Visually, one can't help but compare the ranks in Triumph of the Will with images of row upon row of Muslim men prostrate in prayer. They all assume the exact same regimented poses at the exact same time. They kneel and then conspicuously elevate the one part of the human anatomy universally associated, through idiom and metaphor, with lower bodily functions.

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The face, the anatomical feature most associated with emotion, thought, vision, awareness, communication, intimacy and expressiveness, the brow, the eyes, the lips, the nostrils, the mouth - the features we monitor to recognize, empathize with, heal, love, and know each other - is lowered to the very ground. The face, the one true map of human individuality, our unique anatomical signature, is denigrated as low as it can go. In Muslim prayer, and where women wear the veil, the face is eradicated. The face breathes dirt.