Actress Uschi Glas expressed her deep disappointment regarding the opportunities she missed within the young German film scene, particularly in relation to major figures like Fassbinder, Wenders, and Herzog. Although her film, “Zur Sache, Schätzchen”, was a crowd favorite of the ’68 movement, she claimed to have been systematically excluded.
According to Glas, this rejection stemmed entirely from her personal political stance. She explained, “I did not want to be cornered or affiliated with any single group. The Young German Film movement was completely left-wing”. She recalled that the refusal was communicated openly: “I told them that I would not wrap an Arafat scarf, nor would I praise communism or the GDR. That means I was out. They told me that explicitly”.
Glas viewed the pressure she faced at the time as coercion. She felt cornered and stated, “I could not sell my soul. I truly felt blackmailed”. While she ultimately accepted not receiving roles in the Arthouse cinema of her time, she didn’t believe the directors would genuinely abandon her, especially given the success of her recent film.
Consequently, her career focused on commercial entertainment films. She noted, “I always wanted to make good films and play interesting roles, but I never made a living solely through self-actualization. It was also my income”. Because she was barred from the ambitious new directors, she spent several years starring in genre films-comedies that the public enjoyed but were sometimes derided as ‘old folks’ cinema.’
Glas emphasized that the current debates regarding freedom of speech vividly remind her of the events of that era. She concluded, “What is happening politically now is not strange to me at all. Much of it reminds me of the ’68 movement”.