"You Can't Always Get What You Want": The Films of Alexander Kluge

Abstract

Looking at the films of Alexander Kluge, two themes continue to replay themselves, taking shape and adding to the richness of his work. The first theme is the multiplicity in the seemingly definite. The second, the unwanted within the wanted. While both themes contribute to the complexity of the content and structure of Kluge's films, they also cause problems for the serious and engaged viewer. It becomes increasingly clear that one of the major problems is the way in which both themes are integral to Kluge's portrayal of women in itself a thorny and volatile issue. In shaping the first theme, the multiplicity in the seemingly definite, Kluge emphasizes that the emotional life of each and every individual is not only manifold and inconsistent, but that various strands of emotions, instincts, desires, and needs have come to a halt at different levels of development. In effect, as human beings our emotional organization is out of harmony with our social organization, creating a source of unending conflict. To illustrate this point, take a simple conversation between two people, in which, for instance, values of the 19th century are mixed up and confused with those of the 15th and 20th centuries. This explains why, in addition to the difficulty we have understanding ourselves, communication with others becomes complicated if not a matter of sheer luck. Somewhere Kluge uses the example of dinosaurs who, according to