That second category of Expressionist traits, the thematic, has its own

interior/exterior conflict to deal with. This is because the style's most obvious traits, the

mechanic ones, are not the substance but the tools; Expressionism's "soul" lies in its

thematic traits. The thematic traits, of which we will identify three more, are the topics

addressed by many of the films in question. The first is, as Mike Budd would argue,

perhaps a defining trait around which Expressionism formed, rather than a trait it is

attempting to portray. He writes,

 Expressionism was strongly influenced by the subjectivist traditions of
 nineteenth-century German romanticism, which glorified the unified vision of an
 isolated and rebellious artist. On the other hand, it developed the radical
 disjunction and abstraction of emergent modernist forms. Expressionism carried
 these contradictions within itself. It combined an intense avant-garde desire to
 overthrow authority and change the world with a modernist rejection and retreat
 from the world into a grotesque realm of subjective expression. (15)

In other words, Budd identifies a deep-seeded ambivalence toward its own views deep

within the Expressionist platform. It wants be both politically active helpful to the

masses and 'art,' which necessitates an aloofness from the common people. Thomas

Elsaesser identifies this trait also, asserting that Expressionism's ambivalence is, instead,

a reaction to the impotence of its artists (172). In other words, the artists' work reflects

their own frustration over being unable to affect change in society. Either way, the

dualistic nature of wanting-to-act and failing-to-act (either by choice or inability) is a

theme throughout the movement.

 The second thematic trait of Expressionist film is also discussed in Elsaesser's

 piece. One of the themes that occurs again and again in Expressionist film is what

 Elsaesser calls "The sorcerer's apprentice" theme. He writes, "One of the most typical