Deutschland 83 - Essay

Barthe's theory of semiotics can be easily applied to Deutschland 83, particularly through semantic code and connotations. There is a clear difference between use of colours in the East and the West, with the East portraying a much simpler and muted colour scheme, perhaps to emphasise higher levels of poverty. Even when there is high-key lighting in happy moments of equilibrium, the colours aren't bright which can emphasise the idea of a simple life before the disruption - linking to Todorov. Todorov's theory of narrative can be applied to Deutschland 83 because there is clearly a movement from one state of equilibrium to another. In the first episode, there is a clear equilibrium in Martin's life as he is happy as a soldier and quite content with his girlfriend and family. The equilibrium is most emphasised at the 7 minute mark, when Martin comes home and sees Anette, feeling genuinely happy and in love. Then, there is a period of imbalance or disequilibrium like most narratives, in which Martin has to face multiple challenges. He is taken to the West to act as a spy for the East, taking photos of documents and sending them as part of a deal that he and Anette will have somewhere to live in return. The disruption becomes clear when Martin's fingers are broken during a discussion about joining the party, indicating that he is no longer in control of his own life or body. Despite the fact Martin turns down the offer, he is injured and taken to the West while passed out. During this scene, there is no non-diegetic background music. This means that the sound heard is natural - almost silent - creating a sense of realism and eeriness. In this scene, the colour editing is also slightly blue-grey, suggesting a negative atmosphere. Despite the fact the narrative is in the 'disruption' stage, there are still multiple elements of humour. For example, when Martin is dressed in clothes from the West (at around 17 minutes) he looks quite out of place, just before making a dramatic escape and running. Action match cuts are used here to create a fast pace and tension, but it can be interpreted in a comedic way as it is such a dramatic and unexpected reaction for Martin to have, and makes him look foolish. Levi Strauss puts forward the idea that texts meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions, and that the way in which these binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance. In a sense, the West and the East can act as binary opposites, due to the complete different stages of development as well as their rivalry. Barthes (multi stranded narrative, connotation and denotation, enigma code)  the idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification  the idea that signs can function at the level of denotation, which involves the ‘literal’ or common-sense meaning of the sign, and at the level of connotation, which involves the meanings associated with or suggested by the sign  the idea that constructed meanings can come to seem self evident, achieving the status of myth through a process of naturalisation. S. Hall. suggests the idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits which tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism). There is arguably stereotypes between typical people in the East and West, with their vastly different attitudes and lifestyles. Hall also suggests that there are different modes of reading (preferred, negotiated and oppositional). In Deutschland 83, it seems that the preferred meaning is rooting for Martin as an East German spy as it acts as an eye opener for East German culture and allows us to support someone who may have previously be seen as the antagonist in a different text, and supporting him on his mission. Neale’s genre theory is the idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation, and change. Deutschland uses genre hybridity which is significant in standing out to the audience. It has elements of spy fiction, drama, thriller and comedy, and possibly even romance. This allows the show to attract a much wider variety of audiences, possibly being the reason for its success. Van Zoonen looks at the idea that the display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture, and the idea that in mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female body. The mise-en-scene reflects this as women's and men's costume are largely stereotypical - with women more often than not wearing dresses or skirts, and a large amount of men often in uniform. Deutschland presents a large amount of ideologies, including patriarchy. The audience is positioned as identifying with the male protagonist Martin, because of his flawed character, but also as sympathising with Lenora in her pursuit of her patriotic duty, although perhaps shocked at her manipulative and calculating methods. There is a primarily male perspective, but the narrative is driven by Lenora. Similar to this, the perspective is German but does not choose sides, and is also largely a white perspective with multicultural casting. The media language incorporates individualism through an individual protagonist, trapped by social forces beyond his control. Consumerism is a large element in the programme; explicit stories about the lack of consumer goods in East Germany are contrasted with material plenty in the West. It can be suggested that the show holds a pacifist viewpoint as the main disruptions in the series are related to the War. 

Long Form TV Drama Deutschland 83

Deutschland 83

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/arts/television/deutschland-86-germany.html
In Britain it became the most-watched foreign-language drama ever.
It was the first German show to air on an American network, SundanceTV
The show was a ratings disappointment in its home country when it aired there several months after its American premiere. Although the first episode garnered a respectable 3.2 million viewers, that number plunged in the following weeks

Created by	Anna Winger Joerg Winger
Written by	Anna Winger
Directed by	Edward Berger Samira Radsi

Budget $40 million 
Shot in Berlin 

Mise en scene Women often have costume of dress or skirts. Typically feminine Soldiers in grey uniforms Verisimilitude Pulling of focus e.g. when he is on the phone and is heard by woman walking down the stairs  Dark humour	Camera work Establishing shot Men walking appear as shadows which creates mystery and suspense Low angle shot of main character telling off the two boys for breaking law and being capitalist Establishing shot of field before men run past Tracking shot follows him as he walks and runs away, shaky at first which adds to the tension Lots of camera panning
Editing Two shots and cross editing. Conversation shows both of them speaking from different angles Eye line matches Introduction credits is predominantly black and white with bright elements of red Colour editing in some scenes are blue-grey toned, such as when main character joins party in West Action match cuts as he is running away	Sound Non diegetic dialogue from tv over establishing shot Instrumental sinister music Fast paced background music as he tries to runs away Sweet dreams song, intertextual link (released in 1983) Moments of no music to add realism when there is tension

Episode 1 takes place centred around Martin, who is enlisted to act as a Spy in West Germany. Though the deal covers only one mission, the episode ends with him being manipulated by his aunt to stay in the West a bit longer. His character seems to care about those he loves as his motivations for reluctantly agreeing to do this job is his girlfriend and his mother. 

Todorov's narrative theory can be applied as there is a clear equilibrium and disruption in this episode. 

Propp's character theory can also be applied as Martin is arguably the 'hero', and his girlfriend may be the 'princess'. In a weird sense his aunt could act in a similar way to the 'princess's father', as she is blackmailing Martin to do the mission with the reward of getting a house with his girlfriend. 

Genre Theory – Neale

Genre theory is about what genres are, and about how and why they are created, change endure or decline.

Neale argues that genre is a process by which generic codes and conventions are shared by producers and audiences through repetition in media products.

This means that genes are not fixed, but constantly evolve with each new addition to the generic corpus (the body of products in a genre), often playing with genre codes and conventions or becoming hybrids with other genres.

Generic codes and conventions are not just established in media products but in products that refer to these products such as critical writings or advertising and marketing material, what Neale referred to as ‘the intertextual relay’.Genre Theory – Neale

Applying the theory
“Deutschland 83 is a stylish take on the spy genre that carefully balances its humor with high stakes”
https://tv.avclub.com/deutschland-83-takes-its-spycraft-straight-up-with-a-t-1798184095
Task 1.
Link this statement with Neale's Theory below.     
Draft a list of the genre conventions for a spy/thriller drama versus a comedy drama .

In what way does Deutschland 83 conform to both explain why genre hybridity is important in attracting audiences.


Genre hybridity is always a positive aspect in tv shows because it creates a much more diverse target audience. It prevents any kind of restriction that may come with sticking to just one genre.. Though the show is serious and surrounding dark events it also includes funny elements which is important due to the fact that it will keep people entertained rather than feeling too sad about the events they are watching. It can also make the show much more appealing to those with a dark sense of humour. 


HALL

Germans don't really like the show as they can interpret it as too close to home, oppositional reading.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/17/deutschland-83-wowed-world-germans-dont-like-it: By focusing the story around Martin Rauch, a young East German border guard going undercover in the west, it doesn’t just make the viewer empathise with a Stasi agent on a human level – in the way The Lives of Others did – it makes us engage with the socialist regime’s worldview, in which a military exercise in West Germany poses a potentially existential threat.


Context -- 
Cold War. 1945, US was capitalist and soviet union was communist. Series of proxy wars. 
1949 NATO was formed to strengthen allies. 
Korean War in 1953
WARSAW pact.

Analysis --
t-7

This is an establishing shot. West Germany. Dark colour palette, low-key lighting. Dark atmosphere. Muted colours apply to Spy genre. 
t-25

Talking about 'evil' of the world. Focus on evil. Authenticity, verisimilitude. Real footage of Ronald Reagan. makes the drama part documentary. 
Hybridisation of genre 

t-33

Mid shot. Lowkey lighting. Muted colours. Signifies she is of a higher class, staying in a nice location. 
High class or status - body language of holding cigarette suggests power. Assumption of European being poor is subverted. 

t= 1:55

Ironic of freedom when they are locked in the room. 
t=2:59

Presents Neale's genre hybridity theory as there is an element of comedy. 

t-3:42

t-5:47

t=7:07 

equilibrium (Todorov). Damsel in distress (Propp). Van Zoonen - patriarchal representation of female roles where Anette adopts the role of submissive partner. subordinate in a patriarchal society. 

t=7.39

Coffee from West which east germany citizens would be too poor to have. van zoonen gender stereotypes as women are in kitchen performing domestic duties. smuggled it from Britain

t=13:05

 disruption (Todorov). Life has been disrupted. 

t-13:56 

t-16:59

t-18.05

sweet dreams are made of this - song 

t=24:54

comedy

t=31.32

t=32.36

no longer comedic, matches spy horror. tension. music. 

t=33:48. 

silent, builds tension

t=35:33

the pass that they previously practiced fails which is fairly comedic. The closeup makes it clear for the audience to see what has happened

t=37:41

low angle, lowkey lighting, tension. this is a convention of a thriller


t=38:13






















out of focus shows that he has not noticed her, element of fear or panic


t=38:18

she acknowledges him

t=42:18


van zoonen can be applied in some ways as this woman has been taken advantage of (drugged) to advantage these men who do not want her to say anything. she will be ignored and thought of as just a stupid drunk woman despite actually trying to help everyone by wanting to share the knowledge of Martin being from the East

t=43:19

eye line match

t=43:31

also eye line



t=44:18





element of fear. unknown hand. audience in same position as him of not knowing who has approached him

t=45:29

creates sense of secrecy and scheming

t=46:16


t=46:23

camera follows him closely, fairly shaky tracking shot

t=46:37

camera stops following him



The economic context for long form TV drama is summed up in p 154 where its states that the reduction in csts of technology coupled with increased competition (p.   ) has resulted in higher quality long form TV dramas. This includes factors such as

• CGI allowing visual effects even within TV budgets
• Drones allowing arial photography
• The development of high definition cameras, with low lightr sensitivity enabling recording low key lighting set-ups at night.

The developments of streaming technologies has enabled LFTV dramas to be made available on Netflix, BT, Virgin, Sky and Amazon who are actively commissioning proprietary content on their streaming services in order to differentiate themselves from other providers.

• The emergence of low cost streaming services is only possible through the lower cost of computers
• The political drive to create high speed connections
• The cultural contect of changing attitudes as to what constitutes television.

Streaming as a technology has also allowed

• Programmes to be made without obvious segmentation in order to fit advertising breaks
• Less adherence to rigid program lengths
• Less need for traditional narrative elements such as cliff hangers as programmes can be watched as complete series.;

Viewpoints and ideologies in media language   (p156)

Referring to pages 156 of the OCR media studies book you will reflect of the ideologies influencing media language in TV dramas, these may include

·         Individualism

·         Consumerism

·         Patriarchal

·         Racism/ethnocentrism

• individualism as it focuses on the main character Martin (individual protagonist) - phone call shows this as he is selfish to call home and almost gets caught
• consumerism western. products such as western coffee and shakespeare books. explicit stories about the lack of consumer goods in east germany are contrasted with material plenty in the west 
• patriarchy yvonne made to sing. leonora has power. anette (fiance)    only focused on martin. primarily  male perspective. driven by a female power however.  
• german white perspective
• suggests pacifist point of view as main conflict is war

Todorov’s narratology can be used to analyse narratives of LFTVD’s but the theory has its limitations.   Essentially the dramas can be analysed in terms of how they suggest an initial equilibrium and how they disrupt this equilibrium with an event that creates a drive towards a narrative resolution.

(p161) Todorov’s theory is designed to explain a linear narrative with a distinct ending, a narrative resolution.   As Long form tV dramas are serial narratives (meaning they drive towards a resolution over e.g. the length of a series in order to meet audience expectations however the prime interest in these dramas is in how the resolution is delayed ,  a delay which creates a sense of anticipation by combining the movement towards that resolution with other narrative strands. 

Representation

Social

-east is rigidly controlled with womens equality and west which is less controlled where the military is rigidly patriarchal

-both germanys are repsented as white

episode shows influence of social anxieties

cultural

-cultural amnesia and remembering. mediaa products have explored the east german experience. 

-spy narrative of global cultural resonance 

-representational complexity of the programme reflects the context of the high expectations

political

-concern in both germanys about american sabre rattling 

-this representation may reflect either contemporary german political confidence or a liberal critique of american republican politics by the programmes american writer, or both

historical 

-division as it was in 1983. The East poor controlled and firmly ideological, the west rich free but self doubting

-complex and ambiguous representations reflect difficulties faced by Germany in coming to terms with the past

economic 

-complexity of characterisation and representations reflects the economic pressure to create quality flagship programming           

BINARY OPPOSITES 

state vs family

Martin may feel like he needs to choose between, though working for state does lead to helping his family in the end but it means more time away from them

manipulation vs love

Relationship with aunt is manipulative 

danger vs safety 

In a lot of danger. 

STEREOTYPES

• Walter is a ruthless male spymaster
• Young people are pleasure seeking teenagers
• Martin is flawed by a lack of self control and commitment to the cause 
• General Jackson is a gung-ho American military man, unconcerned about local sensitivities
• Yvonne is troubled and rebellious young teenager

Martin starts as a stereotype but becomes a more complex character. Thhe representation of gender is complex.