Zum Glück gibt's kein Patent (1985)

Overview

In her work, Monika Funke Stern operates at the intersection between experimental film and video art. She relies both on a variety of filmic techniques and effects and a powerful dramaturgy of filmic devices. She develops her own visual signature and a great interest in her subjects, which often play with elements of science fiction to develop a critical take on reality. In her comical Zum Glück gibt’s kein Patent she portrays Norma DIN working at the patent office, played by Hella von Sinnen. Norma’s ordinary life and workaday world is shaped by the endless meaninglessness of the neutral abstraction of inventions. The story reaches a climax when Norma is presented with a robot that is intended to replace employees like herself one day. Norma can apply a whole series of bureaucratic policy provisions and classify the robot as not worthy of a patent.