Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog tasks

 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?

Classic media representation of the cold war represents the east and west as binary opposites; The East is usually shown to be very gloomy and oppressed whereas the West has freedom and everything is great. West as good and East as evil. 

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

Deutschland 83 is a good example for postmodernism analysis because it contains a lot of the key factors of postmodern media such s pastiche, irony and intertextuality. 

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

An aspect that’s particularly important from the opening scene is the archive footage of President Reagan and his speech where he describes the East as being the “Evil Empire” which is important because it’s intersexuality and could be considered bricolage. It also helps bring a sense of authenticity to the scene and draws the viewer in by creating questions for those who may not be educated on the cold war and not know who he’s referring to. 

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

The scene shows the East Germans drinking and dancing which some may think is a very western way of living and wouldn’t expect to see it in a communist society where people are described as oppressed. 

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

The Spy training montage is an example of postmodernism as its pastiche and intersexuality. It resembles traditional spy movies such as the James Bond movies where we see this training montage in almost every one.  

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

The article says that the target audience is a post unification audience who weren’t alive during the East and West split so they’re open to questioning and challenging the views of the time which allowed Deutschland 83 to mix truth and fiction. 

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)?

Media representations now shape the way we see reality and are more real than our lived experiences. 

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

He believe media-isation has cause people to disregard historical context and use the media to shape our understanding of historical events. This applies to Deutschland 83 as in the show we see a mix of fictional and factual information/representations in order to create a more interesting narrative.  

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

Paris Hilton - Famous for being famous not for her talent.

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, this is found in Deutschland 83 as it mixes spy thriller elements with historical events. 

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.

The show forces the audience to form their own opinion and stray from the common Good vs Evil idea and question what they’re being shown in the media rather than be spoon fed everything, this makes the show more engaging as it requires intellectual engagement from the audience. 

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

The ideological positioning challenged traditional ideas and the binary opposition of Good Vs Evil by making us see things from an East German POV. 

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

I believe the scenes that best provide examples of postmodernism are those that challenge historical stereotypes the most such as the barbecue scene or the scene where he breaks into the office and