TV: Postmodernism and Deutschland 83
1) Read the section on Strinati's five ways to define postmodernity. What examples are provided of the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society (media-isation)?
2) What is Fredric Jameson's idea of 'historical deafness'? How can the idea of 'historical deafness' be applied to Deutschland 83?
Famous celebrities are classed as famous with no real talent to show for it whilst celebrities who have that talent are often underrated and not given the recognition that they deserve. Also, a product may be successful if the advertisement is done correctly but the actual product may not be great at all.
- The breakdown of the distinction between culture and society- The characters Bruno and Borat have more 'reality' for film audiences than their creator Sacha Baron Cohen.
- An emphasis on style at the expense of substance and content- The modern rise of celebrities launched through reality television programmes such as Big Brother can be seen as the culture celebrating style over substance.
- The breakdown of the distinction between high culture (art) and pop culture- In postmodern culture Andy Warhol created multi-coloured prints of the Mona Lisa (high art) and Campbell's soup cans (low art).
- Confusions over time and space- The mass media (television and the internet primarily) allows us access to the whole world from the comfort of our homes.
2) What is Fredric Jameson's idea of 'historical deafness'? How can the idea of 'historical deafness' be applied to Deutschland 83?
Jameson argues that this creates a cultural depthlessness. Like Baudrillard he sees the culture as being one where meaning is lost and all that is left is surface representation. However he also argues that this is sometimes countered by outrageous claims for extreme moments of intense emotion, for example, the shared cultural grief after the death of a celebrity. Jameson claims that these emotional outbursts are a way of replacing the shallowness of ‘style over substance’.
3) What examples and theories are provided for the idea of 'style over substance'?
4) What examples from music are provided for the breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture? Can this be applied to Deutschland 83?
5) What is bricolage? What examples of bricolage can be found in Deutschland 83?
Bricolage is the juxtaposing of old and new texts, images, ideas and narratives to create new meanings. This can be applied to Deutschland 83 in the opening title track.
6) How can the audience pleasures of Deutschland 83 be linked to postmodernism? Read 'The decline of meta-narratives' and 'Media texts and the postmodern' to help answer this.
Some of the grand narratives of the political past can be an interesting yet informative way to teach the next generation but could also allow the audience to identify with a side based on personal judgment. the classical structures of representation are seen as more familiar and reassuring.
7) Read the analysis of media concepts and postmodern approaches on page 3 of the factsheet. Choose three of the concepts and write an example from Deutschland 83. Clue: genre, representation, ideology and audience would all be good options for this task.
Genre:
Being apart of the spy genre the normal conventional approach is that their will be tension from two sides and a double narrative.
the postmodernist approach is that its a cold war espionage the main character tries to by using his abilities to obtain political and military information through the briefcase scene.
Representation:
The stereotype is that the west is free and the east is trapped and everyone wants to leave the postmodernist approach is that the west is just as bad as the east in terms of exploring the germans and the main character hates it and wants to go back to the east despite its wealth.
Audience:
The audience is passive and believes that the west is good and the east is bad following the capitalist approach the postmodernist approach is that with a more diverse group the audience engages with the text and have different perspectives, for example, the audience might hate the east view of communist for a more capitalist approach or they might prefer communism or neither.
8) Now look at page 4 of the factsheet. How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?
There is an aspect of hypereality with the exasperation of the past also the film has an unclear ideology as the main character who is Communist is presented as a hero and his actions are praised and accepted.
9) Which key scenes from Deutschland 83 best provide examples of postmodernism? Why?
The opening sequence, the briefcase scene and the spy training montage.
10) Why might audiences enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83? What audience pleasures might elements of bricolage or pastiche provide viewers?
Genre:
Being apart of the spy genre the normal conventional approach is that their will be tension from two sides and a double narrative.
the postmodernist approach is that its a cold war espionage the main character tries to by using his abilities to obtain political and military information through the briefcase scene.
Representation:
The stereotype is that the west is free and the east is trapped and everyone wants to leave the postmodernist approach is that the west is just as bad as the east in terms of exploring the germans and the main character hates it and wants to go back to the east despite its wealth.
Audience:
The audience is passive and believes that the west is good and the east is bad following the capitalist approach the postmodernist approach is that with a more diverse group the audience engages with the text and have different perspectives, for example, the audience might hate the east view of communist for a more capitalist approach or they might prefer communism or neither.
8) Now look at page 4 of the factsheet. How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?
There is an aspect of hypereality with the exasperation of the past also the film has an unclear ideology as the main character who is Communist is presented as a hero and his actions are praised and accepted.
9) Which key scenes from Deutschland 83 best provide examples of postmodernism? Why?
The opening sequence, the briefcase scene and the spy training montage.
10) Why might audiences enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83? What audience pleasures might elements of bricolage or pastiche provide viewers?
Elements of excitement and nostalgia.
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