Female Representation and the Game in Lola Rennt

Abstract

Lola Rennt is a German film that was released in 1998, directed by Tom Tykwer and starring Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu. The purpose of this research is to examine the use of game studies, the symbolic use of color and time, female representation, and postmodernism in the film Lola Rennt. Game theory is used to study the structure of the film: the narrative is separated into three sequences of the same mission that have differing outcomes. Color is an indicator of good and bad fortune; most notably, the color red is present whenever a part of Lola’s mission fails. Time in the film is Lola’s opponent, as her mission has a time limit. Tykwer examines the reversal of stereotypes, particularly concerning the masculine and feminine aspects of Lola’s character. Finally, postmodernism is used to examine the film with respect to Germany’s history. Lola Rennt is a philosophically and visually stunning film, and the intention of the study is to explore these aspects in order to better understand the film.