Deutschland 83: Close Textual Analysis
Scene 1: Garden/BBQ scenes (East & West Germany)
4.58 – 8.20 and 34.00 – 37.20
People together in communism and have a somewhat decent living standard.
Male dominance is a predominant factor in both sides of Germany. In the West the father wants the daughter to study classical music instead of soul. And in the East all the female characters are only placed to have a relation with a man. They aren't large characters that are autonomous. Martin/Moriz's girlfriend is only seen in the first episode to be a PE teacher and nothing else, no further information is given about her.
Camerawork in the West is interesting. When Moritz is speaking with Edel and the generals daughter the camera goes around all the characters multiple times. It gives the feeling that they are being watched, which links to Moritz's role of being a spy. It also gives the connotation that everyone is the enemy.
Scene 2: Martin/Moritz first sees the West German supermarket
14.30 – 20.25
In the house the wooden staircase and furniture created a huge contrast to the standard of living with the houses in the East where they were just decent enough to get by. When Moritz stands in awe with the amount of produce in front of him also creates the sense that it is the first time he has seen this amount of colour in food. The shelves are also fully stacked which further connote that they have so little in the West - coffee was a luxury commodity in the East. The red puma shirt and the different coloured cars and clothes as he runs to the supermarket are all vibrant. It really shows how dull and bland things in East Germany compared to its counterpart.
The technology in the background of the house if very 80s. The record player, clothing, smoking and the headphones create nostalgia, which is an audience pleasure.
One of the main differences between the East and the West in this scene is the dialogue between Tobias and Moritz. Tobias says that in Capitalism, 'people are controlled to become fat and lazy', which is evident in the chase scene where two police patrol officers can see Moritz running but don't do anything and are seen eating ice-cream. It presents a more laid back culture with Capitalism in this show. Earlier on in the show Martin says that Communism is 'freedom from greed', and Tobias says that Capitalism is, 'freedom to be left alone', which are two contrasts as in the West the people can buy what they want at a cheaper price but in the East the students went on the black market to buy school books.
Another audience pleasure in this scene is that the audience are learning as the show goes on. The historical context is somewhat accurate as it is based on real events, which is backed up when Tobias says to Moritz in the supermarket, "We're this close to WW3", which is true. But also Tobias says to him on the bench that he crossed to the West from the West in 1961, a year before the wall went up, which does create nostalgia to those who remember it so it is an audience pleasure.
The music when he starts running shows the shift in the pace in editing where there were a lot more cuts e.g. the shoes of both people as they run down the stairs. The music also shifts when he enters the supermarket and Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams starts to play. It creates a sense of nostalgia back to the 80's which is an audience pleasure.
Scene 3: Training montage scene when Martin/Moritz learns how to be a spy
20.40 – 22.40
The whole several weeks were shown in a montage of 2 minutes. The shots were also through tings like a window or a tree. It's if like we are spying on them like they are in the show. It also represents the level of surveillance in East Germany where they knew everything about their civilians. The cinematography reflects the surveillance culture of East Germany. The montage creates intertextuality with James Bond and other typical spy thrillers. Typical conventions are a voice over, shot of the gadgets, training sequence etc. The use of jump cuts is extensive in this montage giving the sequence some excitement and a quick pace.
The MP3 player that the female spy has creates nostalgia as it is something the older audience would remember. The side by side comparison of the brands featured an old Pepsi bottle, those who remember the old logo of Pepsi in the 80s gain some audience pleasure of nostalgia. The clothing that she is wearing as well is also 80s. The camera shots in the whole montage are nearly all close-ups.
The Pepsi bottle in the side by side comparison sometimes had nothing on the East representation, meaning that there are some things that you can get in the West that you can't get in the East.
The character theory of Lieutenant Kraumer is that he is the donor/helper, who is ready to aid the protagonist when a problem arrives.
4.58 – 8.20 and 34.00 – 37.20
Representation of East: Lot of background noise inside and outside the house. They enjoy themselves more than in the West. Its a very welcoming atmosphere with the sense of togetherness. Stereotype that the working class know how to have a good time when they have a little. The popular culture on music in the 80s creates nostalgia. Also represents how alien everything is to him in the West when he doesn't recognise any of the music. Commodities like Coffee are a luxury in the East which further gives historical context that the people in the East didn't have much.
Representation of West: Lots of food on a large table in the garden. Quite rich, but everyone isn't together, they are in their own circles in a small group. The party is a lot quieter but this could be because this is a formal gathering and not a birthday party like in the East.
Division in capitalism but with a really good standard of living.
People together in communism and have a somewhat decent living standard.
Male dominance is a predominant factor in both sides of Germany. In the West the father wants the daughter to study classical music instead of soul. And in the East all the female characters are only placed to have a relation with a man. They aren't large characters that are autonomous. Martin/Moriz's girlfriend is only seen in the first episode to be a PE teacher and nothing else, no further information is given about her.
Camerawork in the West is interesting. When Moritz is speaking with Edel and the generals daughter the camera goes around all the characters multiple times. It gives the feeling that they are being watched, which links to Moritz's role of being a spy. It also gives the connotation that everyone is the enemy.
Scene 2: Martin/Moritz first sees the West German supermarket
14.30 – 20.25
In the house the wooden staircase and furniture created a huge contrast to the standard of living with the houses in the East where they were just decent enough to get by. When Moritz stands in awe with the amount of produce in front of him also creates the sense that it is the first time he has seen this amount of colour in food. The shelves are also fully stacked which further connote that they have so little in the West - coffee was a luxury commodity in the East. The red puma shirt and the different coloured cars and clothes as he runs to the supermarket are all vibrant. It really shows how dull and bland things in East Germany compared to its counterpart.
The technology in the background of the house if very 80s. The record player, clothing, smoking and the headphones create nostalgia, which is an audience pleasure.
One of the main differences between the East and the West in this scene is the dialogue between Tobias and Moritz. Tobias says that in Capitalism, 'people are controlled to become fat and lazy', which is evident in the chase scene where two police patrol officers can see Moritz running but don't do anything and are seen eating ice-cream. It presents a more laid back culture with Capitalism in this show. Earlier on in the show Martin says that Communism is 'freedom from greed', and Tobias says that Capitalism is, 'freedom to be left alone', which are two contrasts as in the West the people can buy what they want at a cheaper price but in the East the students went on the black market to buy school books.
Another audience pleasure in this scene is that the audience are learning as the show goes on. The historical context is somewhat accurate as it is based on real events, which is backed up when Tobias says to Moritz in the supermarket, "We're this close to WW3", which is true. But also Tobias says to him on the bench that he crossed to the West from the West in 1961, a year before the wall went up, which does create nostalgia to those who remember it so it is an audience pleasure.
The music when he starts running shows the shift in the pace in editing where there were a lot more cuts e.g. the shoes of both people as they run down the stairs. The music also shifts when he enters the supermarket and Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams starts to play. It creates a sense of nostalgia back to the 80's which is an audience pleasure.
Scene 3: Training montage scene when Martin/Moritz learns how to be a spy
20.40 – 22.40
The whole several weeks were shown in a montage of 2 minutes. The shots were also through tings like a window or a tree. It's if like we are spying on them like they are in the show. It also represents the level of surveillance in East Germany where they knew everything about their civilians. The cinematography reflects the surveillance culture of East Germany. The montage creates intertextuality with James Bond and other typical spy thrillers. Typical conventions are a voice over, shot of the gadgets, training sequence etc. The use of jump cuts is extensive in this montage giving the sequence some excitement and a quick pace.
The MP3 player that the female spy has creates nostalgia as it is something the older audience would remember. The side by side comparison of the brands featured an old Pepsi bottle, those who remember the old logo of Pepsi in the 80s gain some audience pleasure of nostalgia. The clothing that she is wearing as well is also 80s. The camera shots in the whole montage are nearly all close-ups.
The Pepsi bottle in the side by side comparison sometimes had nothing on the East representation, meaning that there are some things that you can get in the West that you can't get in the East.
The character theory of Lieutenant Kraumer is that he is the donor/helper, who is ready to aid the protagonist when a problem arrives.
Scene 4: Briefcase scene when Martin/Moritz is stealing the NATO nuclear plans
31.13 – 33.30
The surveillance culture continues on from the last scene where the first shot is through a windows and blinds. The consistent camerawork creates the paranoia of always being watched. There is a shot that mimics a CCTV camera when Moritz goes through the files. This does create some intertextuality as its like a typical James Bond film. The protagonist has to recover some files or a weapon to help him solve the case and.
The audio in this scene matches with the action. When Moritz hears the General coming to the room, he begins to hurry and the music beat begins to pick up as he flicks through the files, the editing pace also quickens. A high pitched sound continuous as he looks top to bottom of the pages. The pitch matches with the action in the scene. When he puts the keys back the music stops, its a signal to the audience that the tension is over. The sound in this scene is entirely diegetic apart from the background music. But the sounds in the scene are exaggerated when we get close-ups like when he picks the lock. We hear the lock being picked quite loudly, almost as high of an amplitude like his breathing.
His breathing as he goes through the files is shallow, fast but is also exaggerated. We see many close-ups of his face showing the tension, pressure and the sweat on his face. The audience are subject to visceral pleasure, there is a physical reaction to the action codes in the scene e.g. our breathing becomes shallow like Moritz when his does.This does create an emotional connection to the audience as they don't want him to get caught and their heart starts racing in the scene along with him. As he sees the files, he sees his hometown is a target on the map of an attack.
The sense of nostalgia is also created when we see Ronald Reagan's signature, and the link to America gets stronger when we see signs of the CIA, NATO, and the text 'Highly Confidential'. The historical authenticity and accuracy create a learning aspect to the audience as we watch the show. It gives the audience pleasure because they are learning.
31.13 – 33.30
The surveillance culture continues on from the last scene where the first shot is through a windows and blinds. The consistent camerawork creates the paranoia of always being watched. There is a shot that mimics a CCTV camera when Moritz goes through the files. This does create some intertextuality as its like a typical James Bond film. The protagonist has to recover some files or a weapon to help him solve the case and.
The audio in this scene matches with the action. When Moritz hears the General coming to the room, he begins to hurry and the music beat begins to pick up as he flicks through the files, the editing pace also quickens. A high pitched sound continuous as he looks top to bottom of the pages. The pitch matches with the action in the scene. When he puts the keys back the music stops, its a signal to the audience that the tension is over. The sound in this scene is entirely diegetic apart from the background music. But the sounds in the scene are exaggerated when we get close-ups like when he picks the lock. We hear the lock being picked quite loudly, almost as high of an amplitude like his breathing.
His breathing as he goes through the files is shallow, fast but is also exaggerated. We see many close-ups of his face showing the tension, pressure and the sweat on his face. The audience are subject to visceral pleasure, there is a physical reaction to the action codes in the scene e.g. our breathing becomes shallow like Moritz when his does.This does create an emotional connection to the audience as they don't want him to get caught and their heart starts racing in the scene along with him. As he sees the files, he sees his hometown is a target on the map of an attack.
The sense of nostalgia is also created when we see Ronald Reagan's signature, and the link to America gets stronger when we see signs of the CIA, NATO, and the text 'Highly Confidential'. The historical authenticity and accuracy create a learning aspect to the audience as we watch the show. It gives the audience pleasure because they are learning.
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