Deutschland 83: Case study

 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.

Negative:  it had shed half its starting audience, with only 1.72m viewers. Not quite “the flop of the year”, as Bild called it, but underwhelming nonetheless.

Positive: It's a perfect moment in a near-perfect series.

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

By 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 , instead it makes us engage with the socialist regime’s worldview, in which a military exercise in West Germany poses a potentially existential threat.

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?

• "It's a perfect moment in a near-perfect series.": When talking about the protagonist in the supermarket. I agree it was a significant moment as it highlights the difference in life style the west and the east have with each other and shows how he is not used to or able to recognise the atmosphere compared to when he lives int he east.
•  "Not quite “the flop of the year”, as Bild called it, but underwhelming nonetheless.": The German audience wasn't very impressed with the film, i can understand why because majority or many of them may have experienced or have family member that experienced the cold war and because it is a drama, the representation may have not been as accurate and instead seen as insensitive.
• "Stasi officers are cruel ideologues who blackmail family members and fake reports for political ends. ": Stereotypes were reinforced, in my opinion, it was reinforced for entertainment purposes and/or to reflect real life. The media only promotes and reflects dominant ideologies and stereotypes which means that the belief that Stasi officers act like that is quite globalised and less of the producers fault they represented them that way and more just how people represent them in general.

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

He mentions that in school they mentioned the cold war but didn't focus on it as to the parents and teachers it was their youth rather than history, despite it being history for the students. Jonas Nay also mentions that it doesn't feel like they're divided and are just one country; he doesn't think t here are nay "west and east Germans" anymore and he was born in 1990s.

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!)

Channel 4 doesn't show mainstream or considerable popular films or media products as it certainly does not follow the status quo. It being Broadcasted in German highlights the fact it is mainly for a German target audience but the English subtitles makes it accessible for a few more people, including the many British viewers that view Channel 4. So clearly the audience of Channel 4 is Europe.

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

So they have insight on how much Germany has improved and evolved since the cold war. It gives the audience knowledge on if there are any 'left overs' or habits that still occur showing that the cold war happened in the 1st place but Jonas Nay expresses that it doesn't feel like West and East and rather just one country.

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

4.58-8.20: 

1. Martin in army uniform,
2. POV shot of aunt watching Martin through the kitchen, 
3. OTS of Martin walking walking (indetification),
4. Hand held shot (realism)

34.00-37.20: 

1. Tracking shot of Martin, 
2. 360 camera work on Martin, 
3. West is more modern and wealthy.
   

• Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender

4.58-8.20: 

1. Black market coffee, 
2. old creaky house, 
3. sense of community, 
4. idealised representation, 
5. medicine for kidney transplant only available in west (Poor).

34.00-37.20: 

1. Class hierarchy,
2.  less community/ family,
3.  Modern, wealthy and sophisticated,
4.  Ethnic diversity.

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

1. Forward and Backwards tracking shots, 
2. OTS (identification),
3. Intertextuality (Andy Worhol soup cans- pop art)

• Audio codes – particularly music

1. Sweet dreams diegetic music. 
2. Tense, fast paced running scene (creates tension)

• Representation of East & West Germany / Communism & Capitalism / Historical accuracy

1. Woman was initiating the demands (Subvert), 
2. Man exerting dominance to stop Martin from running (Reinforce),
3.  Good food in the West, 
4. West is bright with many colours unlike the East, Wolworth?

• Audience pleasures

1. Fashion and music pop culture,
2. Personal identity, 80's nostalgia, 
3. Neale (genre theorist- spy genre)

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

1. Montage (fast paced) , 
2. Split screen (divide in East and West) 

• Audio codes

1. Fast & loud music, 
2. voice over giving instructions (Martins POV)

• Audience pleasures

1. Diversion, 
2. music (Generates nostalgia)

• Intertextuality

1. James Bond

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

1. Shot reverse shot, 
2. close ups- reaction (worried), 
3. Long shot (vulnerable), 
4. Shot from behind blinds (voyeurism) 

• Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound

1. Very fast paced (Tension), 
2. Non-diegetic sound (spy convention, tension building), 
3. Diegetic heavy breathing.

• Audience pleasures

1. Spy genre (conventions),
2. Voyeuristic pleasures (Spy POV), 
3. genre pleasures (Not waning Martin to get caught- indentifying with him)

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? 

They do fiction films and television products such as, The cabinet or Dr Caligari, Dr Mabuse, Metropolis, The Blue Angel.

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

It is a British Multinational television production and distribution company. It has produced products such as: 

• Celebrity Bear Hunt.
• Katy Perry: Night of a Lifetime.
• Charlie Cooper's Myth Country.
• The Apprentice.
• Charlie Cooper's Myth Country: Winter Solstice.
• Britain's Got Talent.
• Swiped: The School that Banned Smartphones.
• The Rap Game UK.

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

Deutschland 83 reflects the international nature of television production, being produced by a company with global subsidiaries and the inclusion of americanisation and postmodern ideologies to appeal to global audiences, capturing its international nature and appeal.

Walter Presents

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

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

They introduce "Walter" in a cinematic sense, opening the clip with a fade in and running through clips of different drama's with a montage. Allowing each drama to get recognition and be represented like the "best" with enigma codes as well as not revealing enough that the enigma codes are answered, making potential audiences intrigued.

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

Probably a younger audience as the majority of the characters were quite young and on adventures. They could also be trying to attract audiences that enjoy drama's and thrillers the most with the murder and death scenes that were exposed in the clip.

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

The representation of men and women are less on stereotypes and old traditional expectations and more in line with the story line/ narrative and concept of the fiction being created. This shows that the digital age has evolved into wanting entertainment rather than their ego's filled which shows development.


Marketing and promotion

Trailer



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

• Diversion (Entertainment): Voyeurism (kissing & spy scenes), action and fighting scenes, fake story line in an opposite perspective based on something real.
• Surveillance (Information): Based on a real life historical even that people really experienced so it gives insight on what it was like.
• Personal Identity: Audiences that really experienced the cold war or had parents who experienced it may feel inclined or personally connected to the drama.

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

He uses enigma and action codes  like, Martin running at full speed in a hall way; raises questions like what is he running from? Who is he running from? Where is he running from? As well as a fast paced and short clip of him getting beat up by a woman also being held at gun point by another (or the same), also raises many questions. Narrative codes like these encourages the audience as it implies that there are many mysteries, double crossing, action and intense emotion grabbing scenes which emotionally grabs audiences into watching the drama (emotional appeal persuasive technique).

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

English is an universal language which is spoken by many people across many different countries compared to German. Having the trailer in English shows that the target audience isn't limited to one nation but instead internationally, thus enabling a larger audience. 


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?

She used the personal experiences of her husband when he was working for the West and listening to the East and decied to make a drama based on that but from the East POV. Because of the realism and truth behind the origin of the Drama series a successful spy drama came out of it.

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

Music was key to the story from the beginning. It was just an incredible year of pop culture and the songs really travelled, additionally, it could be because music videos started around that time as well, so there was a visual component for the very first time. Because of this, audiences may be attracted because it creates a visual that wasn't experienced in those times, clearer.

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?

After launching with 1.49 million viewers, the first episode has now consolidated with 2.5

million viewers, overtaking the launch of The Returned, which previously held the record with 2.2 million.

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?

1. Coolest show of the year
2. The next subtitled sensation
3. Saga could be your new subtitled obssession
4. evocative and gripping

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?

•  'Over the wall - under cover/under the gun' communicating the spy sub genre
• Having Martin as the centred image on the DVD cover with a walkman hints to the coming of age aspect of the drama, as well as the historical context of the costume drama.
• The typography "Under Cover" is a clear indicator there is spy conventions within the series.

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

• Font & Colour: attention grabbing and appeals to what many in western culture associate with the 80s. -Gives 80's nostalgia.
• Graphics: More 80's nostalgia with the graphiti showing the life style and habits that occurred during those times and draws in the audience.

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

Countries have distinct values and cultural pride. The UK highlights its history and culture, while the US focuses on Hollywood and entertainment. Campaigns must be tailored to stand out in each market, emphasizing aspects that resonate with local interests.