Postmodernism

 Postmodernism & Deutschland 83: blog tasks

Media Magazine - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past

Media Magazine 73 has a feature exploring Deutschland 83 as a postmodern media product. Read ‘Deutschland 83 - A Postmodern Reimagining of the Past’ in MM73  (p18). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) What were the classic media representations of the Cold War?

east vs west and good vs bad.

2) Why does Deutschland 83 provide a particularly good example for postmodern analysis? 

It uses bricolage, pastiche and hyper reality, for example when the presidents real footage was shown

3) Pick out some of the aspects of the opening of episode 1 and explain why they are significant.

Hyper reality of archive footage

4) How does the party scene at Martin's mum's house subvert stereotypes of East Germany in the Cold War?

They seem content as theyre enjoying a party with western music.

5) What aspects of the episode set in West Germany offer postmodern elements?

Fully stocked, warhol-esque shelves.

6) Finally, how does the article apply postmodern theory to Deutschland 83 and link it to the potential target audience?

 Baurdrillard argues that audiences see the copy of reality in the media as more real than the original and the audience might seen it as more real than the actual war

Postmodernism Factsheet

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #54: Introduction to Postmodernism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets. If you need to access this from home you can find our factsheet archive here (you'll need to use your Greenford login).

1) Read the section on Strinati's five ways to define postmodernity. What examples are provided of the breakdown of the distinction between culture and society (media-isation)?

X factor

2) What is Fredric Jameson's idea of 'historical deafness'? How can the idea of 'historical deafness' be applied to Deutschland 83?

 media-isation increases so the culture finds itself losing a sense of historical context. History is now reduced to ‘talking heads’ documentaries and historical knowledge is often based on media representations. This can be linked to Deutschland 83 as it is not purely all real and has had adaptations to it which makes the audience more influenced and taught by the media representation of the cold war rather than real representations

3) What examples and theories are provided for the idea of 'style over substance'?

People are strongly influenced by branding when buying products

The modern rise of celebrities launched through reality television

4) What examples from music are provided for the breakdown of the distinction between art and popular culture? Can this be applied to Deutschland 83?

Andy Warhol paintings

Pop music often sample classical music

Advertising often makes reference to visual art

5) What is bricolage? What examples of bricolage can be found in Deutschland 83?

Juxtaposing old and new texts.


6) How can the audience pleasures of Deutschland 83be linked to postmodernism? Read 'The decline of meta-narratives' and 'Media texts and the postmodern' to help answer this.

Meta-narratives are broad ideas that explain the world and how it should be, covering topics like religion and political theories. In Deutschland 83 (surveillance) educates audiences about the Cold War in East and West Germany. Postmodernism helps analyze both of texts and the relationship between audiences and the media they consume.

7) Now look at page 4 of the factsheet. How does Deutschland 83 demonstrate aspects of the postmodern in its construction and ideological positioning?

Deutschland 83 is based on real life events where some audience may feel nostalgic and relate to those times. It is a series and story that implements postmodernism with deliberate chosen emotions to fictional characters and hyper-reality therefore creating a new meaning for different audiences.

8) Which key scenes from Deutschland 83 best provide examples of postmodernism? Why?

The supermarket that shows stocked shelves. The western music