Documentary film director Leni Riefenstahl has earned critical renown for outstanding aesthetic accomplishment. She is, however, also synonymous with Nazism in documentary history—a label she cannot be disassociated from. The established study on her films has so far revolved around either aesthetic or political discussions. This study carefully avoids the dichotomous argument, analyzing Triumph of the Will (1934) and Olympia (1938) through the observation of how society, culture, and politics are related to the works’ aesthetic. The majestic effects were achieved through the filming and editing style made possible with Hitler’s financial support. She was able to use a large number of cameras to achieve the aesthetics she sought. The paper asserts that it is Riefenstahl’s use of these aesthetic devices to depict the Nazi Party Convention and the Olympics that should be construed as political. It also examines the relationship between Riefenstahl’s aesthetics and politics, which is often overlooked in the studies that separate the two.

Documentary film director Leni Riefenstahl has earned critical renown for outstanding aesthetic accomplishment. She is, however, also synonymous with Nazism in documentary history—a label she cannot be disassociated from. The established study on her films has so far revolved around either aesthetic or political discussions. This study carefully avoids the dichotomous argument, analyzing Triumph of the Will (1934) and Olympia (1938) through the observation of how society, culture, and politics are related to the works’ aesthetic. The majestic effects were achieved through the filming and editing style made possible with Hitler’s financial support. She was able to use a large number of cameras to achieve the aesthetics she sought. The paper asserts that it is Riefenstahl’s use of these aesthetic devices to depict the Nazi Party Convention and the Olympics that should be construed as political. It also examines the relationship between Riefenstahl’s aesthetics and politics, which is often overlooked in the studies that separate the two.

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politics of strategy, aesthetics of the pure beauty, mode of borderline, preservation of the truth, art for art’s sake, propaganda of politics, bargaining of art