Werner Schloemerkemper, 75, starts to build a wall in Paul Cotter's short film The Berlin Wall, which also reflects Berliners' divided opinions of history. Berliners, including his neighbours who are unaware of his motivations, speculate and respond in various ways - some react positively and offer to help build the wall higher, whereas some of his neighbours in oppose the idea of a new wall which divides the community, projecting "their own biases and feelings onto his act" [Cotter, 2010]. "To Werner, the wall was a symbol of love, but to most people the wall was a symbol of hatred, of division, of separation, of dislike", but he never explains why.
"This opened up questions about the nature of public opinion. What it means, how groups of people so often develop opinions... people often project their own, already-formed opinions onto whatever they see in front of them" [Cotter, 2010]. Werner is uninterested in his neighbours opinions and remains an isolated architect, only true to his intentions.
Cotter, P. [2010] The Berlin Wall Press Kit. [online] http://www.paulcotter.net/presskits/PressemappeENG.pdf [22/03/2010]
