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.
Michael HanekeRead
I’ve been accused of ‘raping’ the audience in my films, and I admit to that freely — all movies assault the viewer in one way or another.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote discusses the provocative nature of filmmaking and the impact it has on the audience.
Michael Haneke acknowledges that cinema has an intrinsic ability to challenge, disturb, and affect viewers deeply, a process that can be perceived as 'assaulting' their senses or emotions. He emphasizes that this relentless engagement is a fundamental aspect of the medium, insinuating that all films provoke reactions and invite audiences to confront uncomfortable themes and realities.
Themes
FilmmakingAudienceImpactEmotionsArtProvocation
In practice
Example use cases
Discussing the role of filmmakers in a film studies class.
More from Michael Haneke
All quotes →All movies assault the viewer in one way or another.
Michael HanekeRead
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.
Michael HanekeRead
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
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