NEWS ASSESMENT 1

Deutschland 83 Walkthrough

Deutschland 83

Season 1, Episode 1- Quantum Jump

• It was released in Germany in October 2015, and released in the UK in January 2016.
• Media language- Dark side - the East, Uniform, communism
•  Light Side - colourful, love, fruit.
• Grass and Concrete on floor, gives a rigid structure.
• Character- one side is in uniform, shadows on face, dull colour. Other side- bright, warm expression. 
• There is yellow writing on both sides show each side is happy the way they are.

         

Essay Stranger Things

What meanings are created in the sequence you have studied and what do they tell us about narrative, character development and genre?  1000 words

The sequence I have studied is the first episode of the Sci-fi series Stranger Things. Stranger Things is a long form TV drama which pays tribute to many 80s films, such as E.T, Alien and The Goonies as well as many other films from the 80s, giving the series lots of intertexuality. This long for TV drama includes many cliff hangers, multiple narratives and also stock characters, which are some of the conventions for a TV drama. 

Stranger Things use multiple parallel plots throughout the series, as well as the first episode I have analysed. Some of the plots include Will going missing, Nancy and Steve's romance, the science lab as well as the young girl Eleven running away from the government. By using parallel plots, they tend to cross over throughout, and the audience get ideas of this through enigmas in the story. As the episodes are only 45 minutes to an hour long, the story lines are able to develop slightly but then are left on a cliff hanger at the end of the episodes, just like the sequence I studied. In this sequence, we see Eleven, who has been running away from the government being discovered by the three boys who are looking for Will. As all these characters are seen as major by the audience, it suggests they are going to be even bigger as something has brought them together.

The sequence I studied had a variety of different genres. Some of these genres included sci-fi, adventure, mystery, romance thriller as well as family values. These are all included as the film was set in the 80s and the creators wanted to pay tribute to this time period. The scene where the Byers' phone rings, relates to the sci-fi genre as it has on screen diegetic noises of supernatural forces whilst Joyce speaks into the phone. Soon after this, there is an electrical spark which cuts off the mysterious call. It suggests the force doesn't want Will to have communication with his mother, so the audience are left wondering why. The use of contrasting genres, makes it appealing to all audiences. The romance is between Steve and Nancy. This is shown through the jump cuts whilst the teenagers are in her room. This shows the proximity between her and Steve and the intimacy of their blossoming relationship. Then there are also thriller scenes such as when Will is running away from the mysterious figure he saw on his way home from Mike's. This is just before he is taken. The use of different genres caters to different audience's needs and although there are some genres bigger than others, each one contributes to the story and the plots.

Throughout the sequence, there are many social groups being represented.  These different characters are intertwined in the multiple plots, which allows their character to develop. One example is Benny who owns the diner. When we first see him, he is angry as someone is stealing his food, but then understand it is Eleven who is rough looking. Slowly, the audience learns to like Benny throughout the sequence and when he is suddenly killed for no reason, it is saddening to the audience and a shock. The main group we see is the teenagers, both the younger age (Mike's group) and the older ones (Nancy, Steve and Barb).  The younger boys are the stereotypical elementary school boys, they get bullied and picked on, but towards the end of the sequence, we understand they are brave whilst going to search for Will. As for the older group, there is the two girls who are focused on their studies as well as gossip. The older teenage boy, Steve, is the typical jock who loves himself a bit and is obsessed with girls. It shows how there are different groups within the different social groups who do and represent different things.

Overall, the sequence I have analysed uses parallel plots to add to the intensity of the story line, as well as the use of multiple genres to capture all audiences. Representations are heavily being portrayed by an aray of characters who are all being developed slowly in the first episode.

East Germany in 80s Homework

Life in East Germany in the 80s

-There were no bananas. You could only get them once or twice a year, and you’d only be notified of their availability by word of mouth. So you’d have to rush to the veggie store and stand in line to get your one banana per person in your household.
-You couldn’t buy strawberries from a store. If you wanted them you had to go and work in the fields picking them for hours. 
-You could only watch one of a few state channels, but radio waves know no walls, so those close to the border were able to pick up signals from the West.
-The books were very low quality compared to the fine paper and good bindings and modern cover-graphics that were in the West. 
-East German kids did generally have fewer toys and fewer opportunities to go on holiday
-People weren't allowed past the Berlin wall into the west so many tried to sneak into the country but many failed resulting in death.
-There was a lot of surveillance, and most people lived double lives, in the sense that they learnt early that what you say and do at home is one thing, but what you're allowed to say publicly or in school is quite another.
-Equal rights where good for the time. Most women worked. There was affordable child-care available.

Education

-Education was compulsory for 10 years from age six onwards.

-Unlike West Germany, East Germany accomplished large-scale education reform and introduced a dense network of high-standard education facilities, especially kindergartens.

-There was no teaching of reading, writing or arithmetic, but the fundamental concepts were taught to develop intellectual and motor skills.

Suspicion And Tension 

- 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. 

Why did people want to escape the East?

- 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. 

Why did people like and respect the public?

- 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 though 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.  

Regulation Homework

Final Scene Analysis

Camera

-High angle looking down on social worker  from Benny – Patriarchy
- Extreme close up on phone after it falls connoting extreme panic. 
- Most camera shots of the young people were eye level showing equality amongst us and directly with the audience
- Gun shot was long shot of Connie which cut to close up of Eleven. This shot demonstrates panic
- Level three shot of boys in woods with Mike in the front showing he is the leader
- Two mid shot of Jonathon and Joyce close on the sofa signifies closeness in relationship

Mise En Scene

- Byers’ house – dim lighting, brown clothes, 80s interior connoting poverty 

- Yellow phone contrasts and stands out showing it is important and for communication to Will.

- Benny’s diner is where Eleven seeks shelter - is a stereotypical suburban diner.

- Woods is dark and raining with thunder showing pathetic fallacy that something bad may happen.

- Nancy’s bedroom is stereotypical of a studious teenage girl in the 80s.

- Choppers, torches, shine Eleven’s, theme of light within the final scenes. 

Sound

- Off screen sound of pot wash in Benny’s diner to on screen of Benny washing 

- Off screen diegetic knocking showing disruption in the narrative and raises alarm 

- Diegetic dialogue ‘you don’t sound the same as you did on the phone’ shows suspicion 

- Non diegetic contrapuntal song commences as soon as Benny is shot – White Rabbit Jefferson – volume and pace increase as Eleven runs away emphasising the panic and the disruption.

- Non diegetic sci fi instrumental emphasises tension when the boys find Eleven 

- Joyce on the phone with on screen diegetic sound of mysterious creature/ potentially Will.

- Nancy’s room – Africa Toto is contrapuntal – romantic mood – 80s theme

Editing

- Many jump cuts in Nancy's room showing the close proximity between her and Steve and intimacy.

- Pace of cuts increase when Connie shoots Benny connoting danger and panic. 

- Sound effect of electric bang when the phone cuts out showing that Will may be in danger. Sci fi. 

- Shot reverse shot during conversations between two people showing follow of dialogue. 

- Order of the narrative – multi stranded narrative underlines the LFTVD drama conventions. 

- Most scenes happen simultaneously except Eleven’s escape and discovery which links the characters at the end of the episode leaving on a cliff hanger for the next episode.