Max Hattler

LITTLE FILM HINTS AT BIG ISSUES: LOVE it or hate it – soccer players are not always modest in the way they celebrate their goals. Even Bafana Bafana celebrated their first World Cup goal with a showy dance routine. Now, a German media artist is causing a stir in his home country with an offbeat short film depicting masculinity, particularly on the soccer field. … The three-minute video was recently posted on the online edition of one of Germany’s biggest weekly newspapers, Die Zeit. While some readers welcomed the video as a work of art, many were highly critical. ‘It’s extremely embarrassing that people like Mr Hattler think soccer to be really bad and working class, and still use its popularity to get attention to their (art),’ one reader commented. Hattler, who is based in London but has moved to Denmark for three months, said he was surprised by the negative reaction, but that he should have expected it. ‘Timing has obviously played a huge role in the ferocity of the comments. Right now, during the World Cup, football rules the streets, the screens and the conversations. Fans are pumped up and hyper-confident. Any criticism, real or perceived, must be smashed.’ Hattler explained how soccer fitted in with his concept – a blend of hyper-masculinity and aggression: ‘The focus was more on masculinity generally, and how this is expressed through rituals such as sports. Some of the moves are directly inspired by football, such as the sliding and falling on to the grass, or the whipping off of the shirt.’ Interpretation of the video, Hattler said, was up to the individual, but he added: ‘I think it is safe to say that the film was always intended to be comical.’