The Face of Evil
The central question of David Tosco’s documentary “The Face of Evil” – can we recognize a criminal by his/her appearance? The film discusses the different physical images that were projected upon criminals throughout history. It shows that science assisted the idea that a criminal can be recognized by physicals signs such as ear, forehead and jaw size. It is evident how crime prevention may benefit from these ideas; but are they true? The case of Bruno Ludke is a very interesting criminal case which took place in the early 1940s. Ludke was accused of over 50 murders and examined thoroughly and termed a mass murderer. His physical features were recorded and – even to this day – are being used to scientifically determine the biological characteristics of a criminal.
Sociological and Historical Interest
The pseudo-scientific idea that the moral of a person and his or her character is determined by their appearance, especially the face, has easily been accepted and used within literature, film and other forms of art. The documentary “The Face of Evil” starts with the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch and continues with theories of criminologists Franz Joseph Gall, Cesare Lombroso, Alphonse Bertillon, and Eugène Francois Vidocq. As such, the film creates a powerful and interesting image of the impact of criminal anthropology on the collective imagination. In addition the film shows different historical theories on the causes of criminal behavior such as phrenology, degeneration, eugenics and atavism. The curious case of Bruno Ludke is used as yet another form of evidence that prejudice in combination with the abuse of science can be lethal.
Scenes
- Faces
- When we look at faces we anticipate possible danger. But what do we really see? Our perceptions of others are influenced by ideas that go far back in time. This documentary gives insight in this history of imagining the Other and Evil.
- Stereotypes
- Fear is the product of our inability to control social events around us. When a stereotypical “face” of a criminal is scientifically determined, anxiety can be reduced through recognition of the dangerous Other. Science has assisted this idea that a criminal can be recognized by fysical signs.
- Physiognomy
- Physinomyog looks at a person’s physique to determine his or her moral character. This science is related to anthropological criminology. The use of facial expressions to determine evil characters was used in by many artists throughout history. Hieronymus Bosch’s art shows vivid examples of the use of physiognomy in paintings.
- The Devil Strikes at Night
- The film “The Devil Strikes at Night“ was released in 1958 and regarded as the best German film of the year. The movie featured the story of Bruno Ludke, an alleged serial killer of the 1940s. The case was kept secret by Nazi authorities for many years but a series of German press articles revealed the history of this previously unknown killer.
- Phrenology
- Phrenology is a pseudoscience that tries to determine the personal traits of the subject by the shape of his or her head. The inventor of this pseudoscience is Franz Joseph Gall. By making a mold of a criminal’s head parts of the brian were located and their (abnormal) growth determined.
- The Natural Born Killer
- Bruno Ludke was seen as a ‘natural born killer.’ All the extensive documentation on Ludke, including photographs, were used to prove just that. The theory behind the assumption that evolution had created this ‘inferior’ human type is called the degeneration.
- Importance of Photography
- The use of photography assisted research in physiognomics. It made it easier to distinguish Us from the Other. Photography was used as a tool for propaganda and to learn how to identify evil. But could it be seen as scientific proof?
- Ethnography and Ethnology
- The pictures that are taken of criminals are ethnogrpahic and ethnological research pictures. Inferiority is established by taking anthropometric measures that determine hierarchy. It is hard to overcome the idea that a photograph does not represent the object that has been photographed but the intentions of the person making it.
- Anthropometric Inquiry
- A record-keeping-system of criminal activities was initiated by Eugene Francios Vidocq. The anthropometric evidence was determined by a fixed measuremet system created by Alphonse Bertillon.
- Innocent?
- At the end of 1943 the pace of the inquiry slows down. The project is abandoned and never reopened. Because the case was never brought to court and Bruno Ludke was never tried, innocence is suspected. Jan Blaauw, former chief of police, wrote a book on Ludke’s case. He found that there was no clear evidence that all murders were committed by the same person and only impressions seem to have been the backbone of the accusations against Ludke.
- Criminal Anthropology
- Criminal Anthropology connects human anatomty to morality. Cesare Lombroso, who also believed that crime was an intrinsic characteristic of human nature, had a theory which stated that crimal behavior was inherited. A criminal could be identified by physical defects.
- Eugenics
- Sterilization was a means to make sure that criminals could no longer reproduce offspring with genetics defects such as theirs. This was based on the idea of eugenics which states that improvement of the human race is possible if negative reproduction is stopped.
- Doubts
- The guilt of Bruno Ludke was only established by questionable biological proof. The tests that he had to endure in 1943 in the Institute of Legal Medicine in Vienna eventually killed him. He died of a heart attack and thus the truth died with him.
- Stigamtic Imaging
- Cesare Lombroso’s theory on physiognomy is heavily discussed from a scientific perspective, but easily believed by the collective imagination. The idea that evil must be recognizable is used in literature, films and paintings. This creates a stigmatic image of the criminal, an image born out of science.
- Just Like Us
- The criminal monster is no specific type. Criminal Anthropology hardly exists anymore, although genetic codes are still researched to reveal the motivation of our actions.
- Danger of Stigmatization
- The case of Bruno Ludke reveals to us the danger of stigmatization because of appearance. Unfortunately the case of Bruno Ludke died with him and cannot be reopened. Evidence is not based on impression but on facts proved in court.