DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion
Motion picture production, distribution, exhibition and reception has always been a transnational phenomenon, yet East Germany, situated at the edge of the post-war Iron Curtain, separated by a boundary that became materialized in the Berlin Wall in 1961, resembles nothing if not an island, a protected space where film production developed under the protection of government subsidy and ideological purity. This volume proposes on the contrary that the GDR cinema was never just a monologue. Rather, its media landscape was characterized by constant dialogue, if not competition, with both the capitalist West and socialist East. These thirteen essays reshape DEFA cinema studies by exploring international networks, identifying lines of influence beyond national boundaries and recognizing genre qualities that surpass the temporal and spatial confines. The international team of film specialists present detailed analyses of over fifty films, including fiction features, adaptations of literary classics, children's films, documentaries, and examples from genres such as music, sci-fi, Westerns and crime films.

With contributions by Seán Allan, Hunter Bivens, Benita Blessing, Barton Byg, Jaimey Fisher, Sabine Hake, Nick Hodgin, Manuel Köppen, Anke Pinkert, Larson Powell, Brad Prager, Marc Silberman, Stefan Soldovieri, and Henning Wrage.

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DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion
Motion picture production, distribution, exhibition and reception has always been a transnational phenomenon, yet East Germany, situated at the edge of the post-war Iron Curtain, separated by a boundary that became materialized in the Berlin Wall in 1961, resembles nothing if not an island, a protected space where film production developed under the protection of government subsidy and ideological purity. This volume proposes on the contrary that the GDR cinema was never just a monologue. Rather, its media landscape was characterized by constant dialogue, if not competition, with both the capitalist West and socialist East. These thirteen essays reshape DEFA cinema studies by exploring international networks, identifying lines of influence beyond national boundaries and recognizing genre qualities that surpass the temporal and spatial confines. The international team of film specialists present detailed analyses of over fifty films, including fiction features, adaptations of literary classics, children's films, documentaries, and examples from genres such as music, sci-fi, Westerns and crime films.

With contributions by Seán Allan, Hunter Bivens, Benita Blessing, Barton Byg, Jaimey Fisher, Sabine Hake, Nick Hodgin, Manuel Köppen, Anke Pinkert, Larson Powell, Brad Prager, Marc Silberman, Stefan Soldovieri, and Henning Wrage.

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DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion

DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion

DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion

DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture: A Companion

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Overview

Motion picture production, distribution, exhibition and reception has always been a transnational phenomenon, yet East Germany, situated at the edge of the post-war Iron Curtain, separated by a boundary that became materialized in the Berlin Wall in 1961, resembles nothing if not an island, a protected space where film production developed under the protection of government subsidy and ideological purity. This volume proposes on the contrary that the GDR cinema was never just a monologue. Rather, its media landscape was characterized by constant dialogue, if not competition, with both the capitalist West and socialist East. These thirteen essays reshape DEFA cinema studies by exploring international networks, identifying lines of influence beyond national boundaries and recognizing genre qualities that surpass the temporal and spatial confines. The international team of film specialists present detailed analyses of over fifty films, including fiction features, adaptations of literary classics, children's films, documentaries, and examples from genres such as music, sci-fi, Westerns and crime films.

With contributions by Seán Allan, Hunter Bivens, Benita Blessing, Barton Byg, Jaimey Fisher, Sabine Hake, Nick Hodgin, Manuel Köppen, Anke Pinkert, Larson Powell, Brad Prager, Marc Silberman, Stefan Soldovieri, and Henning Wrage.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9783110273441
Publisher: De Gruyter
Publication date: 04/14/2014
Series: Companions to Contemporary German Culture , #4
Pages: 354
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.06(h) x (d)
Age Range: 18 Years

About the Author

Marc Silberman, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA; Henning Wrage, Gettysburg College, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

Table of Contents

Acronyms vii

Introduction. DEFA at the Crossroads: Remapping the Terrain Marc Silberman Henning Wrage 1

Part I Extending the Socialist Collective

Chapter 1 Cinema and Socialist Modernity Hunter Bivens 25

Chapter 2 Emplotting Antifascism: Heroes, Scoundrels, Traitors Manuel Köppen 45

Chapter 3 Divided Loyalties: Technocrats and the Working Class in DEFA Films Barton Byg 67

Chapter 4 Representations of Art and the Artist in East German Cinema Seán Allan 87

Chapter 5 Family Feelings: Kinship, Gender and Social Utopia in DEFA Film Anke Pinkert 107

Part II Expanding the Reach of Entertainment

Chapter 6 Not Only Entertainment: Sights and Sounds of the DEFA Music Film Stefan Soldovieri 133

Chapter 7 The Trail Runs Cold: DEFA's Crime Films Brad Prager 157

Chapter 8 A Late Genre Fade: Utopianism and its Twilight in DEFA's Science Fiction, Literary and Western Films Jaimey Fisher 177

Chapter 9 Public Figures, Political Symbols, Famous Stars: Actors in DEFA Cinema and Beyond Sabine Hake 197

Part III Enlarging the Map

Chapter 10 'Wind from the East': DEFA and Eastern European Cinema Larson Powell 223

Chapter 11 DEFA Children's Films: Not Just for Children Benita Blessing 243

Chapter 12 DEFA Films for the Youth: National Paradigms, International Influences Henning Wrage 263

Chapter 13 Alternative Realities and Authenticity in DEFA's Documentary Films Nick Hodgin 281

Bibliography 305

Selected Filmography 321

List of Illustrations 327

Contributors 331

Index 335

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