Wim Wenders' 'Land of Plenty'. A love-hate relationship with the USA

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject History of Europe - Newer History, European Unification, grade: 2,0, University of California, Berkeley (Department of History), course: U.S. Cultural and Intellectual History: Global Contexts, language: English, abstract: Wim Wenders'? ambiguity,? the? love-hate? relationship? with? the? United? States? was? the? main? force? behind? the? production? of? 'Land? of ?Plenty'? (2004). ?It? was ?shot ?within ?three? weeks ?with? a? small? digital? amateur? camera,? and? only? because? the? production? of? his? next? film? 'Don't? come ?knocking'? (2005) ?got? delayed.? The? entire ?production? of? the ?movie ?took? not more? than? six ?weeks.? Without? a? doubt,? it? is ?Wenders'? most ?political? film? so ?far.? As ?a ?Christian,? one? (or,? as? he? stated? once,? even? his? initial)? idea? for? the? film? was? 'to? set? a? radically? contrary ?idea? of? being ?Christian? against? the? fundamentalist ?Christendom' ?of? the ?Bush? administration.? His? ambition? was? to? 'fight? against? the? treason? [on? democracy? and? freedom? and]? on ?all? what ?is? left ?of? my? childhood? myth.' As? stated ?in ?the? press ?release? for 'Land ?of ?Plenty',? it ?is? a? 'film? about ?the ?country ?he ?has? been ?concerned? with? for? many? years? and? which? he? loves',? a? 'very? personal'? and? 'sanguine? film? about? those? who? still? stand? for? this? country's? possibilities? [...],? a? political? essay.' Typical? for? his? artistic? approach,? Wenders? did? not? want ?to? make? an ?'angry'? film, but ?one ?that? could? contribute? to ?'healing';? a? profound? difference? to? films by Michael? Moore,? a ?name ?often? dropped ?in? Germany? in? the? context? of? 'Land? of? Plenty'.? Wenders,? as? he? stated? himself,? wanted? to? explore? the? same? territory? as? Moore,? but,? of? course,? in? his? very? own? way.? In? direct? comparison? to? Moore?, the? Süddeutsche? Zeitung,? for? example,? grants? Wenders? 'more? complex,? sadly? beautiful,? inconceivable? images' and? an? overall? more? convincing? approach.?