#Bales2023FilmChallenge April 18: Exercise on #NationalExerciseDay

Europeans are not too worried about certain things. Having a body for instance is something good. Instead of shame, you take care for it with regular exercise and plenty of fresh air. Preferably both. In Germany this is called #Freikörperkultur, sometimes confused with nudism.

In 1925, Wilhelm Prager released his Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit – Ein Film über moderne #Körperkultur [Ways to Strength and Beauty], showing the human in various stages of exercise and undress. We see sportspeople – including future-Tarzan Johnny Weissmuller and then-movie mountaineer Leni Riefenstahl – world leaders (Rockefeller and Mussolini, though the latter was cut from re-releases) and dancers such as Josephine Baker, Bac Ishii, and the scandalous Anita Berber. The film was mostly aimed at women, who by then were part of the workforce, sitting at desks in modern Metropolises. So modern it was that people were encouraged to complete their Wege-collection of trading cards, which came with their cigarettes. Good thing they're all #outdoors.

#film #cinema #Ufa #Weimar #Germany #FreshAir #documentary #gymnastics #FKK #WilhelmPrager #JohnnyWeissmuller #JosephineBaker #BacIshii #AnitaBerber #dance #FilMastodon #CineMastodon @film https://letterboxd.com/12pt9/list/bales2023filmchallenge/