Zach Kimberling
Talk about Germany
* It should be noted
that Wenders was speaking at a small theatre in Germany.
Wim Wenders grew up in the post-war Germany, which was relatively devoid of anything culturally significant.� As a result of this, Germany only has a geographical meaning to Wenders, which is quite strange to say the least. Wenders really only began to understand that he was German after he had spent a considerable amount of time in America. Wenders came to the point where he began to have trouble remembering German words, and it was at this time that he realized that the German language provided him an internal organization. He writes,
And by that I dont mean the language you use to express yourself, because I could express myself pretty well in the English, or rather the American language. Rather, I mean the way language implies a certain attitude, a relationship to the world, my take on it...
Following this, Wenders shifts to speaking about images and identity again; saying that Germany was now importing even more of its images than in the post-war period. He does not attack America for its excess of images, but rather he laments that there is such a cultural vacuum in Germany. Wenders then says that the German way of importing its images only serves to distance the country from reality, when the country really needs to become more in touch with reality.
This brings Wenders back to language. He argues that with reproduction and technology, images have lost their power, but language will never lose its power. He says that this is particularly true in Germany, because even something as moving as Willy Brandt before the Warsaw Ghetto Memorial had no lasting impact. Wenders believes that the German language is Germanys greatest gift and asset; it will be the salvation of the nation, as it has been in the past with so many great writers and thinkers.
Questions:
Do you agree with Wenders that language, and not images, is the most expressive form of communication?
Wenders keeps on going back and forth on his views towards Germany and America (even today[i]), so does this negate or affirm what he had to say 17 years ago?
Does it strike anyone else as a little bit odd, that in discussing images, Wenders does not mention the photography of August Sander (pre-Nazi) or Bernd and Hilla Becher (post-war)? After all, the work of these photographers is distinctly German and their images are famous throughout the world.