Fatih Akin’s Modern Tragedy of Deprivation: Aus Dem Nichts (In The Fade)

Abstract

Fatih Akin's cinema takes a clear political stance on the experience of being the other, especially since the director himself, as an immigrant, has experienced it first-hand. Aus Dem Nichts (In The Fade), which is the subject of this article, stands out as a production with a sober discourse on the view of the other. The film's story draws heavily on real events and opens up Germany's long criminal file on xenophobia for discussion. However, Akin also emphasizes that xenophobia is fundamentally about the absence of empathy. In other words, the director goes beyond making a stereotypical movie by considering this absence as not only political but also anthropological. Violence against foreigners, far from being a political choice, is about an indifference to the presence of another, and is much more widespread than we realize. In this article, Aus Dem Nichts is analyzed in the context of mise-en-scene criticism. A philosophical deconstruction of the film's narrative and style reveals that Akin has successfully presented a modern tragedy of deprivation.