There is a scene in the film, The Piano Teacher, in which the protagonist, Erika Kohut, is punched in the face by a young man who attempted to pursue a romantic relationship with her. Then he forces her to the ground and rapes her. However, the rape does not happen on screen, the only thing you see is Erika's face while the young man is raping her. This scene in the film is intended to make the audience react and achieves this simple goal. This is what Michael Haneke does with every film he makes. Haneke is a director who understands that good cinema doesn't mean the viewer will always walk away happy. He's an artist who doesn't want to shove happiness and rainbows down the audience's throat. Haneke is particularly critical of American moviegoers and the way they expect to be given a happy film. Through his films, Haneke's goal is to make audiences think differently about the world they live in. To believe this and accept the idea that good films do not necessarily have to make the audience happy, we must understand the approach Michael Haneke dedicates to cinema. We've come a long way since movies were considered nothing more than a business, and Michael Haneke tries to prove that movies should be considered works of art. Haneke says: “The same goes for any form of artistic production. I'm trying not only to make a living as a filmmaker, but to make a contribution to that artistic tradition. (Porton 51). Like all other art forms, Haneke's films are not simply something audiences should see, but rather something audiences should experience and contemplate. In this regard, Haneke's films evoke an intense emotional response and turn every film he makes into an “experience.” There is not a single film where the audience comes away happy from a Michael Haneke film.