The 1974 melodrama film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst essen Seele auf) produced and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder follows German charwoman Emmi Kurowski and her struggles against society concomitant with her relationship with Moroccan guest worker Ali. Situated in West Germany and filmed the year after the halt on the recruitment of guest workers, this movie can be interpreted as a response to the debates and issues surrounding the presence of foreign workers. Native germans frequently disputed and contended the treatment, contributions, and potential to integrate into the German society that historically rejected the identity as a country of immigration. The staircase clips from Ali: Fear Eats the Soul highlight the susceptibility …show more content…
Even in current debates, these reactions and emotions resonate globally. In the first clip, Emmi Kurowski sits on the staircase next to her co-workers who sit on a windowsill. When Emmi asks for a knife, the others deliberately shun her and speak about the mundane topics of subway fares and cancer screenings recommended for all women to emphasize their disdain for and exclusion of Emmi for what they perceive to be an inappropriate relationship with non-native-German and significantly younger Ali. The camera then pans to focus solely on Emmi, hiding the others behind a wall, then cuts to a shot of just the three co-workers without Emmi. From this point onwards in the clip, Emmi and her three co-workers are not shown in the same frame together. The subsequent long shots framing Emmi alone create an uncomfortable atmosphere that conveys the punishing intolerance of German society. Then, her three co-workers purposely widen the physical divide between themselves and Emmi by descending the staircase to eat near another windowsill. During this transition, the frame smoothly follows the three to their new position, then abruptly …show more content…
This reflection of the average German’s perception of guest workers is brought into focus by Ali: Fear Eats the Soul to critique the state of Germany’s failure to develop effective public policy that takes into account the reality of the ingrained cultural beliefs of German society. Der Spiegel’s 1973 article “The Turks are Coming! Save Yourself if You Can!” reflects both the disconnect between the German government and the public as well as the general sentiment stereotyping these guest workers as “foreigners… only welcome in the Federal Republic as exotic and cheap helpers… who will soon go back to where they came from” (GiT 110.) These disparities combined with blatant classism and racism permeated German society such that widespread rejection of Emmi and Ali’s relationship, from friends and family to the “professional” workplace, was within German standards of social conduct. Within this
The topic of immigrants has been debated for centuries, and has been an even larger topic for discussion since the attack on the two towers in 2001. Many people contemplate whether immigrants are a reason to be scared, not; and if so, then why? If one finds themselves asking this conflicting question, Jeremy Adam Smith’s article, Our Fear of Immigrants, provides an answer. Relying on research from psychologists and sociologists, Smith gives sufficient evidence for why immigrants bring such intense feelings of both hatred and compassion, and recommends a way to increase empathy toward them.
This is a profoundly moral tale of lost innocence and adult cruelty. Do you agree?
The archetype of the journey is seen in Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain, most clearly through experience Inman has wandering back to Cold Mountain. The journey archetype sends the hero in search of some truth to restore order and harmony to the land. The journey often includes the series of trials and tribulations the hero faces along the way. Usually the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths. Once the hero is at his lowest level, he must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living. Inman’s trip fits this description very well in some ways and not in others. It could be said that Inman’s search for truth is his desire to be back home. He has been
Rainer Werner Fassbinder updates Douglas Sirk’s 1955 All That Heaven Allows and gives it an overt and somewhat unforgiving political twist in his 1974 film, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. A director takes a great artistic risk when admittedly endeavoring to remake an already genre-acclaimed classic; but rather than being derivative, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a fresh commentary on the xenophobic zeitgeist of post-Nazi Germany. Both films center on the lonely lives of widows who meet and fall in love with a younger man, only to have this love deemed forbidden by social prejudices. Though updated, the film is still replete with similarities to its predecessor, and this is what distinguishes it as a homage to Fassbinder’s icon, Sirk, after all.
mentioned previously, this helps to target at-risk youth, this is achieved because the system is designed to reach those that do not fit in well with the current centralized system, which also targets those that have dropped out of school as well.
Having lived in modern Germany, Reiner has no understanding of Germany’s history of immigration. The devastation of loosing his job to an immigrant is not only damaging but outrageous. Shouldn’t Reiner not only have the privilege, but the right to work in Germany? In the interview he says, “Bring back Karl Marx, bring back the Fuir!” Reiner has had the advantage of living without the worries of his life in danger and living during constant war. This attributes to his ignorance of immigration and his prejudices, even though he was told about the horrors ideology like his brought upon Germany.
According to Katrin Reemtsma, the current German population was estimated at around 100,000 people. Despite post-war discrimination the German government and some citizens rally behind the Sinti. Yet, in order for a more widespread non-stigmatized view of the Gypsies to occur social reform needs to happen on key levels in order for the majority of public opinion to change. Some of these elements include access to social services for the Sinti and Roma (healthcare, housing, employment, education), participation from both sides of the community (integrated Roma education), and social protection against hate crimes.
Germany may have lost its colonies in 1918, but colonial fantasies persisted throughout the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, and especially the post-fascist era. Colonial fantasies, by which I mean the desire to form manipulative relationships with people of color, are still present in white Germans today. The 1974 West German film Ali: Fear Eats the Soul provides unparalleled insight into the nature and implications of these fantasies. Written and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Ali portrays a fictional romance between the title character and Emmy, respectively a Moroccan guest worker and an older German widow, as well as the prejudice that they face. Ostensibly, Fassbinder’s film could be interpreted as a critique of this all-encompassing
Migrant organizations develop different kind of programs, projects and community approaches in order to fulfill their ultimate goals. Those organizations are focused on some principal issues that they valued as an important and relevant asset in the search for integration into the local community, converting those ideals in the key point of advocacy activity to the German government and other third sectors institutions. Although some migrant organizations are not implementing programs directly with the help and influence of a ministry or government office, their actions have a local or regional scope, depending on the singularities of every Länder, migrant community and noticeably, the organization, through which they provide a public service.
Book Review of Seeds of Terror The book entitled, “Seeds of Terror”, examines evidence of terrorist activity in Southeast Asian countries. It is an eyewitness account by Maria A. Ressa, about Al-Qaeda’s Center of Operations emerging in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. She recollects her own, as she has lived through many of the terrorists’ attacks in the region. Over the years, al-Qaeda successfully infiltrated and co-opted homegrown Muslim movements in: North America, Europe, the Middle East, Chechnya, Kashmir, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Germany is starting to incorporate laws that require immigrant that enter the country to integrate with the German community. If immigrants refuse to adapt to German culture, there is a chance they can be sent back to their native country. Some of these measures include taking language classes or classes in German law or cultural basics (Oltermann). The reason for these classes is to help immigrants join the labor market quicker and easier. Anyone that gives preference to a German or EU job applicant, that person will be suspended for 3 years. You can see that these policies that are put in place are meant to help immigrants integrate easier with German culture. (Oltermann). Although there are policies in place to encourage migration into Germany, the country must continue to take steps to prevent an influx of illegal immigrants from settling down permanently.
Germany is quite accepting of immigrants and they are very welcoming. Germany has the second largest immigrant population in Europe, United Kingdom is the largest. Immigrants have contributed greatly to the prosperity of the German economy. A representative study shows that “foreign workers in Germany significantly contribute to the Bundesrepublik’s prosperity” (Lorenz, 2017). At any rate, the German economy is suffering from labour shortage and is urgently in need of immigrants to “counter an ageing demographic”. Germany” needs its immigrants to be doing much more than making doner kebabs — it needs them in its banks, its government offices, universities, and IT companies” (Sampath, 2016). Based on data from the OECD and the German statistics office, the study shows that Germany’s cultural diversity happens to be a major contributor to its economic success. Immigrants make up “9.6% of the population and one in five Germans has a migration background. The fact that Germany’s immigration rate is so high only tells half the story though” (Lorenz, 2017). The number of foreign specialists in Germany’s main industries is what really stresses the importance of immigration. Studies have proven that “relatively poor performing Bundesländer, with fewer foreign workers, could positively influence innovation and economic success by attracting talented personnel from abroad” (Lorenz, 2017). Also, as stated by Movinga, “the impressive number of companies with risk capital and the number
It is challenging for the host country to assimilate immigrants into the society and provide the necessary support hence without assimilation, and this has led to increased dangers from foreigners. For example, a series of attacks in Germany in late July 2016 by foreigners, with a number of them having entered the country as refugees; fears have grown of terrorist crossing into countries among those immigrating (Robinson). The host country will experience rapid population growth which places a strain on the infrastructure and services such as health services and education in the country. For some of the immigrants, success in a new country is not guaranteed, and they are forced to take any job necessary usually the unskilled jobs and at very low wages. Others will end up unemployed and have to turn to crime this leads to increased crime rate and a higher level of insecurity in the country.
However, many historians have debated not only Germany’s role in the severity of Armenian persecution and their motives in involving themselves in the Armenian situation and the, but also their rationale behind forming a relationship with the Ottoman Empire that began in the 1890s. In March of 2007, Dr. Margaret Lavinia Anderson, a Professor Emerita of History at the University of California, Berkeley, published an article in The Journal of Modern History, entitled “‘Down in Turkey, far away’: Human Rights, the Armenian Massacres, and Orientalism in Wilhelmine Germany.” In this article, Anderson examines the development of diplomatic relations between Germany and Turkey and, more specifically, why Germany became interested in the “Near East,” their motives, and, later, their alliance. She argues that Germany was mainly focused on developing a strong, influential relationship with the Ottoman Empire during the Wilhelmine era. An alliance with the Turks would be a joint-cooperative effort to strengthen and modernize the failing Ottoman military and ensure safe passage into neighboring British colonies for the Germans, still trying to extend their influence beyond the Ottoman Empire eastward. The Germans sought to accomplish this and create a strong coalition by adopting a compliant attitude towards Armenian persecution and reiterating the Turkish rhetoric and belief that the Armenians were getting what they deserved.
Recently, Germany passed new policies that sought to help the migrants’ integration process into the community. One of the new policies included reducing the minimum investment level for entrepreneurs wishing to immigrate to Germany from 1 million euros to 500,000 euros. These immigrants also need to create just five new jobs instead of ten, as required previously. Another German policy included increasing the number of hours for instructing new immigrants on the German language, from 600 to 900. Germany is also offering federal subsidies to immigrants who cannot afford to pay for the courses. With the introduction of a new citizenship law in 2000, many children of foreign parents became eligible for German citizenship for the first time, which is also good for immigrants. As a result, migrants to Germany are able to integrate and assimilate better into the society because of these migrant-friendly schemes set up by