Postmodernism & Deutschland '83

What examples are provided of the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society (media-isation)?

• 'Bruno' and 'Borat' - interviewed in character
• The X Factor covers - John and Edward [Jedward] Queen cover

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

• Historical deafness is the idea that society is only privy to history as it is depicted throughout the media and are ignorant to the intricacies and realities of what actually occurred. This can be seen in the depiction of Eastern Germany in Deutschland '83 as a poor but happy society when in reality they were facing detrimental hardships and the reality would be much more melancholic.

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

• People preferring to buy a Brand over quality.
• Reality TV has lead to celebrities being famous for being famous rather than identifiable talents or events.

What examples from music are provided for the breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture? Can this be applied to Deutschland 83?

• Pop music (low culture) sampling classical musical (high culture)
• In D83, in western Germany they play 'Sweet Dreams' by Eurythmics, which is an iconic 80s pop song [low culture] being played in the pop art [high culture] and artistic supermarket setting 

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

• Bricolage is the juxtaposition of old and new texts, images, ideas and narratives to create new meanings and can be seen throughout D83. The cold opening scene with the Reagan speech on the tv, with the character watching, the opening title sequence with the merge of archive footage and new footage and the briefcase scene where the character is looking at old files but in new footage.

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.

• Audience's can find a sense of nostalgia in the pastiche of the series but also the aspect of surveillance through the archive footage and the contextualisation of this archive footage makes it easier to blur the lines of reality/fiction and makes personal relationships more prevalent.

Choose three of the concepts and write an example from Deutschland 83. 

• The Supermarket scene is one of the most explicit examples of postmodernism. The bright colours and unrealistically full shelves within the supermarket, could be interpreted as a pastiche to the late 60s pop art artist Andy Warhol, whereas the 80s store fronts and clothing gives a sense of realism and blurs the line between realism/fiction for the audience.

How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?

• The show is based off of real events and is a period drama. It contains historically accurate information however surrounding fictional characters. The setting and props used are time appropriate and many of the scenes regarding the political unrests hold some truth but have gone through dramatisation and it makes it difficult for an audience to decipher where the reality ends and the fiction begins. 

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

• The cold opening of D83 is an example of bricolage, with archive footage being played and juxtaposing the fictional setting. 
• The supermarket scene is an example of pastiche. A homage to the pop art concept of the 60s and colourful and nostalgia inducing habits of the 80s through the clothing and music.
• The spy montage scene, although it is meant to have aspects of realism, the intertextuality within references films such as James Bond, which amplifies the fictional aspects.

Why might audiences enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83? What audience pleasures might elements of bricolage or pastiche provide viewers?

• The pastiche of the 80s is a prevalent audience pleasure with shows such as Stranger Things and Bandersnatch also conforming to this 80s aesthetic. It offers a nostalgic element but also an aesthetic value for audiences. The bricolage also allows audiences to 'learn' the history behind the show, without it playing like a documentary. There is entertainment value within the surveillance and appeals to a wider audience.