The mechanisms of disruption in paradigmatic performances of Christoph Schlingensief like “Talk 2000” and “Chance 2000” which established his reputation as “agent provocateur” are to be investigated in this paper. With his artistic events and stagings that often integrated marginalized people Schlingensief aimed less at creating scandals, but at irritating the ways of perceiving societal reality. The paper illustrates the functionality of the “image disruption machine”, Schlingensiefs mode of achieving alienation effects that implies a subversive counter-strategy against commercialization and exclusion.