"Entertainment today constantly emphasises the message that things are wonderful the way they are. But there is another kind of cinema, which says that change is possible and necessary and it's up to you"
About this Quote
Wenders is drawing a line between two competing fantasies: the glossy reassurance machine and the restless art form that refuses to let you off the hook. When he says entertainment “constantly emphasises” that things are “wonderful,” he’s not praising escapism; he’s diagnosing it as ideology with a popcorn smell. The subtext is blunt: a lot of mass culture doesn’t just distract you from reality, it quietly trains you to accept it.
The contrast he builds - “another kind of cinema” - is classic Wenders: humane, searching, suspicious of complacency. His films (from Paris, Texas to Wings of Desire) are full of drifting characters who suddenly realize their lives are not inevitable. That’s the context behind “change is possible and necessary”: it’s less a political slogan than a moral insistence that perception can be sharpened, that attention itself can be an act of resistance.
The kicker is the pivot to “it’s up to you.” Wenders rejects the comforting myth that movies change the world on their own. He’s wary of propaganda and equally wary of passive consumption. The viewer isn’t a customer being soothed; they’re a participant being addressed. In an era where “content” is optimized to keep you docile, his ideal cinema functions like a tap on the shoulder: wake up, look harder, choose. The intent isn’t to scold pleasure out of art; it’s to reclaim pleasure from resignation.
The contrast he builds - “another kind of cinema” - is classic Wenders: humane, searching, suspicious of complacency. His films (from Paris, Texas to Wings of Desire) are full of drifting characters who suddenly realize their lives are not inevitable. That’s the context behind “change is possible and necessary”: it’s less a political slogan than a moral insistence that perception can be sharpened, that attention itself can be an act of resistance.
The kicker is the pivot to “it’s up to you.” Wenders rejects the comforting myth that movies change the world on their own. He’s wary of propaganda and equally wary of passive consumption. The viewer isn’t a customer being soothed; they’re a participant being addressed. In an era where “content” is optimized to keep you docile, his ideal cinema functions like a tap on the shoulder: wake up, look harder, choose. The intent isn’t to scold pleasure out of art; it’s to reclaim pleasure from resignation.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|
More Quotes by Wim
Add to List
