Comedian Michael “Bully” Herbig also commented on the Winnetou debate: In the talk show “3 nach 9” he explained why “Der Schuh des Manitou” (2001) can no longer be produced in the same way as before 20 years.
“Der Schuh des Manitou” was filmed in Spain and Bavaria from April to June 2000 and finally aired in German cinemas in 2001. The play is about brothers Abahachi (Herbig) and Ranger (Christian Tramitz) who are wrongly accused of murder. Abahachi’s twin brother is also shown – the gay Winnetouch, who runs a beauty farm. The western comedy parodies the Karl May films “Winnetou” and “Old Shatterhand” from the early 1960s.
“There comes a point when people say, ‘I’m not doing comedy anymore – it’s too hot for me'”
“I made the film 22 years ago and it was a parody of films that were in theaters 60 years ago. The comedy police have become so strict,” Herbig said in an interview with Giovanni di Lorenzo about “The Shoe of Manitou”. He also said that the film at that time – similar to fairy tales – had to do with the realization of dreams. Today, on the other hand, with such a film adaptation, you have to take into account many different opinions and views, “because you have the feeling that you step on people’s toes very quickly,” he explained.
He concluded that this is the reason why he and many other comedians lose interest in their work: “I have the impression that everyone is so loud at the moment that nobody is listening to anyone else. If at some point there is a catalog that says you can make jokes about the person, about the people, not about this culture group, not about these people either, then you get into such a rut – well, then I don’t have one It’s more fun – then people who maneuver through it like that have to do it, but that takes a bit of the joy out of me, and then I see very dark times ahead of us when you gallop in that direction, because then it will be at some point There are people who simply say, ‘I don’t do comedies anymore – that’s too hot for me’”, says Herbig.
The more opinions, the more difficult the interaction
Furthermore, as a comedian, it is increasingly difficult for him to interact with the audience when they have two different opinions. He explained: While some say “I find it funny, I recognize myself there, I feel caught, I can laugh about it”, others say “I feel discriminated against or I feel insulted” – that would increasingly become one Problem, because “then I no longer know who to listen to”.
On September 29, 2022, the film “A Thousand Lines”, directed by Herbig, will be released. He is occupied by Elyas M’Barek and Jonas Nay, among others. The work illuminates the scandal surrounding the “Spiegel” reporter Claas Relotius.