Helplessness Is the Most Terrifying Thing of All
Abstract
Krzysztof Krauze's Debt (Dług, 1991) and Michael Haneke Funny Games (1997) describe, using various poetic devices, the fears of a modern man. He is helpless against threat and danger, and in extreme situations, he may face either death or criminal violence. The helplessness of both characters and viewers is terrifying due to two reasons. The feeling of ones own helplessness is never something pleasant. People of the twentieth century were long convinced about their own subjectivity and autonomy. Debt and Funny Games make it clear, that the power we have over our own destiny is much more limited. They do no talk about existential fears of the soul, of war or catastrophes, or of the apocalypse. They show however, that we came to fear everyday world, because we are not ready to face it, when we become trapped and oppressed by it.
Keywords:
Krzysztof Krauze, Michael Haneke, existentialismReferences
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Authors
Piotr Zwierzchowskikwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Kazimierz Wielki University Poland
Filmoznawca, profesor Uniwersytetu Kazimierza Wielkiego w Bydgoszczy i Wyższej Szkoły Humanistyczno- Ekonomicznej w Łodzi. Opublikowal m.in.: Piękny sen pedagoga. Literackie i filmowe portrety świata edukacji (2005), Pęknięty monolit. Kontesty polskiego kina socrealistycznego (2005), Spektakl i ideologia. Szkice o filmowych wyobrażeniach śmierci heroicznej (2006), Zezowate szczęście (2006).
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