Abstract:
In this paper I explore certain existential elements found
in the work of Austrian director Michael Haneke by coupling
Haneke’s first three films, his Vergletscherungtrilogie
(comprising Der Siebente Kontinent, Benny’s
Video and 71 Fragmente einer Chronologie des Zufalls),
with the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, focussing
specifically on his delineation of Dasein (Being). This
analysis is configured around two elements of Heidegger’s
philosophy of Being – Being as Being-inthe-
world, and Being as Being-with-others. These
delineations of Being are further analysed on three
fronts. The first examines the role of the postmodern
milieu in which Haneke’s work is situated, a world of
hyper-technology and rampant consumerism. The
second and third fronts of analysis elucidate two delineations
of space (Being-in-the-world), and people
(Being-with-others). The discussion thus centres on the
way in which Heidegger’s ontology of Being is found
in Haneke’s sketching of the public space and of
greater society. The paper concludes with an analysis
of Haneke’s treatment of the private space and the
family unit.
