But the main concept concerns Kaspar Hauser's first assimilation into Nuremberg society. When Kaspar is found in that square in Nuremberg, in addition to the clothes he was wearing, the only thing he takes with him is a letter addressed to Captain von Wessenig, in which the author (Hauser's jailer) explained that the boy was born in 1812, he was placed in the custody of the author and finally declared that the boy would like to become a knight “like his father”. This letter is read immediately after being taken to the police for examination. After being deemed relatively harmless, the local jailer decides to take him to his home. At this point in the film, there are some interesting things happening almost all at once; 1) The jailer's children begin, kindly, to teach Kaspar some basic instructions, how to pronounce some words, phrases and so on. This point can be analyzed from a sociological point of view as a form of "innocence" in children, who have not been adequately contaminated by the collective unconscious of the society in which they live; due to Kaspar being treated like a normal child instead of an outcast, which happens later in the film.2) The jailer's wife let Kaspar hold her newborn baby, to which he responds with "mother, I they took everything away." ' In this part of the film he cries, he has not felt the typical emotions (tenderness, sadness, joy, etc...) nor has he experienced any of the situations faced until his insertion into society. This phrase refers to the separation he has had throughout his life from everyone and everything; and now he realizes the profound void that marks his existence,3) Some locals begin to torment Kaspar, while he is in his cell, with a chicken. This moment might go unnoticed, but there are two relevant facts: first, the antagonism of the locals towards another human being just because he does not share the same social forms and norms (we can see this social alienation even in the scene in which a freak show is filmed, because his stay in cell "can no longer be tolerated by the community"). Secondly, as mentioned for other emotions, this is probably the first time Hauser has felt fear in his life. After his public performance at a local freak show, Hauser is taken home by Mr. Daumer, the schoolteacher. In two short years, in the words of the character mentioned above, Kaspar has learned many of the social norms of German society, but apparentlyhe still cannot grasp the meaning behind these interactions. His thought process is very rational and neutral when it comes to analyzing the social conventions that current society is accustomed to. Many of his questions often leave his interlocutors speechless, such as: "Why can't I play the piano as if I could breathe?", "What are women good for only knitting and cooking?" or, for example, not being able to understand the meaning of God or religious education. On the other hand, even though his logical thinking was tested and rejected by the mathematics and logic professor, he personally felt that he had made a good induction to the problem, even if it was not done according to the established logical rules. The explanation behind his initial misunderstanding of social rules is that, at this point in the film, he has not fully gone through the process of internalization – as in accepting a set of norms and values ​​established by others in society –; therefore, it is almost impossible for him to grasp these kinds of concepts. The words he exchanges with his warden, describing the prison he lived in, are one of the most interesting parts of the film “I look in every direction: left, right, front and back… and there is only space. The room is bigger than the tower!”, revealing the relativity of personal perception with respect to different experiences, in this case the space in which he lived. While, evidently, the tower is larger than the room in which Kaspar Hauser was confined when he was found, the room – as far as he knew – was basically his world. Just like the other dungeon he lived in for the first sixteen years of his life. This is a remarkable sociological interior that leaves room for open questions such as how much an individual's personal perception and understanding of things, life, existentialism, etc. would change if his primary and secondary socialization were completely different from those of the person. ha. As the film develops, Hauser seems to progressively adapt to the society he has been thrown into, to the point that there is a nobleman who offers to have Kaspar as a protege. However, Hauser feels very intimidated by the nobleman's stylized ways and the latter finally decides to withdraw the offer. Once again, we can see how the protagonist is treated like a monster, even like a tradable commodity... which may not be worth the trade-off in the end. The final acts describe how Kaspar Hauser is attacked twice by his first captor – the film shows a man dressed similarly to Kaspar's attacker – the second attack is fatal. Before dying Hauser had two delusions. The first was about a ragtag group of people climbing a mountain, seemingly looking for something, and at the top was death waiting. The second involved a caravan of people in the desert led by a blind leader to a northern city. All of this may have been Herzog's way of describing how societies wander, lost, toward an uncertain and fateful destination, guideless, with no apparent sense of belonging. Always on the move, always looking for something. The last scene of the film is a grotesque image of when they perform an autopsy on Kaspar's body and remove his brain, mentioning that "its shape is quite unusual" and that Kaspar had an overdeveloped brain. . The complaint is closed. And his death is summarized in a series of procedures and routines of our conventional society, which highlight the deepest conditions of alienation to which society is subjected, assigning delicate and sacred themes such as the end of a human life. In summary, the film tells the story of Kaspar Hauser, an individual who has never been socialized. The director never doubts the.