The Battle of Fear: Politics vs. Terrorism

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The Battle of Fear: Politics vs. Terrorism

When Paris happened, I said it won’t be different. What I meant was, that the reactions to it will be the same as after every other major terrorist attack. On the one hand, I was wrong, because I was surprised by many people bemoaning the same reactions and criticizing our ignorant view on these events, which makes me hopeful. On the other hands, seeing how politicians react, how the bombing started right away, how everything became a little bit more insane and extreme, I realize that it’s exactly what I feared, only worse. I’m not the first to say that terrorism’s goal is to instill fear and what most politicians are doing right now, is taking that fear and riding on it to do whatever they want, they increase and nurture it and keep it alive. They do exactly what the terrorists want them to do.

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Why Paris Won't Be Different

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Why Paris Won't Be Different

Yesterday in school, I had a lesson about literature and movies in Germany during the Third Reich and after watching a clip from Die Feuerzangenbowle I wondered aloud, how people in 1944 were able to make such a superficial entertainment movie during that time, despite everything that was going on around them. One student responded wisely by noting that this is always the case, not just in Nazi Germany of the 1940s. I was caught surprised by that comment and had to admit she’s probably right. That same day, I went to see Steve Jobs at a cinema and came out afterwards highly entertained, almost energetic, already thinking about what to write about it. Then I heard the news of Paris. The student’s comment became almost prophetic in retrospect and though I don't want to claim to have anything profound to say about the attacks of last night, I can’t help but share my thoughts, even if it’s just for myself.

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Nightcrawler (2014)

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Nightcrawler (2014)

(spoilers ahead)

Nightcrawler is a brilliantly intelligent movie, centered around an amazing performance by Jake Gyllenhaal following a very focused and clever screenplay and direction by Dan Gilroy. The movie knows exactly what it wants to do and what it wants to talk about. Every aspect of the movie caters to that goal, the captivating nighttime images by Robert Elswit, the beautiful score by James Newton Howard and John Gilroy’s editing. It’s an exceptional movie in the way it presents its story, its tone and in its protagonist. It warrants a deep analysis and while this will be long, it doesn't even come close to everything the movie offers.

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One Plus One Is 2004 [2004 Week]

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One Plus One Is 2004 [2004 Week]

It’s 2004 week! Since the last theme week we’re moving 64 years into the future (past) and it also feels that long ago since we actually had 1940 week. It’s been far too long but somehow I never found enough time to prepare a week full of seven posts. But now it’s here! I was 24 in 2004 and still at university. It was three years after 9/11 but apart from that I’m not really sure what to expect. The 2000s are still so hard to grasp for me, still too close but full of personal history that I’m probably also still digesting. But I look forward to this week because unlike 1940 this week will find some resonance among my readers (or I just have to remember to write a lot about spanking…). Ready, steady, 2004!

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Looking for Easy Answers in the Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting

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Looking for Easy Answers in the Marysville Pilchuck High School Shooting

I’m always fascinated (not in a positive way) by school shootings, not so much because of gun control issues (that’s a given, I guess), but because I can’t help but wonder how terrible living in our culture one must feel to decide to kill others. Especially young people. You can’t explain it away with psychological disorders or video games because it happens too often and the perpetrators are too different to allow simple categorization. All of them have one thing in common (and this includes people who have been doing this decades ago), they live in this society, in this culture. The 14-year-old boy who started shooting in the school cafeteria in Washington on Friday is no different. He is different from other shooters and I wonder if that’s a reason that this shooting is not as publicized in the media as others.

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There’s a Movement in Town

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There’s a Movement in Town

After reading about the anniversary protests in Turkey at the moment, I wondered that this has been featured so strongly in German media. Sure, Germany has a higher interest in Turkey than in most other countries but it reminded me again how one-sided and hysteria-driven the media can be and mostly is. Because at least since the Arab Spring and Occupy in 2011, protest movements have become as strong as they haven’t been since the 60s. Especially since they happen all around the world and cannot be centered on one idea but reflect the general unhappiness of people with our society. So I wondered if those protests in Turkey are really the only ones worth reporting about right now. Well, they’re not. So I googled “protests” in GoogleNews and here’s what I found on one day.

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