Deutschland 83 case study

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.

Positive-- "It’s a perfect moment in a near-perfect series."

Criticism-- "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."

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 – 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?

• As an East German I enjoyed it, however, the English translation was atrocious and left out important clues, like in the last episode when they gave away that Martin was the son of Schweppenstette and Ingrid, that was completely lost in translation. They translated "our boy" simply as "Martin". There was another incident which I don't remember now. All in all, it made me feel strangely nostalgic!
  
• '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
• Cool theme tune, lovely sets … otherwise it's a risible attempt at historical drama marked by woeful acting and hilariously implausible plots. Ducking out after five episodes. A triumph of marketing over substance, blatantly.
  

Promotional interview

Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay



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

He claims that there was no such thing as east or west or Germany in 1990, and that the only reason he learnt about the cold war was because, although it may have been history to him, his parents and teachers saw it as a reality. In school he learnt about The Cold War however it is more focused towards World War 2.

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 reflects Channel 4's remit since it can reach a larger global audience, which helps international television programmes gain recognition and popularity.

3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the a Channel 4 audience?
It may intrigue Channel 4 audiences as to where Germany would go and at the same time interested in finding out how much their political views had evolved before and after the diversion.

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

Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene:

• costume- ordinary clothes, informal clothes
• shaky handheld camera movement- realistic- makes us feel as if we're in the scene
• family on the east side are more close 
• in the west- clothing is very formal- wearing army clothing
• 360 degree camera work- spins when characters are talking- creates tension

Representation of East & West Germany / Family / Gender:

• west is presented as more richer
• east is under supplied
• martin's mum needs kidney supply from the west 
• martin's mum received a coffee gift from the west- implying the west is supplied 
• west has plenty of food and have big houses but it's cold and unwelcoming

Scene 2: Martin/Moritz first sees the West German supermarket 

14.30 – 20.25

Technical codes – particularly mise-en-scene:

• medium shots to reveal the big house 
• close shots and medium shots of the supermarket-shows that the west has lots of food supplies
• costume- iconic puma t shirt- western brand

Audio codes – particularly music:

• non diegetic sound- tension- as soon as martin starts running out the house
• diegetic sound in the supermarket
• music changes to tense sound when martin is dragged to the room by tobias
• dialogue on the bench about East and West

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

• ironic- tobias says "no one pays attention, west has freedom"- but they're forcing martin to be a spy- no freedom for martin
• tobias- "you can't run away" links to no freedom
• "the luxury of being in the west"
• east polices are authoritative, and strict
• west polices were eating ice cream- opposite of the east
• "cold war is getting hotter. It's getting closer to WW3"- geuine historical reality

Audience pleasures:

• music- "sweet dreams are made of these"- 80s pop music- brings nostalgia to audience
• reality/history- danger of WW3, Cold War
• post modern elements as audience pleasures- fiction, reality

Scene 3: Training montage scene when Martin/Moritz learns how to be a spy

20.40 – 22.40

Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing:

• fast pace editing montage
• camer ahot through leaves and through objects- reinforces spy and surveillance
• jumpcut when brush passing
• props- gadgets
• spilt screen- showing logo on screens to emphasise difference between east and west

Audio codes:

• non diegtic fast paced music
• music- 80s style adds pace to the sequence
• dialogue used to fill a lot of gaps in narrative

Audience pleasures:

• personal relationships- martin is in danger, surrounded by west german troupes- krammer is a character that audience finds reassuring- he will help martin succeed
• nostolgia for german audience- brand logos

Scene 4: Briefcase scene when Martin/Moritz is stealing the NATO nuclear plans

31.13 – 33.30

Technical codes – particularly camerawork and editing:

• shot taken behind the window- reinforces spy
• fast pace when he opened the door- shows tension
• medium closeup of martins stressed face- him picking the lock
• close up shots of documents, signatures and images from the briefcase.

Audio codes – diegetic and non-diegetic sound:

• intense music
• exaggerated diegtic sound- martin gasping for breath
• non diegetic music adds to tension

Audience pleasures:

• personal relationship- audience wants martin to succeed and we want to sympathise for him
• surveillance- learning how east and west is different, facts about the cold war- we learn about real life events
• diversion dramatic, intense, entertaining

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 acts as a production unit under the UFA umbrella. UFA is part of the international media and entertainment company Fremantle, which operates the global production business of the RTL Group, which is part of Bertelsmann. Current UFA Fiction productions include the series SAM - A SAXON, GOOD FRIENDS - THE RISE OF FC BAYERN, HELGOLAND 513, MAXTON HALL - THE WORLD BETWEEN US and WHERE'S WANDA? or the movie THE LOVESKEMMERER.

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

Freemantle is a world leader in creating, producing and distributing across entertainment, drama, film and documentary content. They produce irresistible entertainment for every platform and channel.

3) How does Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production?
Because it was written by an American and produced in Germany, it illustrates the global nature of television production. It also demonstrates how a show or movie need not always appeal to its target audience in order to succeed globally.

Walter Presents

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

 

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

'Walter' is introduces as a 'handpicked selection of the best stories, the best characters and the best dramas from around the world.'

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

Given the number of shows featuring young protagonists and action scenes that appeal to younger audiences, some could assume that Channel 4 is attempting to appeal to a younger demographic. However, I would also argue that because Deutschland 83 is a period drama, it appeals to an older audience as well and creates nostalgia.

3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?
Channel 4 wants to raise recognition of the 'Walter Presents' series in order to draw more viewers to their on-demand service, which will boost revenue and streams as live television viewing declines and more people, particularly in younger generations, watch TV on on-demand platforms.

Marketing and promotion

Trailer



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

There could be aspects of surveillance, which are the real life events and information in the drama. The show gives us perspectives from both the east and the west on how different they were, drawing on real-life events like the Cold War. It also has features of diversion in it. For pure entertainment value, audiences can find this spy genre intriguing.

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

The usage of enigma codes in the teaser adds mystery and can entice viewers to watch the episode in order to learn why Martin migrated to the west and turned spy. Because of all the dramatic moments, including explosions, which could give viewers a sense of suspense and anxiety, action codes might be used.

3) The only words heard in the trailer are in English. Why do you think the UK trailer avoided subtitles or German dialogue?
Since many TV series that are featured on UK television are often in English, the UK trailer avoided German speech and subtitles in an attempt to appeal to a British audience. Even However, unless a TV programme becomes incredibly famous, foreign dramas are still mostly loved by specialist audiences. As a result, avoiding utilising German dialogue may make the show more appealing to British viewers.

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?

With the help of historical background and real-life events, Anna Winger's concept of telling the story from the perspective of the mole produced a successful drama. This succeeded in combining historical details with the spy fiction genre. She also discusses how people were accepting to a different perspective on Germany, which stayed with a large audience that loved football, which was likewise viewed as extremely significant in the past. When a young person is told about a divided Germany, it may seem like a science fiction story or an absurd fantasy setup. This just serves to highlight how successful the drama was in keeping things from being too packed with fiction and instead seeming more like a documentary with real-life events.

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

Anna Winger says music was key to the story from the beginning. It was just an incredible year of pop culture and the songs really travelled, maybe because music videos started around that time as well, so there was a visual component for the very first time. Fashion, hair styles and colour palette, suddenly became a part of the 1980’s music experience. The movie's soundtracks are an important part. They are the ones who create the mood. A film's soundtrack both captivates and influences the audience's mood.

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 (9th June 2013) on Channel 4 which previously held the record with 2.2 million. It was considered the most successful foerign language drama as it was Set against the real events, culture wars and political realities of Germany in the 1980s, Deutschland 83 is a stylish coming of age story, framed within a suspenseful thriller. 

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?

• “This is the next subtitled sensation……..unmissable TV.”-- TV Times

•  “Evocative and gripping.”-- The Daily Mail

• “A stylish curtain-raiser for Walter Presents.”-- The Times

• “Great fun, and powered by an irrestible 1983 vintage soundtrack.”-- The Daily Telegraph

• “This pacy saga could be your new subtitled obsession.”-- The Guardian

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 communicates the genres romance and thriller/spy/action. On the left side of Martin, it represents the political war side of Germany. The phrase "Over the wall" tells us that Martin went from the East of Germany to the West, as he passed the border and became a spy; this reflects the spy and action genre. The right side of him shows an aspect of romance (two people kissing), and more colour. This links to the first episode when Martin is on the East side, where his family is, and the West side has no colour, reflecting dullness and hopelessness. "Under cover" also represents Martin as a spy as no one else knows he's a secret agent from the other side of Germany. This poster is accurately presented as the right hand side is the East and the left hand side is the West (compass points).

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

The main title of the poster is written in bold font, coloured in yellow and outlined in black. Bold text is used to symbolise power and strength; we can refer to the power that the leaders have in the TV show. Yellow is normally associated with warmth and happiness, however it can be interpreted as a sign of caution or danger. In this context, we can link yellow to hope. In certain countries, yellow ribbons are worn by families whose loved ones are fighting in war, demonstrating another way that yellow is connected to hope. This links to the TV drama as even though Martin is an undercover spy, the audience hopes that he returns safe to the other side back to his family. In the American poster, the colours pink and blue are common. The colour pink symbolises love; we can link this to the patriotism of the soldiers. Viewers are drawn in by the vivid pop colours that contrast with the blue background and the character artwork in which the protagonist is shown in black and white. It draws the audience's attention to the background by emphasising it.

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

The campaign may vary depending on the nation in order to reach a larger target audience. The UK cover is more straightforward and realistic, supporting the social realism common in most British television. However, the USA version is much brighter to catch the attention of viewers, who like eye-catching content.