Deutschland 83: case study blog task

 Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Deutschland 83. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question. Remember, for this CSP the question could be on any of the key concepts: language, industries, audiences or representations.

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.

Yet by the time the last episode was shown in Germany last December, 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.

In a strategy successfully employed by This Is England, the Wingers are developing a sequel set in 86, followed by a conclusive series in 89, when the Wall came down.

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

The second Guardian article suggests the Germans didn’t like the show because they said that it makes the audiences to engage with socialist regime’s worldview, where a military exercise in West Germany poses a potential threat. It also backtracks into stereotypes that Stasi officers are cruel ideologues who blackmail families and fake reports for political ends.

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?

“Loved it, and was amazed to find out how much was historically accurate.“

“Entertaining enough, with a nice touch of dark humour, but a bit silly and incoherent in terms of the plot.”

“The headline comment about "pity the Germans don't really like it" is a bit odd, given that it launched with 7 million viewers in Germany (as I understood).“

I agreed that the history was due to it showing how the East and West Germans not being in terms and how they reinforced the idea of the Cold War as well as the idea that the West seems to be much more in advantage as shown in the first episode, where Martin goes inside a supermarket store. Also, Deutschland was entertaining due to its dark humour and how there’s spy actions happening. Furthermore, Germans might night have liked the idea of this due to it being sensitive for them while some might have liked it as its featuring what was happening to their country at that time.

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

Jonas Nay said that he had limited knowledge of the Cold War and lack of experience but he said that he thinks there’s no East or West Germany and that he can say whatever he wants.

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!)

This shows how the PSB is targeting more on the mainstream audience rather than a niche audience that just focuses on German audience. This is reinforce with the idea of English sub titles allowing international audiences to understand the narrative and context.

3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the a Channel 4 audience?
Because it highlights the cultural connection, allowing audiences to get a more in depth information and understand about the history as well as German related content.

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
• Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender

Technical codes:

• 360 degree camera around Martin and Edel
• Contrast in East - camera work follow Martin (accompanying) rather than threatening him
• Contrast with mise-en-scene - luxury in the West and simpler in the East

Audio codes:

• Diegetic sound in the party in the East - conversation/chatter and music
• Non-diegetic music used in the West BBQ scene - ominous and threatening.
• Dialogue - conversations between family and guests in West BBQ are uncomfortable/forced. Suggests family is dysfunctional

Representations:

• Western family (Edel family) is shown to be dysfunctional and unhappy.
• Strong contrast in the East German party scene with close family, friends enjoying themselves, relaxed atmosphere.

Audience pleasures:

• Personal identity - family and relationships. Potentially audiences will identify with the differences in social class. 

• West BBQ scene has undercurrent of tension we expect from spy thriller genre

• Surveillance - we learn about the scarcity of western brands in the East

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

• Mise-en-scene - use of colour and costume. Iconic Puma logo red T-shirt as a colourful contrast to the dull East. 

• Supermarket shelves full of colour and stacked high. Almost an example of postmodern art and designed to emphasise the difference between East and West

Audio codes – particularly music

• Music - Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These. Diegetic sound but full of meaning to convey Martin’s first experience of the West. 

• Dialogue on bench - emphasises the positives about the East and the dangers of the West. BUT this scene overall seems to present the West and capitalism in a more positive light.

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

• Shot of two policemen eating ice creams is symbolic of the difference between East and West. 

• Several shots emphasise representation of East and West - close-up of chandelier, wide shot of luxurious bedroom etc.

Audience pleasures

• Historical reality - Blumler & Katz U&G theory - surveillance. Danger of WW3, reference to Pershing II missiles.
• Music - 1980s references - nostalgia.

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-paced editing including jump cuts, typical of montage sequence. 

• Split screen / editing / graphics used to emphasise difference between East and West

Audio codes

• Music and SFX: Non-diegetic sound adds pace to the sequence.

• Dialogue/voiceover - covers a lot of narrative. 

Audience pleasures

• East v West - split screen emphasises the brands that are available in the West but not in the East. Also for fruit empty space showed what wasn’t available in the East.

• Representation of women - female assassin feels like a stereotype? 

Intertextuality

• Intertextuality - similar to a Bond sequence (particularly with the gadgets)

• German audience - nostalgia in terms of products and brands. 

• Genre pleasures - spy/thriller. 

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

• Close-ups of Martin while picking lock and photographing the documents.

• Shot from behind the blinds continues recurring motif of shots through windows or from behind objects. Creates voyeuristic pleasure and also fits the genre of spy thriller.

Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound

• Non-diegetic sound - music helps convey the tension of the scene and satisfy genre expectations of spy thriller.

• Diegetic sound - deliberately increased volume of Martin’s breathing, lock picking, turning pages in briefcase. Creates intensity, tension.

Audience pleasures

• Action and enigma codes - audience think Martin will be caught at any moment.

• Visceral pleasure - scene is tense for audience to watch, adrenaline.

• Voyeuristic pleasure - seeing a scene or activity we wouldn’t normally have a chance to see.

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 leading German production company, specialising in high-end dramas, TV movies, series, and feature films. The shows that they have produced are Maxton Hall - The World Between Us, Ku’damm, Deutschland, and Charité.

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

Freemantle is a leading British-based multinational television production and distribution company. They have produced vast portfolio of internationally recognised shows across entertainment, drama and documentary genres. Some examples are Got talent, The X factor, Deutschland and the Elon Musk show.

3) How does Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production?
Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production as it has a creative way of attracting international audience such as co-production and global distribution. Produced by Germany’s UFA Fiction and US-based AMC Networks/Sundance TV. The crew also had international casts target to international audience. There was also a mic of German, English language music.

Walter Presents

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

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

Channel 4 introduces ‘Walter’ as a streaming service that is pure of entertainment and a full of different genre pleasures, such as thriller and romance. Channel 4 also introduces them as a streaming service that’s full of different shows and films.

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

The audiences that Channel 4 are trying to appeal to with ‘Walter Presents’ could be audiences who are interested in thriller, mystery genres or audiences who prefer entertainment that would really act as a escapism for them. (Based on psychographics)

3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?
‘Walter Presents’ series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age by acting as a free streaming service. It also shifts from traditional to international niche that seems to only produce specific genres such as thriller.

Marketing and promotion

Trailer



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

Surveillance - shows the difference between the East and the West and how they used to be in conflict with each other, going back to the history of the Cold War.

Diversion - it shows how there's entertainment and escapism due to it having genre pleasure such as spy-thriller genre. It also shows how there's a range of enigma codes as well as action in the trailer which again reinforces entertainment.

Personal Relationship - audiences might feel nervous or scared for Martin as in most of the scenes he’s running away from someone and the scene when he was trying to unlock the door in the office was shown too.

Personal Identity - audiences might see themselves or identify themselves as Martin, having the same problems such as him being in a situation that he didn’t like at first and from the trailer it kind of shows his worries or maybe running away from his problems. 

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

They used action and enigma codes by showing some bits of him in action doing his “spy” activity as well as cutting scenes that may be too interesting. There were also some action scenes were there was an explosion behind him or where he ran.

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

The UK trailer may have only used English for the trailer to kind of reinforce that they are in a diverse country, and that most people in the UK uses English as main language which allows audiences to understand what was going on, and could maybe represent Bitain.


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 historical context and real-life events to create a successful drama by being influenced by her husband as a signaller in the West and how his husband was in military service where during that time there was a mole but the identity was never identified and she used that mole’s perspective to create a drama.

2) Anna Winger discusses the use of music. Why might the soundtrack attract an audience?
The soundtrack might attract an audience as in the 1980’s music videos were starting to become popular as well as pop music. The soundtracks the she used was still popular and still in radios at all times, therefore, it could attract audiences and could lead to nostalgia. 


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?

Key statistics concerning audience figure are that it was launched  with 1.49 million audiences while the first episode has 2.5 million viewers, overtaking the launch of The Returned which has 2.2 million on Channel 4. 

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?
The press release describes Deutschland 83 as the “coolest show of the year”, “new subtitle obsession” and “has an irresistible vintage soundtrack”

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 UK DVD cover communicate the sub-genre of the drama which is a spy thriller due to the tagline on the Berlin Wall “over the wall, under cover” this shows how he went to the West as a spy to get information and how he has to stay “under cover”. Furthermore, it links to the idea of thriller due to the background around Martin, where there’s nuclear missiles around him, showing some tension or suspense as it leads to the Cold War. The DVD also states at the bottom “A Gripping Cold War Thriller” which already reinforces the thriller part of the sub-genre.

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

The use of sans serif font connotes the idea of it being a war due to it not showing much elegance. The font also shows that it’s in capital letters which kind of connotes power and dominance due to it being in enlarged sizes. This also links to the idea that there might be a conflict of hierarchy between two sides. These could appeal to audiences as it seems to give audiences a sense of escapism or interest due to it being obvious as a spy thriller genre.

Furthermore, the use of colours seems to show how there’s more colour on the West side, connoting luxury and less colour on the East where they’re more on the simpler side. This might appeal to audiences as it could seem interesting to see further detail as to how it is in both sides as well as the differences. The colour scheme from the Sundance TV shows pink and blue which are both in bright colours which might suggest that these colours are in conflict as it usually shows red and blue as rivals, where they’re might have gotten that idea from. This colour scheme might appeal to audiences as to which side they are in favour of more.

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

The distributors Freemantle International have used different marketing campaigns in different countries to  attract international audience as it shows how there are different cultures combined in the production itself.