'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

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Hence, Sanders-Brahms suggests that Lene‟s objective explanation of the rape to her Anna helps both mother and daughter keep the trauma of the sexual assault in check so that they may focus on surviving their long journey home. The third and arguably the most significant way that Lene supports her daughter is by teaching her to speak, by empowering her through language to give form to her gendered experiences. In an interview, Sanders-Brahms revealed that she feels that the “greatest cultural deed in mankind –for the very survival of mankind […] – is that women teach their children to speak” (Buitenhuis et al. 71). The director claims that if women did not pass the knowledge of how to speak from generation to generation, it would be very difficult for human beings to become human (Buitenhuis et al. 71). As will be discussed in Chapter 5, the first image of Lene in Deutschland, bleiche Mutter, is accompanied by a voice-over commentary which emphasizes the importance of women‟s speech: “Meine Mutter. Ich habe schweigen gelernt, sagtest du. Von dir habe ich sprechen gelernt. Muttersprache” (Sanders-Brahms, Film-Erzählung 112). 87 On a concrete level, Lene is Anna‟s first language teacher, teaching the child her “mother tongue.” However, on a symbolic level, the mother teaches the daughter the importance of narration, that women can improve their position in patriarchal societies only when they speak openly of their gendered experiences. The “Räuberbräutigam” fairy tale that Lene recites to Anna tells of a female heroine who manages to stop further acts of violence against women by telling publicly of what she has seen. The miller‟s daughter is able to gain control of the slaughter she has witnessed by telling of it in a public forum. Through her careful control of the story and her presentation of evidence in the form of 87 “My mother. I learned to be silent, you said. From you I learned to speak. Mother tongue” (Sanders- Brahms, Film-Erzählung 112). 115
the severed finger at the tale‟s culmination, the heroine is able to trap the robber bridegroom and to see that he is brought to justice for his crimes against women. From a feminist perspective, the emphasis of this tale could be that women can effectively expose, challenge, and resist female oppression in patriarchal societies by sharing their knowledge of women‟s victimization, telling of their personal experiences, and providing proof (McCormick, Politics 203). Lene helps her daughter by teaching her that women can effect positive change for themselves in male-dominated societies by telling stories of their gendered experiences. On the meta-narrative level of the film, Sanders-Brahms takes control of non-Jewish German women‟s history by telling it through the public forum of film. Thus, the wise old woman and Lene share similar roles in their capacities as helpers of other women. Both the fairy tale and the film suggest a positive paradigm in which women are able to better empower themselves and other women when they work in supportive alliances with one another. 116
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Storytelling and Survival in the
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Supervisory Committee Dr. Helga Tho
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3.1 Intergenerational Dialogue in D
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I would like to dedicate this thesi
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Sanders-Brahms describes a phenomen
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that Sanders-Brahms uses the fairy
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early 1980s by a wave of historical
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Deutschland, bleiche Mutter. Moreov
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audience. One of the most popular g
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1.1 The Oberhausen Manifesto and Ne
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audiences. This film movement of th
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e beholden to him, for only through
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political events that took place in
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Verdrängten eigentlich gar nicht g
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(Deutschland im Herbst n. pag.). 14
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in drei Jahrzehnten Nachkriegsgesch
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impact West Germans in such a drama
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If German films are to make use of
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1.4 Deutschland, bleiche Mutter as
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story must be hidden as much as pos
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Chapter 2: New Subjectivity and Wes
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Reich” opposes fascism, but who e
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direct and personal confrontation w
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context has only become part of the
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perpetrators are defined predominan
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Thus, Sanders-Brahms creates a coun
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In the birth sequence, Sanders-Brah
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ombs fall downward from the upper r
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narrator‟s sadness at the destruc
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essentialize men or women‟s exper
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image visually separates the runnin
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emotional connection between mother
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endurance and stoic acceptance of b
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texture which is both social and hi
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ombings terrorized civilian populat
Page 71 and 72: y war. A final interesting point of
Page 73 and 74: Maikäfer flieg. dein Vater ist im
Page 75 and 76: Why does Lene sing the Maikäferlie
Page 77 and 78: Beginning with the so-called recons
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Page 81 and 82: a series of forty-one volumes publi
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Page 85 and 86: geworden” (Brecht, Werke 253). 55
Page 87 and 88: Eure Unarmung kann ich mir nicht de
Page 89 and 90: 3.2 Retelling a Grimm Tale: Voice a
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Page 105 and 106: Moreover she demonstrates insight a
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Page 109 and 110: in an effort to help, Lene quickly
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Page 129 and 130: 4.4 Summarizing Remarks Sanders-Bra
Page 131 and 132: Chapter 5: Conclusion Mother’s Vo
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Page 163 and 164: R.R.: So, by telling your story, yo
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Page 167 and 168: irritated the critics terribly. It
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Page 171 and 172: ---. Brecht on Theater. Ed. and Tra
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Herbst, Philip. Wimmin, Wimps and W
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---. “Gender, Film, and German Hi
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Sander, Helke and Barbara Johr. Eds
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'Murderer's House' - University of Victoria

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