All movies assault the viewer in one way or another.
Michael HanekeRead
Mainstream cinema raises questions only to immediately provide an answer to them, so they can send the spectator home reassured. If we actually had those answers, then society would appear very different from what it is.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Mainstream cinema often simplifies complex issues, offering quick answers that may not reflect the complexities of reality.
In this quote, Michael Haneke critiques mainstream cinema for its tendency to raise important societal questions only to resolve them in a simplistic manner, ultimately ensuring that audiences leave feeling reassured. He suggests that if true answers to these profound questions existed, the world would be substantially different, highlighting the disconnect between the narratives presented in films and the complexities of real life.
Themes
CinemaNarrativeQuestionsAnswersSocietyComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a film studies class to discuss the relationship between cinema and societal issues.
More from Michael Haneke
All quotes →An artist is someone who should raise questions rather than give answers. I have no message.
Michael HanekeRead
It's the duty of art to ask questions, not to provide answers. And if you want a clearer answer, I'll have to pass.
Michael HanekeRead
At its best, film should be like a ski jump. It should give the viewer the option of taking flight, while the act of jumping is left up to him.
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When I first envisioned 'Funny Games' in the mid-1990s, it was my intention to have an American audience watch the movie. It is a reaction to a certain American cinema, its violence, its naivety, the way American cinema toys with human beings. In many American films, violence is made consumable.
Michael HanekeRead
I make my films because I'm affected by a situation, by something that makes me want to reflect on it, that lends itself to an artistic reflection. I always aim to look directly at what I'm dealing with. I think it's a task of dramatic art to confront us with things that in the entertainment industry are usually swept under the rug.
Michael HanekeRead
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