D83 & Postmodernism

 Media Magazine - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past

Media Magazine 73 has a feature exploring Deutschland 83 as a postmodern media product. Read ‘Deutschland 83 - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past’ in MM73  (p18). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What were the classic media representations of the Cold War?

Good vs Evil (binary opposition- Levi Strauss) 

Poor vs rich 

2) Why does Deutschland 83 provide a particularly good example for postmodern analysis? 

Because it creates a relationship between the past and the present. This is shown with the bricologe of texts as well as references with others (pastiche).

3) Pick out some of the aspects of the opening of episode 1 and explain why they are significant.

At 00:00- 05:05 there was aspects of

• Hyper reality 

Showing Ronald Reagen (The real person) and actual quotes he said

Presenting Strinati's ideas of "media-isation" of reality 

Historical deafness- surface layer history with the few historical references.

4) How does the party scene at Martin's mum's house subvert stereotypes of East Germany in the Cold War?

They don't seem like they are struggling but are happy as a community together.

5) What aspects of the episode set in West Germany offer postmodern elements?

The high class and rich houses and items in west Germany represents the emphasis of style over substance (Dominic Strinati)

6) Finally, how does the article apply postmodern theory to Deutschland 83 and link it to the potential target audience?

Postmodern theorist Baudrillard reveal that there is no fixed, absolute truth; and Deutschland 83 certainly challenges our preconceptions of this period of history. This links to how the potential audience can be mixed from people who feel nostalgic when watching and people who want to explore more of history through a modern point of view. 

Postmodernism Factsheet

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #54: Introduction to Postmodernism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

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

• Advertising can make or break a company
• The X factor

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 when the audience believes the recreation is an accurate depiction of the actual event and go on with their lives believing that THAT is how it went and what happened not knowing that it was altered in some way. This could be applied to D83 as it is a fictional telling of a time period for entertainment purposes but has some reflection of the cold war itself; audiences may take it as an accurate depiction and believe they know about the cold war purely from this show.

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

• People are strongly influenced by branding when buying products
• The modern rise of celebrities launched through reality television

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?

• Andy Warhol paintings
• pop music often sample classical music
• advertising often makes reference to visual art

The supermarket scene referencing Andy Warhol's can paintings

The supermarket scene music playing

5) 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. 

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.

Meta-narratives are broad ideas that explain the world and how it should be, covering topics like religion and political theories. In Deutschland 83 (surveillance) educates audiences about the Cold War in East and West Germany. Postmodernism helps analyze both of texts and the relationship between audiences and the media they consume.

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

Deutschland 83 is based on real life events where some audience may feel nostalgic and relate to those times. It is a series and story that implements postmodernism with deliberate chosen emotions to fictional characters and hyper-reality therefore creating a new meaning for different audiences.

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

The supermarket scene where it displays the stacked shelves and the modern music showing pop culture.