TV: Deutschland 83 case study

 Introduction: Reviews and Features

1) 'It's a perfect moment in a near-perfect series. Deutschland 83's first episode of eight was the most-watched foreign-language drama in UK history. With the least ambiguous title ever, American-German husband and wife, team Anna and Joerg Winger created an irresistible export: a funky exercise in pop nostalgia underpinned by actual events'.

 'Though very much an international package, it has been a bigger comparative hit abroad than at home. Massive hype only generated 3 million viewers for its co-maker RTL (just above the channel’s average). It was beaten by The Voice on the other side. I wonder if Germany’s sense of nostalgia is more complicated and less commodified than ours.'  

2) 'By focusing the story around Martin Rauch, a young East German border guard going undercover in the west, it doesn’t just make the viewer empathise with a Stasi agent on a human level – in the way The Lives of Others did – it makes us engage with the socialist regime’s worldview, in which a military exercise in West Germany poses a potentially existential threat'.

3) Someone said that the whole series was a learning experience for them and that's why they loved it. I certainly agree with this as it does teach you a lot about the Cold War and German life back then which is particularly interesting for someone who wasn't even born there. A lot of people said that they were in Germany around that time and that the series captured the atmosphere perfectly. This is good because we get to see the conflict between East and West for how it really was back then. 

Promotional Interview:

1) He believes there is no such thing as West and East Germans. Also, he goes on to say that he has grown up having freedom and mobility. 

2) Channel 4's remit states that they 'deliver high-quality, innovative, alternative content that challenges the status quo.' Therefore, having an interview in German definitely reflects that as it's something innovative and challenges social norms as interviews in this country are usually in English. Also, channel 4 is publicly owned, and with an increasing interest in international drama, viewers will enjoy seeing the interview in German. 

3) The Channel 4 News audience would be interested in the current political situation in Germany as they like alternative or niche news, things that would only interest a small audience group.