From Outer Space to the Circus Tent. Science Fiction and the Problems of ’68 in Alexander Kluge’s »Die Ungläubige«

Abstract

This paper explores Alexander Kluge’s forgotten work of science fiction Die Ungläubige , Kluge’s literary addendum to Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: ratlos , and places it against the background of the aesthetic debates of 1968 and Kluge’s larger canon. Why did Kluge turn to science fiction at this particular time? How does this genre interrogate, expand on, or even challenge our understanding of Kluge and his aesthetic project, which in many ways cannot be thought apart from this pivotal period in German post-war history? Kluge’s text is at once a sharp critique of capitalist structures and a critical representation of utopian visions of the future, making the work an important piece of aesthetic, social and political commentary.

Keywords

• Film
• Frankfurter Schule
• Kulturindustrie
• Alexander Kluge
• Zirkus
• Die Ungläubige
• Die Artisten in der Zirkuskuppel: ratlos
• 1968