DEFA at the crossroads of East German and international film culture : a companion / edited by Marc Silberman, Henning Wrage.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Silberman, Marc, 1948- editor.

Wrage, Henning, editor.

Series:

Companions to contemporary German culture ; v. 4.

Companions to contemporary German culture, 2193-9659 ; volume 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Motion picture industry--Germany (East)--History.

Motion picture industry.

Motion pictures--Germany (East)--History.

Motion pictures.

Motion pictures--Political aspects--Germany (East).

Motion picture industry--Political aspects--Germany (East).

DEFA--History.

DEFA.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (356 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Berlin ; Boston : De Gruyter, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Front matter

Table of Contents

Acronyms

Introduction DEFA at the Crossroads: Remapping the Terrain / Silberman, Marc / Wrage, Henning

Part I. Extending the Socialist Collective

Chapter 1. Cinema and Socialist Modernity / Bivens, Hunter

Chapter 2. Emplotting Antifascism: Heroes, Scoundrels, Traitors / Köppen, Manuel

Chapter 3. Divided Loyalties: Technocrats and the Working Class in DEFA Films / Byg, Barton

Chapter 4. Representations of Art and the Artist in East German Cinema / Allan, Seán

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

Part II. Expanding the Reach of Entertainment

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

Chapter 7. The Trail Runs Cold: DEFA's Crime Films / Prager, Brad

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

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

Part III. Enlarging the Map

Chapter 10. 'Wind from the East': DEFA and Eastern European Cinema / Powell, Larson

Chapter 11. DEFA Children's Films: Not Just for Children / Blessing, Benita

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

Chapter 13. Alternative Realities and Authenticity in DEFA's Documentary Films / Hodgin, Nick

Bibliography

Selected Filmography

List of Illustrations

Contributors

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 305-319) and index.

Includes filmography: pages 321-325.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781306935982

1306935989

9783110273458

3110273454

OCLC:

882769458