Werner Herzog on Pokémon Go: 'Is there violence? Is there murder?'
Filmmaker questions whether the popular game involves people fighting 'physically' while promoting his film on the internet's effect on human nature
Acclaimed documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog had the most beautifully weird reaction to a question from The Verge's Emily Yoshida on the Pokémon Go phenomenon.
First, Yoshida asks him if he knows what it is. Herzog replies that he doesn't have a cell phone "for cultural reasons" and asks her to describe the game. She proceeds to describe the basics of finding and capturing Pokémon in the real world.
That prompts Herzog to ask: "When two persons in search of a pokémon clash at the corner of Sunset and San Vicente is there violence? Is there murder?"
Yoshida explains that there's a way to fight virtually, but Herzog wants to know if they fight "physically."
"Do they bite each other's hands? Do they punch each other?" She asks if he means the Pokémon, or the people. "Yes, there must be real people if it's a real encounter with someone else."
The whole interview is well worth reading — Herzog is promoting his new film due out August 19th, a documentary called "Lo and Behold" about the ways the internet has affected human nature, financed by a company called NETSCOUT. It's a great look into the way the master filmmaker views the world through the lens of technology.