TV: Postmodernism and Deutschland 83

 Media Magazine - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past

Media Magazine 73 has a feature exploring Deutschland 83 as a postmodern media product. Read ‘Deutschland 83 - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past’ in MM73  (p18). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What were the classic media representations of the Cold War?

Germany often fit a stereotypical binary ‘good vs evil’ The communist East is presented grey and stark, no billboards, culture or entertainment and strict limitations of citizens’ movements and availability of certain foods (e.g. coffee and bananas). The capitalist West, in contrast, is a world of department stores, restaurants and cars, pop-culture and entertainment and free movement.

2) Why does Deutschland 83 provide a particularly good example for postmodern analysis? 

All postmodern texts create a relationship with the past and the first episode of Deutschland 83, ‘Quantum Jump’, does this with intertitles that frame its historical context.

3) Pick out some of the aspects of the opening of episode 1 and explain why they are significant.

The location is the ‘East German Diplomatic mission’ situated in Bonn, West Germany in 1983. A woman is listening to US president Ronald Reagan’s ‘Evil Empire’ speech on a television set. This intertextual footage with its message to ‘pray’ for those who live in ‘totalitarian darkness’ creates ambiguity

An interrogation sequence of two young actors in East Berlin who have bought some Shakespeare plays on the black market. This is conducted by our communist protagonist Martin Rauch and a colleague. The sequence in part parodies typical interrogation scenes from the spy genre

4) How does the party scene at Martin's mum's house subvert stereotypes of East Germany in the Cold War?

This scene reimagines the representation of the East beyond the operators of the restrictive state to the humanity, care and affection of everyday family and friends. The vibrant youth camaraderie, anthemic rock music and positivity are in contrast to Lenora who represents the callous manipulative officialdom that is more stereotypically present in representations of

East Germany.

5) What aspects of the episode set in West Germany offer postmodern elements?

However, Martin’s first taste of western consumerism, in the supermarket scene is playfully underscored by the Eurythmics 1980’s pop song ‘Sweet Dreams are Made of This’ as Martin wonders at the volume and choice of products available in the West.

6) Finally, how does the article apply postmodern theory to Deutschland 83 and link it to the potential target audience?

Pastiche- This refers to media products that imitate the style of another text, artist or time period. Pastiche is an example of intertextuality and takes a positive view of the original source. This is highlighted in the supermarket scene in the first episode where the items on the shelf are grouped by colour.

Postmodernism Factsheet

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #54: Introduction to Postmodernism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

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)?

The characters Bruno and Borat have more ‘reality’ for film audiences than their creator Sacha Baron Cohen. In The X Factor contestants perform cover versions of cover versions of songs (they copy copies). In a Queen themed night John and Edward sang We Will Rock You’ – but they performed ‘the Five version’.

2) What is Fredric Jameson's idea of 'historical deafness'? How can the idea of 'historical deafness' be applied to Deutschland 83?

He argues that as mediaization increases so the culture finds itself losing a sense of historical context.

3) What examples and theories are provided for the idea of 'style over substance'?

People are strongly influenced by branding when buying products. The modern rise of celebrities launched through reality television programmes such as Big Brother can be seen as the culture celebrating 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?

High art such as opera, ballet, theatre and the visual arts were only accessible to elite groups whilst low art was intended for the masses. Pop music (low art) often samples classical music (high art)

5) What is bricolage? What examples of bricolage can be found in Deutschland 83?

Bricolage refers to the process of adapting and juxtaposing old and new texts, images, ideas or narratives to produce whole new meanings. The adaptation of the art in the supermarket with the items being grouped by colour 

 
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.

Postmodernism denies there can be any single truths/realities as most of our cultural understanding is based on the personal interpretations we make from the media representations that dominate our culture, therefore grand narratives are too simplistic and too narrow in their approach. The audience pleasure of escapism and entertainment links to this idea as audiences can create their own interpretations and immerse themselves by creating their own versions of reality and history.

7) Now look at page 4 of the factsheet. How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?

It is a historical series presenting the age of the cold war and it does this through props (the old spy gadgets and cameras) and costume (the soldier uniform). However, the series does not fully follow historical accurate information and is dramatised


8) Which key scenes from Deutschland 83 best provide examples of postmodernism? Why?

The song in the supermarket (sweet dreams are made of these)

Andy Warhol inspired set dressing 

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