Reviews and features
Read the following reviews and features on Deutschland 83:
The Guardian - Your next box set: Deutschland 83
Daily Telegraph review
The Guardian - Deutschland 83 Pity the Germans don't like it
1) What positive aspects of Deutschland 83 are highlighted in the reviews?
The review talks about the details provided in the show, exploring both sides, as well as the whole setting and story-telling brings out the nostalgia in some of the audience.
2) What criticisms are made of the show?
The main criticism was about the popularity of the show in Germany vs other countries. The lack of popularity in Germany might suggest that the show is unrealistic and 'too simple'.
3) Why did the Telegraph suggest that Deutschland 83 did the 'period' aspect of 'period drama' so well?
There are a lot of real elements in the show, like music and news footage that was shown at that time. There's also a Ronald Reagan's "Evil Empire" speech in 1983.
4) 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?
Interviews and behind-the-scenes video features
Channel 4 News: Matt Frei interviews Jonas Nay
1) What does Jonas Nay say about growing up in a united Germany?
He talks about his knowledge of the Cold War, that he mostly gained from school, and how he didn't really lived in the division of east and west Germany.
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!)
I feel like it was to promote watching foreign films with subtitles. They also wanted to reflect the atmosphere of the film. It also helps to identify the target audience and maybe give people a sample of what a film with subtitles looks like.
3) Interviewer Matt Frei asks about the current political situation in Germany. Why might this interest the Channel 4 News audience?
The interviewer asks political questions to give the audience the perspective of a citizen of Germany about the main issue of the show. That information give the audience the feeling of being more engaged with the society in Germany.
Behind the scenes clips
The All4 website has a range of clips from behind the scenes of Deutschland 83. Watch the following:
Making Of: Why Should You Watch Deutschland 83
Watch this short promotional clip for Deutschland 83.
1) Why should audiences watch Deutschland 83 - what does the clip offer viewers?
All of the cast and crew of the show named countless reasons to watch the show, but I think the writer summed up all of them - the show is very interesting, high quality and captivating. Once you're in, you engage with the characters.
2) Why is history an important aspect of the appeal of the show?
The history of Cold War is important for the show because of the idea of a younger and older audience, as the main character is a young man, and the events of the show happened at times that older people can relate to.
3) What technical aspects are highlighted in the video?
All of the people working on the show talked about various aspects like cinematography, costume, actors and costumes. All of the aspects make the show unique and entertaining, but most importantly- realistic.
Making Of: Set Design
Watch this interview with Production designer Lars Lange.
1) Why were the set design, costume and props so important for Deutschland 83?
The set design, costume and props are very important to this show specifically because of the historical content of Deutschland 83. This spy show requires a lot of details connected to the actual events that happened in 80's in order to make sense.
2) How historically accurate was the setting, costume and props?
The historical accuracy in the setting, costume and props was pretty good, but there are still parts of the Cold War history that were too much of a secret to actually find a solid representation of them.
3) Why were the props, costumes and music such a key audience pleasure for Deutschland 83?
It's mostly because of the sentimental aspect of the show, the props, costumes and music had to be really accurate to represent the story telling of the plot as best as the cinematographic aspect can.
Textual analysis: trailer
1) The opening of the trailer uses sound and editing to draw the audience in. Explain why this is effective.
The sound in this opening is really captivating and the editing (dividing the screen into two) is a really good way of capturing the attention, synchronising with the sound, and introducing the main aspect of the show. The quick introduction is really effective and gives us bigger understanding on what's happening in the rest of the trailer.
2) What audience pleasures are suggested by the trailer? Think about Uses & Gratifications theory (Blumler and Katz).
I feel like there is a lot of the pleasures that we can see in in the show, different once considering the country that the audience live in. There's definitely a diversion for people abroad and for the citizens of Germany that didn't experience the Cold War. The personal relationship pleasure comes from the main characters that we're with throughout his dangerous journey. The personal identity might be found in Germany and close counries.
3) How does the trailer use action and enigma codes (Barthes) to encourage the audience to watch the show?
There are a lot of enigma codes, jut like the one of Martins mum going to get surgery. We don't know if it'll be successful. The action codes, for example the woman pointing the gun at Martin. Both codes are important to leave an audience at the adge of their seats, wanting to see more.
4) Pick three shots/scenes from the trailer that capture the spy thriller sub-genre. Why might this appeal to an audience? Try and apply Neale's genre theory 'repetition and difference' (the original notes on genre theory are here).
There're a lot of elements of a spy genre, like the scene where he takes pictures of the files or when the screen is devided in two scenes that show different sides of the cold war or exlain the narrative of the show. There're also a lot of different types of thriller when the music changes and we see few closeups on Martin's face.
5) Pick three examples of mise-en-scene from the trailer that capture the 1983 setting the confirm the sub-genre of period drama. Why might this appeal to an audience?
The TV that showed a speech of American president is a great example because it shows the actual clip from those times. There's also a good example of 83's mise-en-scene with all of the hallways that Martin is running through. All of tchem have a certain design to them which makes the atmosphere of 80's.
6) The trailer uses the song 'Two Tribes' by Frankie Goes To Hollywood. Why did the producers select this soundtrack for the trailer?
It's an 80's song that also weirdly reminds me of a Thriller by Michael Jackson, which makes the trailer more thrilling and keeps the audience at the age of their seats.
7) The only words heard in the trailer are in English. Why do you think the UK trailer avoided subtitles or German dialogue?
I think that when it comes to TV trailes the whole text needs to be really clear and easy to proccess in a short period of time. The idea of reading the subtitles isn't really appealing to TV audience, especially is it's a trailer played with the rest of the ads, the audience is usually listening then watching.
Production and industry context
Deutschland 83 was produced by German production company UFA Fiction and distributed internationally by FremantleMedia 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 is a German film and TV drama company that strongly influenced the German production landscape. It also produced shows like "Generation War", "The Physician“ or "Danni Lowinski".
2) What kind of company is Freemantle Media International and what do they produce?
Freemantle Media International is definitely ine of the main producers, creators and distributors of television programming in the world.
3) How does Deutschland 83 reflect the international nature of television production?
The show talks about an issue that involved a lot of countries, and the fact that is was more popular in UK then in Germany itself speeks for itself. As the foreign language shows get more popular, Deutchland 83 is a great example of an international show.
Walter Presents
Watch this Channel 4 trailer for their Walter Presents international drama.
1) How does Channel 4 introduce 'Walter'?
It presents 'Walter' as a very well educated and with a knowledge of TV dramas. It makes us trust him with his choices.
2) What audience are Channel 4 trying to appeal to with the 'Walter Presents' series?
It's trying to gain the audience of middle-class, over 30 audience that wants to experience good quality media texts.
3) How does the 'Walter Presents' series reflect the changing nature of television in the digital age?
The idea of foreign language media texts were always portrayed as created for more educated people with refined taste, as now, it's becoming more and more popular to engage in media texts like that.
Marketing and promotion
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?
The idea of a show with historical content is that it's based on an actual events like political issues. Winger wanted to show the events of Cold War from the perspective of a spy that experiences West for the first time.
2) Anna Winger discusses the use of music. Why might the soundtrack attract an audience?
The music is an important aspect from the beginning of the show. The years of Cold War were also years of great pop culture in Germany. Therefore a lot of songs used in the show can be assocciated with their own 80's experience.
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).
3) List the key statistics concerning audience figures. Why is considered the most successful foreign language drama?
As it waslaunching with 1.49 million viewers, the first episode has now consolidated with 2.5 million viewers making it one of the most successful foreign language shows.
4) How does the news release describe the drama?
As some of the reviews appreciated the music, saying that the show is “Great fun, and powered by an irresistible 1983 vintage soundtrack.” some went straight to the point, calling the shoe 'coolest show of the year."
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 background of the cover is divided into two and shows the difference between west and east; the grey colours and the bright colours with blue sky. The text on the cover is very 80's and the main character; Martin; is shown listening to the music on headphones from the west, with amusement in his eyes. All of this links to the history of Cold War and the text 'over the wall, under a gun' asures us that this is a spy thriller.
2) Analyse the mise-en-scene in the UK DVD cover. What does it communicate to the audience?
The background if divided into two worlds; east and west. The grafiti on the walls represent the two sides. Also the main character- Martin - is wearing 80's headphones, enjoying the playing music. The whole cover has a brown undertone and tries to recreate the atmosphere of 80's and show the main narrative of the show.
3) How does the American branding use font, colour and graphics to appeal to an audience?
All of the aspects are there to show the exaggerated version of 80's in Europe. The poster has a style of a poster that could be painted in 80's on the walls. the neon colours bring out the idea of chaos mixed with youth.
4) Why might the distributors Freemantle Media International have used different marketing campaigns in different countries?
I feel like advertising in America and in Europe works in different ways when it comes to gaining peoples attention and historical content. Americans might have a whole different idea of the Cold Was and the poster had to suitable to gain their attention.
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