Olympia (1936) Photographs
The movie Olympia (1936) was a landmark for female directors as Leni Riefenstahl was the executive director of the first fully televised Olympic Games. This movie was a key foundation for the future representation of the Olympic Games. Riefenstahl's thematic aspect in the photographs and the event itself was to mimic an Athenian myth of athleticism represented in every aspect. She had been a dancer and athlete herself and admire the flexibility and muscle memory a body can possess. Her work was not intended to legitimize the Arian figure or to create a blueprint for a beauty standard, but simply follow the theme of Gods and Goddesses. A clear example of Riefenstahl's indented purpose was the fact that Jesse Owens was also present in the movie; even though he did not fit the Arian standards [1]. Nonetheless, the German government used her work for other purposes. This photographic film remains a controversial topic of discussion from which, in our context, these beauty standards were exploited by mass media.
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Footnotes:
[1] RodrÌguez, MarÌa Graciela. “Behind Lenis Outlook: A Perspective on the Film Olympia (1938).” International Review for the Sociology of Sport 38, no. 1 (March 2003): 109–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/10126902030381007.