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 - Not quite “the flop of the year”, as Bild called it, but underwhelming nonetheless.

Positive - gone on to become an international success story, with rave reviews, bloggers celebrating its fashion and soundtrack, and impressive viewing figures, even in the US. In Britain, where the series finished last Sunday, the first episode was the highest-rating subtitled drama in television history.

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

Because of the increased misrepresentation of German society and the misinformation .

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?

• 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.

• 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!

• Loved it, and was amazed to find out how much was historically accurate. Having lived through that era, I felt it really captured the atmosphere of mutual paranoia that existed and blighted millions of lives. Giving the East German perspective on it gave it a distinctiveness it would not otherwise have had, and I found that very moving. They were just as frightened of us as we were of them! It illuminated the farcical aspect of the brinkmanship.

I agree with some of the comments that involve high enthusiasm as the show causes interest .

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

They did learn about the Cold War, but the emphasis was much more on World War II. He claims that since he was born in 1990 and is a native German, he felt that if he had been 25 years old in 1983, he would have lived in West Germany because he values his freedom and 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!)

As 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 their mandate 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?

Since Germany only became a unified nation 26 years ago at the time of the interview, viewers of Channel 4 may be curious about the country's future trajectory given its recent unification in 1990. They may also be interested in learning how much Germany's politics had changed during and after the split.

 UFA Fiction &  Fremantle International.

1) What kind of company is UFA Fiction and what shows have they produced? 

UFA is a movie production company that have produced films such as ,  "Danni Lowinski", "March of millions" and "The Tower" .

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

It's a British multinational television production and distribution company .

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

It displays life in both west and east Germany which seem to be binary opposites however it is all displayed in international television and was popular in the UK and USA .

1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?

It presents as an international drama filled with high action .

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

To audiences that are curious and may prefer to be viewers of international programmes .

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

The digital age allows international television be consumed by people of all nationalities with the use of subtitles and the increase of people being accepting of all cultures .

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

Personal Identity-  Martins identifies as a young male as a boarder solider who's now a spy.

Personal Relationship- Martins character connections with his family and his girlfriend Anette.

Diversion - Promises drama, action and even romance.

Surveillance - The show is presented as using historical events to push the narrative but is completely fictional while still teaching about the event/threat of WW2 that it is based off of.

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

Action codes - High intense chase scenes as well as explosions to produce exciting emotions as well as build up tension for the viewers .

Enigma - The ambiguity of Martins character and personality as just being presented as a spy draws in the audience to learn who he is and why is he so important to this story about possible nuclear annihilation. 

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

Due to the idea that foreign films don't cater towards a British audience enough .

 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?

2.5 million views on episode 1 is considered the most successful foreign language drama as it is the most viewed one by 300,000 .

2) How does the press release describe Deutschland 83?

Creating interest through praises for its evocative and gripping narrative .

1) How does the UK DVD cover communicate the sub-genre of the drama?

 The sub genre is demonstrated through genres of romance and action and spy as we see in the poster on the left on the wall there being graffiti with one side of the wall saying "Over The Wall" which connotes actions and fighting but then on the other end of the wall it saying "Under Cover" showing the romance side of this drama as it shows two people kissing .

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

Highly vibrant colours appeals to audiences .

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

Due to global issues .