Deutschland 83: case study blog tasks

 Deutschland 83: case study blog tasks


Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Deutschland 83. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question. Remember, for this CSP the question could be on any of the key concepts: language, industries, audiences or representations.

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.

Stylish, engaging, and engrossing. It's not only a different kind of spy tale, but it's something a little different for Sundance TV, too, whose dramas can sometimes be overwhelmingly dark... In comparison, Deutschland 83 is fast-paced and even peppy.
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in an old-fashioned and inappropriate manner: To him, the numerous posters in cities around Germany felt overdone and outdated.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?

'Deutschland 83 was meh. I watched it on Amazon because The Americans does not come on again until March and I needed a fix of 80s Cold War spying skulduggery. Some excellent supporting actors, but the main actor was a bit blank IMHO and not quite up to carrying the weight of the show.'

Some of the audience enjoyed it and some felt weird about it as the story still seems to be a mystery.

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

He suggested that when he was younger he only was taught about cold war/WW2 as it only happened a few years back.

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!)

That people from different parts of the world could still watch a German movie.

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

To see if Germanys political views have changed.

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
  • Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender
-camera 360, spy where they feel like they are being watched
-there was romance between the two characters
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
  • Audio codes – particularly music
  • Representation of East & West Germany / Communism & Capitalism / Historical accuracy
  • Audience pleasures
-The lighting is warm.
-Gender rep when Anette is mentioned, mocking stereotypes
-Zoom in on clothes, iconic puma red shirt
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
  • Audio codes
  • Audience pleasures
  • Intertextuality
Fast paces editing (montage), graphics on screen, jump cuts, camera shots through objects for surveillance effect
Non diegetic sounds from the 80s
Nostalgia for older German audiences/ personal relationships 
Feels like a bond movie (gadgets and spies)
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
  • Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound
  • Audience pleasures
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).
Shot through blinds (CCTV, surveillance)
Loud heavy breathing sound - non diegetic - it builds up when he almost gets caught 
folly sound
Tension, Personal relationship- we want to see Martin succeed 

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? 

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

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


Walter Presents

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

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

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

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


Marketing and promotion

Trailer



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

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

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


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?

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



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?

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?


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?

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

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

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