TV: Postmodernism & Deutschland 83

1) Read the section on Strinati's five ways to define post modernity. What examples are provided of the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society (media-isation)?

The examples that are provided as example of media-isation are Bruno and Mars which Cohen creates and this means that these characters are able to create a image that real people cannot perform.

2)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 now the media is recreating history and representations are based on the media this can link to Deutschland 83 because the way the MISE EN SCENE was constructed was a purpose for audience pleasures so they can get a idea of what it was like in that particular time perioud.

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

The example provided for style over substance is Big Brother because it is show that celebrities are more identifiable rather than actual talent being displayed  which means that there is more focus on the fact that being famous is more important than actually having certain roles or talents.

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?

The breakdown of distinction between art and popular culture in Deutschland 83 could be when the differences between the west and east are shown such as when martin is in the supermarket or when his mother given a jar of coffee alluding to the fact there is lack o resources within the east of Germany. 

This is further reinforced with choice of music which is quite ominous but in the supermarket it refers to his situation which recreates a new look for the west.

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

Bricolage is  juxtaposing of old and new texts, images, ideas and narratives to create new meanings and this is shown in the training montage of the Deutschland 83 when things are compared from the east and west giving a nostalgic representation to the audiences.

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 audience pleasures in Deutschland 83 is the fact that there are nostalgic representations which allow audiences to familiarise with these things and this links with postmodernism because everything in this show is a construction which forces audiences to consciously engage. Furthermore as the show depicts differences between the east and west through specific details to give us a cultural understanding and allow our own interpretations to be put forward.

7) Read the analysis of media concepts and postmodern approaches on page 3 of the fact sheet. Choose three of the concepts and write an example from Deutschland 83. Clue: genre, representation, ideology and audience would all be good options for this task.

Representation:

There are certain representations in Deutschland 83 like he differences between the east and west and how they are signified to the audiences. For example the change is music whilst presenting both sides and the fact that there is portrayal of more of a luxurious lifestyle in the west than the east is significant. This is because it alludes to the culture during this time perioud.

Genre:

There is a significant portrayal of  a spy thriller Genre because there are hints within the show that are given to audiences to make it look like a spy scene from inter textual reference to Bond film like the fast pace which makes us learn quite a lot in the these scenes. Also the fact they are shot through specific things like blinds and windows emphasis this spy theme even more and make it seem like the audience is also spying.

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

The fact that there is a whole construction of  the costume, Propps, make up and setting to make it look like the time perioud when this happend and makes it seem more realistic. Furthermore,the use of fast paced editing in the montage scene makes it seem like a spy thriller. 

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

 The scene where Martin is in the supermarket is a good example of postmodernism scene in Deutschland 83 is in scene 4 which establishes more edits and cuts through camera work as there is a exaggeration of continuity editing to speed it up.

This scene shows him looking through the files and breathing heavily whilst looking at these historical documents making it seem like this is based on a real scene.

Also another scene which portrays a good example of postmodernism is in the opening scene which is a good example of a contrast being presented between two social classes through the use of Karl Marx and Shakespeare links in with hat strinati claims how we make sense of reality through media texts.

Furthermore the fact that Ronald Reagan's speech is used is example of hyper reality as it tells audiences that this is a recreation of real events.

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

Audiences may enjoy this postmodern aspect of it because it gives them information about the cultural and historical context of the time and the bricolage and pastiche provides audiences with a nostalgic pleasure. 

The fact there is use of pop art within the German flag is significant as it allude to postmodernist ideals.