Cinematic ghosts: Reiner Werner Fassbinder and the German cinematic heritage

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one of the New German Cinema’s most prominent directors, included an unusual variety of characters and social classes in his films, in which he presented a critical view of modern Germany. As such, after his death many obituaries perceived him as the chief representative of new Germany. Following that, this article offers a new perspective for viewing Fassbinder’s work: it argues that Fassbinder’s films became the face of ‘New Germany’ not only because they portray a variety of characters and social classes and deal with West Germany’s modern history, but also that they relate to German cinematic heritage. To do so, this article observes Fassbinder’s film Lola (1981) by using a Bloomian discourse; it examines Lola as a ‘misreading’ of von Sternberg’s film Der blaue Engel (1931), a film based on Heinrich Mann’s novel Professor Unrat (1905).