The Devil's Three Golden Hairs

Throughout the movie I feel the target audience was the working class and the poor.  The movie provided such a stark contrast between royalty and the common working man.  The most apparent ways I saw a contrast was in their clothes and intelligence.  The king and his staff wore those lavish blue costumes made of wonderful cloth, with ruffles and other lavish details.  The commoners however, were tattered clothes, made of harsh cloth, that almost looked like brown and beige rags.  The contrast in intelligence came in little ways, like the valid questions the commoners raised in reference to their robbers tax.  The king's servant had no answers for the working class people. The collector kept giving the blacksmiths the same round about answer over and over again, even though they had a valid question.

This film reminded me of Snow White because there was little to know magic.  Sticking to the focus of focusing in on the working class, magic is an unrealistic option.  In the real world there is no fairy godmother to swoop in and rescue a person, likewise there is no magic in DEFA films.

I believe the use of film adds comic relief.  The scene where the main character accidently sets the kings hut on fire when he is really running away from a mouse I thought was great.  That is an instance where is that scene was written in a book, it wold not be funny.  I struggled a bit with this film, simply because the vice overs sounded a bit out of place.

The Devil's Three Golden Hairs: DEFA style

As I watched this movie, I imaged its target audience as the working class society of Soviet occupied Germany. DEFA provided the leading medium for re-educating the German populace after being subjected to over a decade of Nazi rule. The humor and political commentary is clearly geared towards adults of the working class. DEFA makes a mockery of the king (who symbolizes lavish living) and honors the honest workers (i.e. the blacksmiths and Jacob). The working class members wish to "prove that there are actually robbers" by becoming robbers themselves, which serves to poke fun at the aristocracy and king who tax them on rubber in order to support a seemingly unnecessary army. We see how the king is at the root of the kingdom's problems, which allows the film to herald socialist ideology.
The film reminds me of the DEFA version Snow White, as well. When the king takes Jacob down the elevator so that he may be received by the Princess, the scene reminds me of the mirror in Snow White. The mirror is a piece of technology rendered absurd, and the elevator ride is portrayed in the same fashion with cheesey music and a cheap-looking iron cage. The devil's lair, and the devil himself, are portrayed in the same absurd fashion. His cave is just a bunch of smoke and fake shrunken heads. And the devil looks like an over-grown four year-old in a caveman costume... plus a tale.
I think the film medium serves an important role in how the target audience is chosen and how the images are relayed. The scene where Jacob "fights" the dog in the grass comes to mind. In writing, this scene would just seem silly. But put on screen, it's rather funny. And when Jacob gets attacked by the hungry children, their father tells him that the king's men made the well stop and the mill stop working. Yet again, the film medium serves to highlight the plight of the lower class at the expense of the boorish aristocracy. The special effects with the devil's golden hairs are also highly entertaining.

DEFA Version of Devil's Golden Hair

I think that the target audience of this movie is the proletariat in the Soviet Union. I feel that the movie is full of social commentary about capitalist society. The king/aristocracy represent the bourgeois and upper classes that prosper and live lavishly while the lower classes are being exploited. The victory of the working class, Jacob's ability to beat the devil and the King, is a reminder as to why socialism "is the answer." Also, although the King is directly responsible for the suffering in his kingdom, the peasants believe that the devil is to blame. I cannot help but think that DEFA is linking the two figures together, thereby commenting that capitalism is evil and leads to horrible things. In the end they are punished, as the commoners have their revenge. The devil is fed massive amounts of wine, and meat, stuffing him tremendously. This is ironic because excessive consumerism which he supports is a punishment to him. Keep in mind that this movie was also made in 1977 GDR, so it is just about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. This film would reinforce socialist ideals that the Soviet Union would exemplify in the time of such celebration.
This movie also reminds me of the Snow White DEFA film. In the Snow White version, the mirror is made out to be a piece of technology. One can see in the devil's layer that all the things that try to make the devil frightening are really just a punch of smoke and machines. It is also like the Snow White film because they both place emphasis on workers, and that there is dignity in work. The images of labor and the laboring class are presented because they should generate feelings of respect.
Film is very beneficial to this fairy tale. First, by reinforcing the message of class awareness, scenes are presented in which the upper class are presented as incompetent idiots. The tax collector, the king, the devil, etc. The things that they worry about and whine about are nothing compared to the hardships facing the working class. Technology is also useful with the three golden hairs, the special effects are very cool. Again, the movie is made in a commical fashion, so there is humorous dialogue, and imagery. This can be seen when the devil is being stuffed.

Assignment 7 - 17.March 2009

Hi Alex, Jasmine, Allison, Alexandria and Tim,

Here's the assignment for this week. Please note that the deadlines are different from the usual.


After having viewed the DEFA film "The Devil's Three Golden Hairs", do the following:

1. Try to interpret from the movie, who the target audience might be. Keep in mind, that the film was made in 1977 in East Germany.

2. Compare the movie with the DEFA version of Snow White.

3. Explain how the medium 'film' is used to tell the story. You could consider talking about the plot, dialogue, etc.

Do try to touch upon all three points in your blog.

Deadline for posts: 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday

Deadline for comments on at least two posts: Midnight on Wednesday

Looking forward to your posts!

Ann