The Film: Berlin Calling:

Berlin Calling Questions to Answer:

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?

Ickarus is addicted to drugs. He is pressured by his "friends" to take them and the are promoted to take them. They represent a good time and a source of inspiration for him.

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?

His fans would take drugs during the party and the raves that they would attend or host.  They would take these drugs to be able to feel the music and to live through the music and to obtain a high and get that good feeling. They drugs that they took I am not sure the names of, but I could see them being some forms of cocaine, meth, acid, Ecstasy, and pot. 

3. While we can see that his drug habits get him ill and into a psychosis, and while we witness his relapse and inability to work successfully, why does the subculture Ickarus is in focus on drugs?

The drugs help young people have fun, let loose, and have a good time.

4. Compare the standards you know from your home society with the people you see depicted in this movie. Which are the stark differences and contrasts?

I think the main difference is that we don't have such extreme raves and parties. I have never been to a party were drugs are being passed around like we saw in the movie and were people are doing lines of coke in the bathroom. 

5. Germany is considered a strong industrial nation the world over. Do you think that the youth culture as depicted here could change that? How about work ethics of Ickarus and of Alice, the label director who fires and then re-signs him?

Ickarus had an extremely strong work ethic. Even when he was hospitalized and struggling, he never wanted to stop working. He continued to work through his problems and worked while he tried to get better. He always had music and his album on his mind, even with being sick. 

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?

I don't think I know of any cult movies that are similar to this movie of hand. 

Reaction to the movie

I really enjoyed this movie. I thought it was really interesting how Germany's youth is and what happens in Germany's party culture. It showed the rave scene which mostly comprises of sex, alcohol, and drugs. This move had a darker and more depressive feel to most movies and wasn't all happy the whole time. It showed the true struggles of drug addiction and the consequences of what can happen. It shows what you act like when you are not sober and when you are on drugs, how you can almost die, or have to enter rehab. 

This movie also shows a side of the music industry that isn't always visible to outsiders. Most people think music industry is all glamorous but fail to realize it's dark side. They think about how much money they can make and how popular they will be. But in reality artists are under extreme pressure to try drugs, to party, to do things that under normal circumstances they wouldn't do. This movie also shows how hard it is to be in the music industry. You are always having to write new music and create new albums. You are under pressure to finish it on time and make your manager and label money. This struggle, as seen in the movie pushed Ickarus over the edge. He always had it on his mind to make a new record and became obsessive over it. 

This movie also shows the devastation this industry and drugs has on your personal life. Ickarus was abusive to his girlfriend and she took it. He was emotionally and physically abusive to her. He also disrespected her several times, for example, cheating on her with the girl in the bathroom while being high on some kind of drugs. She eventually left him for a better life.

I would recommend this movie to anyone. I really enjoyed it and I thought it was really interesting!

Fine Arts (Dance) in Germany

Pina Bausch

            The last group that presented was about the fine arts. They talked a little about Pina, but I decided I want to further research her.

            Pina was born July of 1940 but passed away in June of 2009. She was a German performer of modern dance. She was also a choreographer, dance teacher, and a ballet director. She had a unique style about her, with her style, movements, sounds, and prominent stage sets, and her amazing cooperation with performers, she became the leader influence in the 1970’s in the modern dance scene.

            Her dance career began when she was very young. She started dancing at a young age. At the age of 14, she entered the Folkwangschule in Essen and then directed by Germany’s most influential choreographer, Kurt Joos. Who was one of the founders of German expressionist dance. After she graduated, Pina studied dance at Julliard in New York. After that she joined Jooss’ new Folkwang Ballet Company as a soloist and assisted Joos on many pieces. She choregraphed her first piece in 1968, Fragment, to the music by Bela Bartok.

            Some awards Pina received are UK’s Laurence Olivier Award, Japan’s Kyoto Prize, and the Goethe Prize. She was elected a foreign honorary member of the American Academy of Art and Sciences in 2009.

            Pina has done many works and many dances throughout her life.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pina_Bausch 

Music in Germany

Music in Gemrany:

            Music is universal. Music can be read from anyone in any language. I guess you could say music could be perhaps a universal language. Each note can be read and played no matter where you are from or what language you speak. It is the same throughout!

            Music in Germany include Neue Deutsche Welle (NDW), Krautrock, Hamburger Schule, Volksmusik, Classical, German hip hop, trance, Schlager, Neue Deutsche Härte (NDH) and diverse varieties of folk music, such as Waltz and Medieval metal. Although there are several types of music, the most popular by far is classical. German Classical is among the most performed in the world. Some of Germany’s famous composers would include Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, and Richard Wagner. Also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who was born in Austria, but was among many opera composers who created the German Opera.

            In the 19^th century, two figures were paramount in German opera, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. Wagner introduced devices such as leitmotiv, a musical theme that recurs for important chararters or ideas. Wagner based his operas on German history and folklore. His most important was Ring f the Nibelung in 1874.

            When the Nazis came to power in Germany during the 1930s, many composers fled Germany. But following the war, German composers began to experiment with electronic sounds in classical music.

            Germany has many unique regions with their own folk traditions of music and dance. Much of the 20th century saw German culture appropriated for the ruling powers (who fought "foreign" music at the same time). Most recently, the East German regime promoted folk music as long as it was what they saw as an expression of pure German tradition, and a tool for spreading party propaganda. Folk songs were taught to children because they were seen as sunny and optimistic. They had little to due with German tradition. Germany underwent changes in their music, songs started to become more about political activism and realistic joy, sad, and passion.

            There are many more kinds of music Germany has, but if I were to talk about them all, I would be talking all day.

Resources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Germany

http://www.germany.co.za/german_music.html

http://www.naxos.com/education/brief_history.asp

Role of Women in Germany

Role of Women:

            I chose to expand on the topic of Women, only for the fact is that I took a lot of women studies class here at SCSU and I find the topic of women interesting and wanted to know about Germany’s treatment of women.

            They way women are treated is a universal thing. Women are treated less than man not only in Germany, but also in the United States and all over the world. Even today this still occurs. In today’s society women are seen less than a man. Especially when it comes to jobs. Today men hold most top jobs such as CEO’s, and women are still paid 75 cents to the dollar a man makes. Women are still seen as less educated and weaker. They are treated that they should stay in the home and do the typical homemaker jobs.

            In West Germany, women were the minority. There main responsibilities were: Kirche, Kinder, and Kuche, which translates to churches, children, and kitchen. The men did they hard work so the women could stay home and take care of the children and do the housework, such as laundry, cooking, and cleaning.

            Women were seldom even valued in society. Almost 2/3 of the women were unemployed and the women that did work, only obtained factory jobs. These jobs were mainly at the time of the war because they men had to go to war and the women stepped in to complete the work tasks.

     Women had quit the struggle throughout the years in Germany. But by the turn of the 20^th century, women started working more, abortion was legalized, and they were able to start making their own choices. Women started become educated and started to work more. An Organization in Germany fought for equal rights in Germany for their women, and eventually succeeded because women were able to now vote. The process to have equal rights for women was starting to make progress.

            I think it is interesting how similar the past treatment of women is so similar to the United States history of the treatment of women. The United States and Germany have very similar backgrounds. But all though women have made great progress, we still today treat women as the lesser sex and don’t give them the same opportunities as we do men. 

Agriculture

Agriculture in Germany:

The first topic I wished to expand on from the first week of presentations was the agriculture of Germany. A lot of the groups talked about businesses and industries of Germany and touched briefly on the agriculture. So I took it upon myself to expand more on it.

It turns out that Germany has almost 1/3 of its land fit for farming development. Germany in fact is a farming country as well. Agriculture and farming was far more popular before the development of big business and before the industries expanded all over Germany. This hurt the farmers. Today Germany’s farmland is much less.

So now the question is “What kind of stuff does Germany grow and produce?” Well in the northern part of Germany it is considered lowlands. In the north they produce mainly sugar beets because the ground is nearly flat and is perfect conditions for sugar beets. Orchards farm and also vegetable farms surround most of Germany’s cities. This is because it is near the river and that is where you will fine Germany’s vineyards. And of course in Bavaria, most of Germany’s BEER is produced there. Since we are talking about Germany, we have to talk about beer. To produce beer, Germany needs to also produce a lot of grain, which they do. Germany mainly produces sugar beets, wheat, barley, and potatoes.

They funny thing about Germany is that, Germany has a lot of land available for farming, and yet the import a lot of agricultural goods. This is strange to me, because why waste money on importing when you can just grow it yourself?

But as I said earlier, Germany’s farming and agricultural aspect has been declining drastically over the years. Since the industrial revolution, farming is not nearly as popular anymore and most of its tillable land is not being used for farming.

Resources (All info paraphrased from two sites below)

1. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/231186/Germany/58019/Agriculture-forestry-and-fishing

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Germany