Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog task

Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog task

The distinction between culture and society is shown within the examples:

• Borat and Bruno
• X factor
• Andy Warhols Pop Art
• The rise of celebrities through reality TV

Fredric Jameson's idea of historical deafness is the theory that as mediation increases, the culture loses the sense of historical context. This idea can be applied to Deutschland 83 where some historical information was hidden behind some fictional aspects of the show.

The examples provided for the idea of 'style over substance' are celebrities with no talent, such as  Paris Hilton and John Edwards. Another example is the influence on branding products.

Music with artistic intent is often seen in advertising, this is an example of the breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture. This is seen in Deutschland 83 when sweet dreams are made of these is played throughout the supermarket.

Bricolage refers to the process of adapting and juxtaposing old and new texts, images, ideas or narratives to create a new meaning. An example of this is seen on the Deutschland DVD covers, Pop Art inspired images are plastered on the buildings in the background.

Deutschland 83 provides audiences with the pleasure of information and surveillance, this linked to postmodernism. Deutschland informs viewers but also allows them to make their own judgment on what party is right or wrong without forcing it onto them. 

Media concepts and postmodern approaches are seen in Deutschland:

Genre - Deutschland is a foreign tv drama that falls under the spy genre

Representation - Both east and west Germany is represented successfully. In the split-screen scene, we can see how west Germany is more Americanised and 'free' were as east Germany is more traditional and conservative. 

Ideology - the juxtaposition between right and wrong. This is seen throughout the acter of martin. He is seen as a good character with good intentions but some of the things he does are morally incorrect. 

Deutschland 83 demonstrates aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning as they use unique and new ways of portraying characters, narrative and settings.

The supermarket scene provides the best example of postmodernism. The bright colours in the food isles refer to Andy Warhols pop art paintings and music playing in the background nods at other aspects of pop culture 

Audiences might enjoy the postmodern aspects of Deutschland 83 because of the nostalgia they receive from watching it