The secret signals of the human body - that's what Sebastian Fitzek's new psychological thriller is all about. Germany's thriller king ntv.de reveals what is behind it, why there is so much more at stake and why his perception of other people has changed.
ntv.de: Mr. Fitzek, do you like looking in the mirror?
Sebastian Fitzek: (laughs) I'm not one of those people who stop in front of every mirror to check whether my hairstyle is still there. But I'm also not afraid to look in the mirror.
Do you look at your reflection with different eyes after researching your new thriller?
Yes, my introspection has changed a bit. But also the perception of other people. I discovered more question marks in myself: With an actor I ask myself whether the emotion shown matches what he is playing. Or when I see a poster and a surprisingly looking person is shown on it, I think: Is that really a surprise facial expression?
Speaking of facial expressions: That is the title of your new book. Why is?
The focus is on Hannah Herbst, Germany's most experienced facial expression resonance expert. She has advised the police on several occasions, which has enabled many violent criminals to be convicted. After an operation, however, she suffers from the consequences of memory loss. And it is precisely in this state that she has to analyze a confession video in which a previously completely blameless woman confesses that she has wiped out her entire family. Herbst has to analyze the woman's facial expressions to find out if she's lying. The problem with this: The woman in the video is herself.
That sounds like a typical Fitzek psychological thriller...
(laughs) Yes, absolutely! If you can say it like that - and there is such a thing. But I thought: Hey, that sounds exciting, that grabs you, that's a story that I would also like to read: someone has to analyze themselves here - and a lot depends on that. "Mimik" takes you into a world that many may have heard a lot about, but which many - like myself - would like to get to know better. The world of body language. It's a language we all speak, but none of us has ever learned.
And most of them get it wrong...
(laughs) That's exactly how it is. We live in a world where we text a lot on social media. But so that we are not misunderstood, we always attach emojis at the end so that we still transmit something facial expressions. The curious thing is that even these emojis are often misunderstood or misused.
How did you come up with the idea for the book?
I've known the facial expression resonance expert Dirk Einert for a long time, I also find the topic exciting in itself, but I couldn't really imagine making a book plot out of it. There was also the successful TV series "Lie To Me". And since replays aren't my thing, I wasn't interested in the character of a profiler who can tell from the tiniest twitch of an eye. But then I came across the topic of self-analysis. This is a key question one always asks when approaching a fictional character: What mask is the hero or heroine wearing? How are we actually perceived? With what eyes are we seen by others?
And that's where the idea for "Mimik" was born?
Yes. The question now was: How would it actually be if someone like Dirk Eilert, who is familiar with facial expression resonance, had to analyze himself? For example, in a state of alienation, in a state of amnesia. And what if something else depends on it? Maybe someone else's life?
Then the subject of the book is not facial expressions per se, but rather self-knowledge?
Exactly! I've always been interested in this topic and it's always a part of my work.
What is your self-knowledge from "Mimic"?
I've found that we don't look each other in the eye enough, that we're far too distant from one another. Of course, the Corona period plays a role, but it was the same before that: social networks, video services like teams or zoom. People see each other, but gestures are suppressed, hardly anyone gestures as wildly in front of the computer as in a normal face-to-face conversation. This has an impact on our communication - and you don't get everything. You say something carelessly, but you don't see whether or what kind of mischief you've caused, because, for example, not all tiles are shown in the video chat. That is a big problem.
Reading "Mimik" could help counteract this.
I hope so. But that's not my general concern. First of all, the book should tell an exciting story that entertains, because first and foremost I'm a storyteller, stories in the form of psychological thrillers. This is the level of action. Then of course there is the information level and the meaning level. And if readers pick up on something about body language or facial expressions, learn and then take something away from it for themselves, for interpersonal relationships - all the better!
Can body language and facial expressions be learned?
Yes you can! And you don't even have to be gifted to do it. You simply have to be interested in it: I don't just have to pay attention to what I say. I don't just have to be careful how I say it. Above all, I have to pay attention to what I trigger in my counterpart. You can train that.
Thomas Badtke spoke to Sebastian Fitzek
