Around the 1920s, the German government banned foreign films from the nation due to isolation during WW1. Because of this, the film demands from theaters rose and thus, the German Expressionist movement began and continued until WWII, where people now appreciated the art. Expressionist films, usually consisting of wildly unrealistic designs, animations, objects and highly exaggerated lighting and shadows. These films usually had the topics of intellectual (and very pessimistic, in my opinion) topics such as betrayal and insanity, instead of the cliche'd romance or action films.
At this time German Expressionism was influencing other international art, especially America. With it's two tragic and horrible decades because of the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and Dustbowl, and the World Wars, America also developed a negative ambiance for their art, producing mostly Horror and Noir films. Produced in black and white, and with sardonic leading characters, America in the 1930s-1950s could relate to the films really well because of the tough, seemingly hopeless time they were going through.
The Maltese Falcon is an example of a 1941 film noir that exemplifies the pessimistic ambiance and cynical characters. The German Expressionism shows through this movie in the way that the lighting greatly emphasizes the shadows and the contrast in dark and light. This implies that the film is not a happy or cliche film, as the dark shades stand out to tell us that there is definitely a lot of dark motives and plots in this film. The leading character represented a cynical man with no future nor even hope for his future, and that it was as if he was just living to die, which, during the disasters happening, many people in America, especially men, can relate to.
The Maltese Falcon is an example of a 1941 film noir that exemplifies the pessimistic ambiance and cynical characters. The German Expressionism shows through this movie in the way that the lighting greatly emphasizes the shadows and the contrast in dark and light. This implies that the film is not a happy or cliche film, as the dark shades stand out to tell us that there is definitely a lot of dark motives and plots in this film. The leading character represented a cynical man with no future nor even hope for his future, and that it was as if he was just living to die, which, during the disasters happening, many people in America, especially men, can relate to.