The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Jeder Für Sich und Gott Gegen Alle, translation: "Everyone for himself and God against all") is a film directed in 1974 by Werner Herzog. It tells the supposedly true story of a German teenager who spent the first sixteen years of his life isolated from human contact and was suddenly released onto the streets of Nuremberg in 1828. The story of the real Kaspar Hauser remains a mystery for that. day, with speculation about whether he belonged to a royal house - particularly the ruling family of Baden - and others claiming that it was all a fraudulent scheme orchestrated by himself. There is obviously a big influence from the expressionist and alternative style of the country. director in the film, but the fact is that the film very closely follows the documented facts of a historical figure.Say no to plagiarism Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the The original essay. The first part of the film describes Kaspar's life before his release. His only social interaction was with his "supposed" jailer, who was responsible for Kaspar's basic food and his very poor abilities to speak a few sentences and write his name. But the main concept concerns Kaspar Hauser's initial assimilation into Nuremberg society. When Kaspar was found in this square in Nuremberg, apart from the clothes he was wearing, the only thing he carried with him was a letter addressed to Captain von Wessenig, in which the author (Hauser's jailer) explained that the boy was born in In 1812 he was placed in the care of the author and eventually stated that the boy would have liked to become a rider "like his father". This letter is read just after he is taken to the police for examination. After being deemed relatively harmless, the local jailer decides to take him home. At this point in the film, several interesting things happen almost all at once: 1) The jailer's children kindly begin to teach Kaspar some basic instructions, like pronouncing words, sentences, etc. This point can be analyzed from a sociological point of view as a form of “innocence” in children, who have not been properly contaminated by the collective unconscious of the society in which they live; due to Kaspar's treatment as an ordinary child rather than an outcast, which happens later in the film. 2) The jailer's wife let Kaspar hold his newborn in his arms, to which he responds with “mother, they took everything from me.” "In this part of the film where he cries, he has not felt typical emotions (tenderness, sadness, joy, etc…) nor experienced any of the situations he faced until his introduction into society. This phrase refers to the separation he has had throughout his life from everything and everyone and now realizes the deep emptiness that marks his existence,3) Some locals begin to torment Kaspar, while he is in his state; cell, with a chicken This moment might go unnoticed, but there are two relevant facts: First, the antagonism of the locals towards another human simply because they do not share the same social forms and norms (this can also be seen. this social alienation in the scene where he is taken to the freak show, because his stay in the cell "can no longer be tolerated by the community"). Secondly, - as previously stated for other emotions - this is probably the first time). of his life that Hauser feels fear. After his public display at a local freak show, Hauser is taken home by Mr. Daumer, the schoolmaster. In two short years, in the words of the aforementioned character, Kaspar learned many of society's social normsGerman, but apparently he still can't understand the significance of these interactions. His thinking 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 only good at knitting and cooking? » or, for example, being incapable of understanding the meaning of God or religious education. On the other hand, even if his logical thinking is tested and rejected by the math and logic teacher, I personally feel that he made a good introduction to the problem even if it was not done according to established logical rules. The explanation behind his early misunderstanding of social rules is that, up to this point in the film, he has not completely gone through the process of internalization – as in accepting a set of norms and values ​​set by d 'others in society –; therefore it is almost impossible for him to grasp these kinds of concepts. The words he exchanges with his guard, describing the dungeon in which he lived, are one of the most interesting parts of the film "I look in all directions - left, right, front and back." 'back- and there's only room. The room is bigger than the tower! ”, revealing the relativity of personal perception regarding different experiences, in this case of the space in which he lived. While, obviously, the tower is bigger than the room where Kaspar Hauser was locked up when he was found. , the room – as far as he knew – was basically his world. Just like the other dungeon where he lived for the first sixteen years of his life. It is a remarkable sociological interior that leaves space for open questions such as to what extent an individual's personal perception and understanding of things, life, existentialism, etc. , would change if their primary and secondary socialization were completely different from that of the person. has. As the film develops, Hauser seems to gradually adapt to the society he has been thrown into, to the point where a nobleman offers to have Kaspar as a protégé. However, Hauser felt very intimidated by the nobleman's stylized manner and the latter ultimately decided to withdraw the offer. Once again we can see how the protagonist is treated as a monster, or even as an exchangeable commodity… which in the end might not be. worth the compromise. The final acts depict how Kaspar Hauser is attacked twice by his first jailer – the film shows a man dressed identically to Kaspar's attacker – with the second attack being fatal. Before he died, Hauser had two delusions. The first was about a disorderly group of people climbing a mountain, apparently looking for something, and at the top was death waiting. The second was related to a caravan of people in the desert guided by a blind leader to a northern city. All of this could have been Herzog's way of depicting how societies wander, lost, towards an uncertain and fatal destination, without direction, without an apparent sense of belonging. Always on the move, always looking for something. The final scene of the film is a grotesque image of the autopsy of Kaspar's body and the removal of the brain, mentioning that "its shape is rather unusual" and that Kaspar had an overdeveloped brain. . The report is tabled. And his death boils down to a series of procedures and routines of our conventional society, revealing the most underlying conditions of alienation to which society is subjected, dealing with subjects as.