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

Published by De Gruyter 2014

DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture

A Companion

Edited by: Marc Silberman and Henning Wrage

Volume 4 in the series Companions to Contemporary German Culture

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110273458

Overview
Contents

About this book

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.

Author / Editor information

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

Supplementary Materials

Contents

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Acronyms Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	vii
Introduction DEFA at the Crossroads: Remapping the Terrain Marc Silberman and Henning Wrage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Extending the Socialist Collective
Chapter 1. Cinema and Socialist Modernity Hunter Bivens Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	25
Chapter 2. Emplotting Antifascism: Heroes, Scoundrels, Traitors Manuel Köppen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
Chapter 3. Divided Loyalties: Technocrats and the Working Class in DEFA Films Barton Byg Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
Chapter 4. Representations of Art and the Artist in East German Cinema Seán Allan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	87
Chapter 5. Family Feelings: Kinship, Gender and Social Utopia in DEFA Film Anke Pinkert Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	107
Part II. Expanding the Reach of Entertainment
Chapter 6. Not Only Entertainment: Sights and Sounds of the DEFA Music Film Stefan Soldovieri Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	133
Chapter 7. The Trail Runs Cold: DEFA’s Crime Films Brad Prager Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
Chapter 8. A Late Genre Fade: Utopianism and its Twilight in DEFA’s Science Fiction, Literary and Western Films Jaimey Fisher Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Chapter 9. Public Figures, Political Symbols, Famous Stars: Actors in DEFA Cinema and Beyond Sabine Hake Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	197
Part III. Enlarging the Map
Chapter 10. ‘Wind from the East’: DEFA and Eastern European Cinema Larson Powell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	223
Chapter 11. DEFA Children’s Films: Not Just for Children Benita Blessing Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	243
Chapter 12. DEFA Films for the Youth: National Paradigms, International Influences Henning Wrage Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	263
Chapter 13. Alternative Realities and Authenticity in DEFA’s Documentary Films Nick Hodgin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	305
Selected Filmography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	321
List of Illustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	327
Contributors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	331
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	335

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Students and Academics (Film Studies, German Studies), Libraries, Departments
Pages
- Front matter: 8
- Main content: 346
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 47
- Other: Div. Abb.
Keywords: DEFA; Film Culture; GDR; East Germany; Media History

eBook

Published: May 21, 2014
ISBN: 9783110273458

Hardcover

Published: April 14, 2014
ISBN: 9783110273441