Nietzsche and the Cobbler, Germans brainwashing our pure white girls!!

Nietzsche and the Cobbler: German brainwashing?

“Face life as you find it, defiantly and unafraid! Waste no energy yearning for the moon! Crush out all sentiment,” reads Lily from the book that an old friend has sent her. The book is Thoughts Out of Season, the author: Friedrich Nietzsche. An interesting addition an otherwise traditional ‘fallen woman’ film is the presence of Nietzschean philosophy thought out Baby Face. Lily is kicked out of her old life from the promptings of a cobbler, Adolf Gragg, who speaks from Nietzsche’s writings as if they are scripture. The idea of raising one’s self up by their own bootstraps is something common in film, but for 1933, the idea of a woman doing it was likely frowned upon (judging by the severe editing and poor critical reception), and the method of doing it by “using men” to do it was out right blasphemy – hence the veneer of philosophy.

By having the prod out of a “socially acceptable situation” into a morally flawed and socially dangerous one be caused from the word of Nietzsche, spoken through a clear foreigner, it gave the message less credulity and, as was probably thought at the time, would reduce the risk of women emulating Stanwyck’s character. At its core, Nietzschean philosophy regarding its relationship to society openly admits to being “immoral” compared to moral stigmas of the world. He believed that rules and morals were appropriate for a society to function, they keep the lesser dregs in check – but for those that are exceptional, those like Lily, and should be given room to “play” with the law. “Become what you are,” Nietzsche wrote, the cobbler read…then told Lily.