Adventurer Samuel Häde "There is already an extreme divide in society"

Filmmaker Samuel Häde had experiences on his backpacking trip across America that surprised him too and will stay with him for a long time. In this interview, the adventurer reveals everything he experienced along the way - including among Trump supporters.

Samuel Häde has his sights set on more than just places of longing. As one of ARD's "Young Adventurers", the 30-year-old has set himself the task of exploring the life and culture of distant countries in an extraordinary way.

On his previous adventures, the filmmaker has traveled with a donkey to the nomads of Afghanistan, got to know Japan by hitchhiking and walked 400 kilometers through the Sahara. In his new documentary, the journalist crosses the backpacker destination of America from New York to San Francisco and shows how the young generation lives and what moves them.

Häde accompanies illegal sprayers through New York at night, travels with a group of devout Christians in a confessional bus through Virginia, visits a rodeo in Arthur County, Nebraska, and films at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert. For "Young Adventurers Amerika - mit dem Rucksack von Ost nach West", a joint production by NDR and WDR, Samuel Häde covered around 8,500 kilometers, toured through 15 US states and experienced things that you won't find in any travel guide. NDR television will show the intensive documentary on Thursday, August 29, at 8:15 pm. The film can already be seen in the ARD media library from Thursday, August 22.

Samuel Häde, in your film you don't scratch the surface, you go deeper and offer many unexpected and very personal insights. How do such intense encounters come about?

Samuel Häde: Gaining access to certain scenes can be quite challenging, especially when it comes to closed groups, such as the sprayers from New York. Often these people are very secretive and reserved, but in this case I was lucky and an acquaintance in Berlin connected me with graffiti artists from Brooklyn. But you never know who you're going to meet next on a trip like this. I always have my camera to hand so that I can spontaneously capture authentic moments, even when I'm hitchhiking. I love hitchhiking. This inevitably brings me into conversation with interesting people, each with a different background, and I always get to know new perspectives.

For example, you got to know the world of thought of young priests who have converted an ambulance into a mobile confession studio and are touring Virginia with it ...

Yes, the Community of Jesus Crucified has turned out to be a real stroke of luck. Virginia is located in the heart of the Bible Belt, a region where many devout Christians live. For me, the members of the community represented the values that prevail there quite well. Above all, I was amazed that such young people choose the life of a priest, with all the challenges that entails. This is in stark contrast to the typical ideas that are often held about the young generation in America. It was fascinating to see how deeply rooted faith and dedication are in these young people and how willing they are to make personal sacrifices for their convictions.

What expectations did you start with?

Häde: Before my trip, I hadn't gotten to know the USA and, to be honest, my image of the country wasn't particularly good because it was shaped more by media coverage than by my own experiences. But I had decided to set aside these preconceived ideas and take an unbiased look at the country. My aim was to find out what really makes the young generation of Americans tick.

And what did you find out?

The result cannot be categorized. America is a huge melting pot and also somehow a crazy experiment that is constantly changing. There are breathtaking landscapes and exceptionally friendly, creative, talented and very helpful people. However, I can't rule out that my conclusion would have been different if I had had a different skin color or gender identity.

What surprised you the most on your trip?

Häde: I didn't think I would be able to find common ground with Trump voters. The Republicans I met were really extremely friendly people and very sociable. I didn't always agree with them after the conversations, but the fact that you can also understand them was a positive surprise.

Do you have an example?

In Nebraska, the Republicans are in charge and I traveled there with mixed feelings. But the people were very open, reflective and not as radical in their opinions as I had expected. A good example is Rancher Ryan, who openly admitted: "Are we voting for Donald Trump? Yes. But do we like everything he does? No." However, the Democrats have hinted that we should look more at meat alternatives for environmental reasons. If that is the livelihood with which a rancher feeds his family, he cannot reconcile that with himself. In such a context, it is understandable that people prioritize and choose the lesser of two evils, even if they don't agree with everything their candidate stands for.

What does the young generation in rural areas think?

My conversation with Tiana in Nebraska was particularly memorable. The 18-year-old told me that she only takes one day off a year to go swimming and otherwise works in the fields every day of the year. In the countryside, hard work still commands a lot of respect. This mentality of working hard has been instilled in Midwesterners for generations. You would think that younger people in particular would break away from that and say, hey, I want to live my life a bit and not just work. With Tiana, however, I had the impression that she is deeply rooted in her family's values and carries them forward. It was almost as if her grandfather was speaking from her, he would probably have used the same statements.

What difference have you noticed compared to the city?

There is already an extreme divide in society. From talking to Tiana, it's easy to see that people in Nebraska are firmly in the saddle, with their patriotism, their ideas that hard work is important in life, and also with their Christian beliefs. This is firmly anchored even in the younger generation and cannot simply be ignored. LGBTQ, for example, is a no-go topic for many in Nebraska. They say that people can do what they want behind closed doors, but they don't want to be confronted with it. Compared to people in the city, people in the countryside are much more conservative and less open when it comes to lifestyles that don't conform to the Christian norm.

The man who carried out the assassination attempt on Donald Trump is said to have been only 20 years old. How does that fit in with the image of America's younger generation?

Of course you can see here and there how divided the country is, but I didn't come across any radical opinions like that on my trip. The graffiti artists are perhaps the ones you would expect to use their talent and the canvases of New York to spread a political message. But they didn't really care about the election campaign. Many of the people I spoke to didn't really want to talk about politics or were tired of the subject. It's more like meeting a lot of conspiracy theorists. At the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert, you meet visitors with the most unusual ideas and beliefs.

What are they?

There are a lot of people who believe in extraterrestrials or reptiloids, which are hybrid beings, half alien and half human, who are supposed to live on Earth. I have actually met people who have spoken more or less openly about having had experiences with ETs and some have even been abducted by extraterrestrials. So you hear real absurdities, but I haven't come across anything that goes in a radical direction or could be linked to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

At Burning Man, 70,000 people celebrated in Black Rock City, Nevada. Michael, who attended the festival, describes it in your documentary as a life-changing and mind-expanding experience. Was it the same for you?

For me personally, it wasn't a transformative experience. But I can definitely understand why this is the case for many people. In our everyday lives, we are constantly confronted with tasks and duties and have to function in order to meet the demands of our society. Burning Man creates a space in which people don't have to fit into predetermined patterns. They can be authentic, be themselves, leave their usual roles behind and rediscover themselves. I think it's valuable that there are places like this that offer people the opportunity to break out of their everyday lives and gain new perspectives.

The festival ticket cost the equivalent of 530 euros (505 francs) ...

Yes, it's mainly the wealthy who can afford it. I also find it a bit hypocritical that on the one hand the maxim "Leave no trace" is propagated, while on the other hand 100,000 tons of greenhouse gases are released per Burning Man. Although great efforts are made to ensure that no waste is left behind, the reality is often different. Because the participants were stuck there for four days due to heavy rainfall and the storm blew a lot of things away, a lot also remained in the desert. The environmental balance is therefore sobering and the mega-event should be viewed critically.

During the trip, you often get into difficulties, including running out of water on the Appalachian Trail in the middle of the wilderness and being surprised by a thunderstorm in Nebraska. How do you deal with such situations?

I tend to be optimistic and am convinced that things will work out in the end. However, it is important to remain rational. The storm at Burning Man undoubtedly intensified the experience. When conditions become challenging and the serene façade is shaken, principles are also put to the test: Is everyone at each other's throats now or is it still such a happy community? In the end, I experienced impressive solidarity. The participants shared their supplies and supported each other.

In the Canyonlands in Utah, you encountered another group of party animals. What relationship does the younger generation have with nature?

People are very respectful and really take everything back with them. They've gone all out with volleyball nets and music systems and taken the comforts of modern life with them, because you don't want to do without the comforts of everyday life. But I think that people who go on a trip like this do so with a strong awareness of nature and would not harm it.

There was even canned beer on the Green River ...

You have all kinds of drinks with you, but then you take them back with you. Just like your own excrement. You don't go somewhere behind the bush, but into the portable toilet that you've brought with you and which you take back with you afterwards. Such meticulous care is taken to ensure that you really don't leave anything there that doesn't belong there.

How did you experience your time there?

The nature there is breathtaking and incredibly vibrant. In our hectic everyday lives, we spend most of our time in front of a screen and hardly notice the beauty of the world. The gigantic landscape of the Canyonlands makes you realize that you are part of something bigger. Only in moments like these do I realize that we live on a small, blue planet that revolves around the sun. I can't gain this insight from a screen. It only comes when you go out and experience the world directly. I am very grateful for this experience.

What adventures are you planning now?

My next documentary will be released in December. For it, I was in north-east India, on the border with Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar. I first took the train from New Delhi to Assam and then floated down the Brahmaputra, the third largest river in India, on a self-built bamboo raft together with locals. Without taking any food or water with us, we spent a week on the river, eating grasshoppers and raw fish, among other things. I also moved to Tbilisi a few months ago to get to know the Caucasus better. From this base, I want to continue working as a documentary filmmaker, also to give a voice to those who often go unheard. Ultimately, making documentaries is more than just a job for me. It is my inspiration, my drive and my greatest passion.

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