5) Modernizing Without History
As Prof. Franz and Ellen Harker try to warn Ellen and Thomas’ friend, Fredrich (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), of the oncoming threat of Count Orlok, he doesn’t believe them. Vampire lore and the alchemic realms Prof. Franz exercises in are considered old-fashioned, and there’s much discussion about abandoning superstitions of the past. Even Count Orlok describes a desire to move away from the superstitious peasants he lives amongst and embrace the modern world. Eggers’ Nosferatu isn’t anti-progress by any means; it depicts the dangers of tossing the past aside to embrace modernization rather than learning and building off the past to grow. Ignoring the superstitions and traditions of the peasants left Harker’s town unprepared, and Prof. Franz’s findings and teachings about vampirism were mocked and ignored by the scientific community and higher society. Not learning from the past endangered the present and left the town vulnerable to Count Orlok’s rule.
