Deutschland 83: case study

 



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.

It was riddled with very silly inaccuracies, which were required for the plot to work; and it was on at the same time as the Voice

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

 Focusing the story around Martin Rauch, a young East German border guard going undercover in the west, it doesn’t just make the viewer empathise with a Stasi agent on a human level – in the way The Lives of Others did – it makes us engage with the socialist regime’s worldview 

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 great, and I also hoped it was a sign of things to come on German TV. "See; Germany can do it". "Only then to find out that it was an American writer....'  

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

He was born in 1990 there was no conflict between the east and 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!)

Since he will have a more to talk about as he acted in its ,it also lets the audience acknowledge the history of germany.


Textual analysis: Audience pleasures and representations


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
They created a natural feeling towards the audience as they had hand held shots.

  • Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender
The west is more privileged than the east side as they have party's and huge houses. 


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  
  • They had 80s music playing in the background in the market.
  • Representation of East & West Germany / Communism & Capitalism / Historical accuracy
  • Audience pleasures The conflict between east and west.
  • Postmodernism

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 sequence editing to create suspense.
  • Audio codes
  • diegetic and non-diegetic sound 
  • background music used for suspence was non-digetic and the people speaking was digetic.

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 –  when he is stealing their was non digetic and digetic sound which was the suspenseful music which martin didn't hear and the heavy breathing he could.
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? 

UFA Fiction is 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. 

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

Freemantle produces and distributes culture defined entertainment, drama film and documentaries. They have one of the most successful formats their series/films are watches in 180 countries all around the world.

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

It reflects the international nature of television production as the show was produced in Germany, by an American but became a hit in the UK. 

Walter Presents

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

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

Channel 4 introduces it as a mystery and crime drama.

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

Young adults and older teenagers.

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

That violent and crime are increasing rapidly.

Marketing and promotion

Trailer



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

Feeling empathy for Martin as he had to leave his family and his girlfriend. 

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

Action code when the audience feel a deeper connection when their is tension and suspense to make the excited.

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

If it was not in English and in German instead many audiences such as British audience wouldn't 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?

Historical context and real life events created a successful drama because most of the drama was based on real, life events that have happened that anna has researched about and used to create a historical drama with spy mixed in it.

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

It was just an incredible year of pop culture and the songs really travelled. This means that it was important from the beginning of the drama to use music to show audiences what they can recognised.

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?


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?

That it was an incredible movie which portrayed the German history. 

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 romance as the grafti at the back describes it, and the dull colour represented mystery  and the conflict between romance and the war. 

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

the bright colour contrast with martins outfit and its the opposite of how he is feeling.

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

Different target audience.

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