Twertzog Versus Herzog and the Deeper Layer of Truth

What does Werner Herzog think of a viral quote about fascism that’s often attributed to him? I tried to find out.

Robert Stribley
7 min readSep 10, 2024

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MidJourney output: A black-and-white image of an older man who looks like Werner Herzog staring intently at his mobile device, perhaps entering some text there.
This is not a photo of Werner Herzog tapping out a tweet on his iPhone. This is the output of a MidJourney prompt for that.

“I alter facts in such a way that they resemble truth more than reality.” — Andre Gide, as quoted in Every Man for Himself and God Against All by Werner Herzog

Werner Herzog has a cult following. He has directed over 60 films, including many documentaries, and his casual, soft spoken narration carries a punch due his propensity for dropping gems of wisdom, which are laden as much with dread and existential anxiety as they are with humor and absurdity. He’s a prophet of the dismal and the divine.

Some folks can’t abide him. Some adore him. Like me. I think of him as an uncle I never had. A man I’d love to share a beer with. (Maybe the Biere de Coupage by Zebulon Brewing, which was dedicated to him.) His view of the universe often matches my own: A mix of awe, a passion for life, tinged with fatalism, but also resilience—all of that coated with a dark sense of humor to help you choke the medicine down.

Werner Herzog is also easy to parody. I once considered doing a parody video of him…

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Robert Stribley

Writer. Photographer. UXer. Creative Director. Interests: immigration, privacy, human rights, design. UX: Technique. Teach: SVA. Aussie/American. He/him.