Emma Bading: "People still think in drawers"

Actress Emma Bading speaks in an interview about the political thriller “Westwall”, peer pressure and her outing.

Police student Julia Gerloff’s life is completely upside down when she falls in love with the mysterious Nick Limbach. Nick is not who he claims to be. When she discovers a swastika on his back after the first night of love, Julia is horrified. But her feelings for him are also strong. Emma Bading plays the leading role in the six-part political thriller “Westwall” by Isa Prahl based on the script by Benedikt Gollhardt, other roles include Jannik Schümann, Jeanette Hain, Devid Striesow and Rainer Bock.

Before starting this project, did you deal with right-wing radicalism and right-wing terror? And if so, what were your findings?

When the script for “Westwall” was on the table, I noticed that I have to look if I want to position myself clearly. I have to learn to understand the many reasons why people drift to the right in order to question them. I find the sociological concept of group-related misanthropy interesting. It seems to be something primeval human to see oneself as “more valuable” towards other groups – or treated as unfairly.

The right-wing tendencies in the film also affect the police and the protection of the constitution, i.e. institutions that citizens must be able to trust …

Of course, something like that also stirs up fears, of course. For research purposes, I was at the Police College in Oranienburg near Berlin for a week and talked to the lecturers about this topic. Of course, they feel that they have been seen wrongly and say: “We are not like that, and we also do not want such a picture to be drawn of us.”

Do you believe that the police are doing too little to detect and sanction right-wing tendencies in their ranks?

I don’t know, I don’t have enough insight into the structures of the police for that.

If you got into your character’s situation, where you met someone who told you they were right-wing but broke with them, how would you act?

When feelings are involved, like with Julia, it’s hard to say. I can very well understand that she is giving Nick another chance. I think she is honored that she does not give up hope and believes in the good in people.

You personally wouldn’t give him a second chance?

It’s hard to answer. If you are involved in such a relationship, it is completely different than if you talk about it in a completely theoretical way. And of course the fear of losing one’s surroundings through such a decision also plays a decisive role.

You mean peer pressure?

Yes, you are looking for this sense of belonging, especially as a young person, in order to find something to hold onto outside of your parents’ home. That’s why I can understand it when my friends say: “We are and we are not. Either you belong to us or to them. ”But unfortunately it is often not that simple.

Speaking of pressure – you come from a family of actors. Is that more of a burden – or does the name even help you?

In fact, neither is true. Because of my family, I’ve never had any advantage in auditions or anything. Which also has to do with the fact that my parents were and are mainly active in the theater sector. I think the only benefit is actually that I got the act of sucking it up with my mother’s milk. As a five-year-old, my parents played games with me that are actually played in drama school with the students, so all of my growing up was a kind of drama training. It was a very natural space for me, in which I grew up.

So no particularly severe parental criticism?

To be honest, my parents are always completely amazed at what I do, they support me a lot and are curious to see what else will grow out of their daughter.

You took part in the “Act out” campaign, in which actors revealed their sexual orientation. What did your parents say about that?

I received a lot of anxious feedback from my environment in general, not just from my parents. But that was precisely the main reason for me to take part. Because if you still have to be afraid to stand by your sexual orientation, then it shows that something urgently needs to be changed so that future generations no longer need to come out.

Karin Hanczewski, one of the initiators, complained in an interview that she was only offered lesbian roles. How are your experiences?

I didn’t feel any effects. I also think it’s funny that it’s now called: “Emma Bading, the lesbian actress”. I have clearly come out as bisexual. This shows that people are still thinking in terms of drawers. But two different things can also exist side by side, in this case love for men and love for women. Here we are again at the point where you have to say: There is more to life than just either – or. Please let us try to tear the drawers out of our brains.

Interview: Rudolf Ogiermann