Wings Of Desire Omniscience

The work of Wiesler is inherently secretive and hurts the people who often do not know they are in any danger until the Stasi knocks on their door one day, making it all the more sinister. The secret police break down the barrier between public and private space; Dreyman has a completely inaccurate perception of him home, wholeheartedly believing his apartment is a safe haven for discussion, while it is actually bugged and there is a man listening and documenting every single thing that happens, even his most intimate moments with his girlfriend. In this film of fiction we see the effects of surveillance on a few characters, but the pervasiveness of surveillance must have created a sense of constant anxiety for most East Germans few could imagine

The ability to have unfettered access to people’s thoughts—to stare, to follow them anywhere, to see past lies—is an exceptional privilege in our society and allows the angels, Damiel and Cassiel to develop an extremely profound view on the human experience. In the end this omniscience tires one of them—perhaps too much analysis, too much perception and too much understanding undermines the human experience where there is always an element of the unknown, a constant suspense of vulnerability and of human emotion. Omniscience places a great burden upon Daniel, who desires the trapeze artist, Marion, who is completely oblivious to him and his black and white world. The difference in perspective of the characters is accentuated visually through the selective use of color film when the world of the humans is represented and in black and white when the film is in the angels’ perspective. The angels can read minds they know what one thinks—for them there is no inference, no nuance to social interaction which many might think is a blessing, but feels like a curse to them. What good is knowing everything if one cannot