Deutschland 83 scene by scene walk through

Newspaper language assessment

Deutschland 83 character analysis

Narrative essay

What meanings are created in the sequence you have studied and what do they tell us about the narrative, development and genre? 

Long form TV drama (LFTVD) follows a set of conventions which entice an audience to continue watching the show through long periods of time. To do this, dramas use multi-stranded narrative structures which interlink and cross over, characters the audience can build a relationship with and various locations. To keep audiences engaged and left wanting more, the dramas include many plot twists, cliff hangers and lots of creativity when characters and themes change and develop to keep audiences invested in the program. This is highlighted when at 45.50 we are introduced to the three boys Dustin, Lucas and Mike who are searching for Will, the diegetic sound of rain pelting on to them in a dark, spooky woods with the only source of light being that of their flashlights helps build up the tension in the atmosphere for the audience as the mystery continues that keeps the audience gript. To accompany the cliff hanger for the end of the episode, the use of slowly panning, jump cut shots between the boys and Eleven are used. Allowing the audience to see their full facial expressions as to what they are feeling in the moment; scared and confused. This is another example of building the tension and leaving the audience questioning what will happen next. It is also an example of a multi stranded narrative used different story lines have been brought together to link the characters and leave the audience feeling enticed to know the significance to why.

Characters are a main LFTVD convention that are extremely important for shows such as stranger things to succeed in keeping the audience engrossed. This is because viewers want to engage and relate with the characters to create a relationship which will keep them gripped to the show and fandom. A character who is an example of this is Benny who at first we question if to like him or not due to his dirty and ragged appearance which is a complete contrast to when he begins to care for Eleven and wants to help her seek shelter and stay safe. However, the mood quickly changes as at 39.54 as long shot of Connie the social worker is used when we see her shot Benny. The effectiveness of this shot is so the audience can see the picture as a whole including their body language and Elevens facial expression as to what she has just witnessed. Elevens facial expression is shown to be frightened and shocked before she makes a quick escape. To accompany this there is the sound of diegetic radio background music of the song ‘White Rabbit’ by Jefferson, the volume is increased as soon as Benny is shot which builds up the tension in the atmosphere for the audience. The song now becomes a non-diegetic sound which adds a fast pace dramatic as to when Eleven runs away to escape the authorities. This leaves the audience feeling confused, questioning why Benny was shot and who Connie really is and who does she represent. This is an example of a LFTVD story line which entices the audience to continue watching so they can piece together what is happening in the story line and ensure there is greater audience engagement with the show.

In addition, genres is  used in LFTVD to attract a bigger demographic of audience. The more genres a TV series has the more likely it is that it will gain more viewers due to he wider variety. Stranger things includes genres such as romance, thriller, sci-fi, action to cater to most and bring in a wider audience. The genre of sci-fi is used in a scene right at the beginning when we see a scientist be snatched away by a unkown creature. Although we do not see what takes him there are slimey sound effects which sound inhuman accompanied by red flashing sirens indicating danger which are all witness by the long shot used to capture all elements to allow the audience to piece together an idea of what they believe could have happened. Mise en scene is highlighted in the Byers home to help show 80’s intertextuality such as the dull coloured clothes Joyce and Jonathan wear which accompanies the dark and muted tones from the interior of the house. This helps reflect their mood of sadness and despair as they have lost someone who is extremely important to them and who they dearly love. Their mother son relationship is interrupted when the diegetic sound of a bright yellow 80's style wall phone ringing is played. This is an important element as it stands out so clearly against the dark, dull colours of the room and atmosphere. In the moment, the audience get there first glimmer of hope as to Will still being alive and in existence. The diegetic sound of the unidentifiable creature is played through the phone which was first heard at the beginning of the episode when the scientist was captured. This further helps piece together the story plot showing the significance of the multi stranded narrative. An electric shock through the phone is created through SFX which hurts Joyce suggesting that supernatural forces have great power emphasizing the sci-fi genre to the audience.  

Deutschland 83 analysis

Life in East Germany in the early 80s

It was a dictatorship in which there were no free elections, no division of powers, and no freedom of movement. Millions of Germans lived in Communist East Germany for 40 years, full of greyness like you was stepping back in time by a few decades. The culture of East Germany varied throughout the years due to the political and historical events that took place, especially because of Nazism and Communism. In four decades, East Germany developed a distinct culture and produced works of literature, film, visual arts, music, and theatre of international acclaim. Popular culture specialities included among others a high popularity of nudism in Eastern Germany.

Rock bands were expected to sing in German only. This seemed a logical constraint to party leaders but was somewhat unpopular amongst young people, a problem for the authorities was having to check song texts very carefully for anti-state tendencies. The band Renft, for example, fell foul of the authorities, which eventually led to its being banned and disbanded. Furthermore there was the possibility of a limited musical exchange between East and West Germany, nevertheless the bands and musicians had to fear censorship and the state influence.  Many young people joined youth groups were they would come together to learn socialistic views and organise events for younger children. Others enjoyed going out to theatres and watching movies. Instead of being taught English as it is a world language that is usually taught in schools across the world, students were taught Russian. Many classes included socialism views which taught children basic etiquette and how to work together. Etc, pioneer classes where each child would bring in something like show and tell which gave them the opportunity to talk to each other about their lives. Political propaganda shaped GDR - monuments of Communist leaders including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, banners with political slogans. Furthermore, due to censorship, many creative artists left the GDR from 1975 onwards. A parallel development was that some artists moved out to small city theatres, to create theatre beyond Berlin. In East Germany the movie industry was very active. Besides folk movies, the East German movie industry became known worldwide for its productions, especially for its children's movies, movies about the persecution of Jews in the Third Reich and the resistance against fascism became internationally famous. Movies about problems of daily life were also very popular.

Many East Germans were put under surveillance if the stasi thought that they were being rebellious by associating themselves with Western culture. East Germany regarded the west as being run by old fascists and corrupted by big, international companies- they suspected the west to prepare for WW3. The west stated that the east deprived citizens of their human rights such as freedom of religion, speech and ability to leave the country. The East was heavily run by the government which meant that people had a lack of freedom in how they lived their life, everything was controlled, their social life, their work, what they said and what they did, people wanted to escape the East in order to have more freedom and the ability to express their views without being scared of being imprisoned or punished. There was no unemployment as they didn't believe in the concept therefore there was no benefits and workers were afforded the safety of their jobs as they couldn't be fires unless they committed a serious offence. They helped women in the workplace as they thought the patriarchy was viewed as a symptom of capitalism. They implemented a strong foundation of laws to protect mothers and distribute childcare services. There was more equality as there was a smaller gender pay gap than in the West. They offered free health care, free places to kindergarten and school and had affordable housing. The stasi, which was the largest network of secret police in history were able to infiltrate every facet of society and it is estimated that one in five adults in the country were directly connected to them. Some citizens were happy in their living standards as there was benefits such as more quality, more work, free health care etc however a majority started to get rebellious as more people were being put under surveillance and being punished for the smallest things as the country was over-dictating. Therefore, this led to citizens tearing down the Berlin Wall by hand in order to get their freedom. 

The impact of digital technologies