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
|
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’.
“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 .
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
t-25
Hybridisation of genre
t-33
High class or status - body language of holding cigarette suggests power. Assumption of European being poor is subverted.
t= 1:55
t=2:59
t-3:42
t-5:47
t=7:07
t=7.39
t=13:05
t-13:56
t-16:59
t-18.05
t=24:54
t=31.32
t=32.36
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.
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