Abstract
Images of Donald Trump kissing the American flag at the 2020 Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, images of the US-Mexico border overlayed with excerpts from Trump’s ‘Immigration Speech’ from 2016 where he declared that the US will build a ‘beautiful wall’, and images of the dismantling of the Berlin Wall all feature in the final episode of the German television series Deutschland 89 (Amazon Prime / SundanceTV, 2020). These politically loaded images hint at the fragility of German reunification post-1989 and suggest that the problems of division plaguing Germany are gaining global relevance in a world marked by increasing disunity and territorial claims. In its frequent use of imagery depicting division, boundaries, and borderlands, Deutschland 89 contributes to the ongoing debate on how to envision a more unified future for East and West Germans, Europe, and the US. It shines a spotlight on the need for continued efforts to address the ongoing personal traumas and democratic imbalances that emerged from the end of the Cold War. In our paper we use an interdisciplinary methodology, combining media, post-socialist, and political studies, to argue that Deutschland 89 is exemplary of how media images not only represent but also actively shape the culture from which they emerge. In our analysis of televisual aesthetics (specifically, mise-en-scène, costume, and archival footage) we discuss how this historical television drama represents Germany’s ongoing political struggles and highlights division as a defining characteristic that shapes global culture and politics.
Presenters
Lucy JefferyPart time lecturer, Humanities, Cardiff University, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], United Kingdom Anna Varadi
Widening Participation Manager, Communications, Cardiff University, Cardiff [Caerdydd GB-CRD], United Kingdom
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Cold War, Television aesthetics, Geopolitical crises, Post-socialist culture
