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.

"Deutschland 83’s first episode was the most-watched foreign-language drama in UK history. The main cast also created an irresistible export: a funky exercise in pop nostalgia underpinned by actual events."

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

The odd situation is that after decades of being seen as boring and ugly, Germany has found a way of making people abroad think it is cool and sexy – yet Germans don’t like it. I think I see why.

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 – in the way The Lives of Others did – 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?

"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." I liked the actor and thought he was good, not the best but certainty not the worst.

"What everyone seems to have missed is that Deutschland 83 is a satire - so its not a straight drama but a caricature of German politics in 1983! Wake up Guardian readers! Didn't you notice?" I don't know, I don't think its a exaggeration but even if it it it's a fictional story based on real events, that just makes it more interesting.

"I watched all of it which is pretty unusual for me. There were some dramatic moments and it was a trip down memory lane but it wasn't really Breaking Bad. The ending was cursory and unimaginative as if the writers couldn't work out how to resolve the conundrums they created.
I think the most appealing aspect was to see the Cold War from the other side, a perspective missing at the time." Haven't finished the series. 


Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

There was no east and west Germany. He is glad that he isn't growing up in a country thats run like east Germany was as he values his freedom an mobility. 

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!)

It enables people to comprehend that this is a foreign television programme produced in Germany with German actors and depicts their social, cultural, and historical surroundings, it fulfils its purpose of inspiring change and advocating for diversity.

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

It gives us the British audience an insight from an actual citizen of Germany to tells us his experience and not some professional politician or a person like that.