Deutschland 83: case study blog tasks

 Introduction: Reviews and features

Read the following reviews and features on Deutschland 83:

The Guardian - Your next box set: Deutschland 83
The Guardian - Deutschland 83 Pity the Germans don't like it

1) Find one positive aspect and one criticism of Deutschland 83 in the reviews.

• Most gripping of all was a televised excerpt from Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech in 1983
•  by the time the last episode was shown in Germany last December it had shed half its starting audience with only 1.72m viewers not quite “the flop of the year” as Bild called it but underwhelming nonetheless

2) Why does the second Guardian article suggest the Germans didn't like the show?

A television expert (Lückerath 2015) blamed RTL for advertising Deutschland 83 in an old-fashioned and inappropriate manner: to him the numerous posters in cities around Germany felt overdone and outdated in Germany RTL is known for reality TV romantic comedies or police series

 
3) Find three 'below the line' comments from either of the Guardian articles. What did the audience think of Deutschland 83? Do you agree with the comments?

It was good but not great. The German soldiers looked like comic opera soldiers. The German general looked like a bus conductor. The American general was totally unbelievable. The Stasi and the Russians looked like nincompoops and so did the only West German security official. A better picture of what the Stasi and the GDR politicians were like can be got from the excellent film "The lives of others".

Yeah it was a crap series. Totally implausible. Also had the standard problem - no one can write decent endings. If they'd played more music and cut out the awful plot and acting, it would have been much better

I enjoyed Deutschland 83, but I think I largely agree with the Germans: its characters and narrative were a little too simple and predictable. If I hadn't downloaded and binged watched over the space of a few evenings, I don't think I'd have kept up with the full TV run, patiently waiting to catch every weekly instalment. It became a lot less enticing once the main character witnesses his ideologically unwavering Western lover being run over as she tried to flee after realising he was a communist spy.

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



1) What does Jonas Nay say about growing up in a united Germany? 

His generation did not learn about the dark side of Germany the East and the West.

2) The Channel 4 News interview is conducted in German with English subtitles. How does this reflect Channel 4's remit as a public service broadcaster and their target audience? (Clue: revise your work on Channel 4 and Public Service Broadcasting here!)

I think that this shows that Channel 4 are sticking to their motive that they are a public service provider which challenges the status quo and offers alternative content. By doing this they may have angered some British audience members who did not like the fact that they were forced to listen to German commentary on English TV.

3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the a Channel 4 audience?

This might intrigued them as the audience may wonder how the Germans politics spilt and how it is now.

Textual analysis: Audience pleasures and representations

We need to consider the audience pleasures of Deutschland 83 alongside various representations created in the first episode.

Type up your analysis from the lesson using the headings below. You may want to watch the key scenes again and develop your notes in further detail - the more specific and memorable your analysis, the better it will serve you when writing an essay on TV drama. Here's a Google doc we have worked on in past Media lessons on this topic - feel free to use these notes alongside your own. You'll need to use your Greenford Google login to access this.

Scene 1: Garden/BBQ scenes (East & West Germany)

4.58 – 8.20 and 34.00 – 37.20

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene - Contrast in East  camerawork seems to accompany Martin to his mum’s birthday party rather than threaten him.
• Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender - Strong contrast in the East German party scene with close family, friends enjoying themselves, relaxed atmosphere. 

Scene 2: Martin/Moritz first sees the West German supermarket 

14.30 – 20.25

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene - Mise-en-scene this use of colour and costume. Iconic Puma logo red T-shirt as a colourful contrast to the dull East.
• Audio codes – particularly music - Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These. Diegetic sound but full of meaning to convey Martin’s first experience of the West. 
• Representation of East & West Germany / Communism & Capitalism / Historical accuracy - Shot of two policemen eating ice creams is symbolic of the difference between East and West.
• Audience pleasures - Blumler & Katz U&G theory surveillance. Danger of WW3, reference to Pershing II missiles. Key elements of D83 based on historical fact. 

Scene 3: Training montage scene when Martin/Moritz learns how to be a spy

20.40 – 22.40

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing - Fast-paced editing including jump cuts, typical of montage sequence. 
• Audio codes -  Music and SFX: Non-diegetic sound adds pace to the sequence.
• Audience pleasures - East v West split screen emphasises the brands that are available in the West but not in the East. Also for fruit empty space showed what wasn’t available in the East. 
• Intertextuality - German audience nostalgia in terms of products and brands. 

Scene 4: Briefcase scene when Martin/Moritz is stealing the NATO nuclear plans

31.13 – 33.30

Make notes under the following headings:

• Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing - Close-ups of Martin while picking lock and photographing the documents.
• Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound - Non-diegetic sound - music helps convey the tension of the scene and satisfy genre expectations of spy thriller.
• Audience pleasures - Action and enigma codes audience think Martin will be caught at any moment. U&G theory diversion. Visceral pleasure scene is tense for audience to watch, adrenaline.

You will do the majority of this textual analysis work in class - this section of your case study simply requires typing up your notes in an easy and memorable way (bullet points are fine).

Production and industry contexts

Deutschland 83 was produced by German production company UFA Fiction and distributed internationally by Fremantle International. It was broadcast on RTL (Germany), SundanceTV (US) and Channel 4 (UK) as well as many other broadcasters around the world.

1) What kind of company is UFA Fiction and what shows have they produced? 

 a German award winning film and television Company and a unique leader in the German film and television market, offering a remarkable portfolio of films and series which have strongly influenced the German production landscape They made shows such as "Danni Lowinski", "March of millions" and "The Tower"

2) What kind of company is Freemantle and what do they produce?

 

FreemantleMedia, is a British multinational television production and distribution company based in London. The company was founded as Pearson Television in 1993 when publishing and education company Pearson acquired the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television.

3) How does Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production?

It shows that international shows can intrigue anyone across the whole world and gain notice and succeed in television 


Walter Presents

Watch this Channel 4 trailer for their Walter Presents international drama:

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

Channel 4 presents Walter as a smart white man who 'knows it all' to foreign drama, Walter is used to introduce the show synopsis and gives a brief overview of what to expect with reviews of the show as he gives his personal opinion of the show.

2) What audience are Channel 4 trying to appeal to with the 'Walter Presents' series?

It could aim it at adults aimed between 20-30 as there is a lot of violence which a younger audience can't view. But there is also some elements of historical events which can gain more attention from an more older generation as this stuff could of happened in their era.  

3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?

By globalising foreign drama across Britain and teaching others about the history of other countries throughout the world. 

Marketing and promotion

Trailer



1) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer? Think about Uses & Gratifications theory (Blumler and Katz).

Diversion it provides a sort of escapism for the audience taking them away from their ordinary lives.

Personal identification they can relate to martin and get nostalgia from the 80s music.   

Personal relationship with the actors themselves.

Surveillance shows them the history of the cold war.

2) How does the trailer use action and enigma codes (Barthes) to encourage the audience to watch the show?

The audience can think if martin is going to get caught or not. 

The action by the explosion can give the audience a rush of adrenaline. 

3) The only words heard in the trailer are in English. Why do you think the UK trailer avoided subtitles or German dialogue?

People wont understand it British people won't be interested in it as they wont be able to understand it.

Press pack

Read the Channel 4 press pack interview with writer Anna Winger. (If the link doesn't work, you can find the text from the interview here). 

1) How did she use the historical context and real-life events to create a successful drama?

My idea was to tell a story form the point of view of the mole. At the time of the fall of the Wall there were more than 2000 Stasi agents undercover in West Germany. In recent years, there have been some movies about the 1980s in East Germany but few about the West, so I liked idea of seeing it all through the eyes of someone who has never been there before.

2) Anna Winger discusses the use of music. Why might the soundtrack attract an audience?

In many cases I had songs in mind when I was writing. In Episode 3, for example, Moritz uses the lyrics to the Duran Duran song Hungry Like a Wolf as a code. She used it as a way of communication to other.

Press release

Read this Channel 4 press release on the success of Deutschland 83. (If the link doesn't work you can find find the text from the article here).

1) List the key statistics concerning audience figures. Why was it considered the most successful foreign language drama?

After launching with 1.49 million viewers, the first episode has now consolidated with 2.5 million viewers, overtaking the launch of The Returned (9th June 2013) on Channel 4 which previously held the record with 2.2 million. 

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?

Deutschland 83 is the first German- speaking drama to play on a mainstream US cable network. Walter Presents will eventually host more than 600 hours of drama that will be available for box-set viewing on All 4, including the option to download episodes to watch on the go. The press had a positive view on it and was happy with what Walter presented 

“It’s only January but let’s call it already: coolest show of the year.”

Grazia

International marketing

Look at these two different marketing campaigns - the UK DVD release (left) and the American Sundance TV advert (right).




1) How does the UK DVD cover communicate the sub-genre of the drama?

 

The UK DVD cover shows an almost coming of age drama with the young man listening to the Walkman looking up to the sky as he may be finding himself of who he is,but then the couple kissing in the background on the wall in graffiti may also suggest a romance in the show while the much more serious bearded men frowning on the left suggest a more serious political story. But overall the tag-line A gripping cold war thriller allows us to know that the show is a cold war thriller. Lastly, the print that say's Over the Wall- Under Cover may suggest the spy aspect of the show of hiding while being in espionage.
 

2) How do these use font, colour and graphics to appeal to an audience?

The font shows a the gritty the show withholds. The use of juxtaposition of colour and the bland colour shows the stereotypes of the west side and the east side of Germany. It also may show the government how one side keeps everyone imprisoned and the other side could show the freedom this may appeal to the audience making them intrigued wondering what the story is and whats happening 

3) Why might the distributors Freemantle International have used different marketing campaigns in different countries?

They do this because other countries may have different things which stand out to them for example the USA poster is more vibrant which may be more appealing to a US citizen whereas on the other hand the UK poster is more gritty and interesting