Assignment task:
1. Stephan Brockman argues that Good Bye Lenin! conveys "the tremendous emotional impact experienced by East Germans undergoing the change from the socialist GDR to the capitalist FRG." Choose a scene where you noticed something that helped you understand this experience of rapid historical transformation and describe it carefully. What do you notice about the mise-en-scène, the cinematography, the dialogue, or any other cinematic element that helped convey the meaning of this moment in the film? Embed a screen shot to illustrate your response.Download Embed a screen shot to illustrate your response.
2. Good Bye Lenin! brings together ostalgie and irony, humor and tragedy, often evoking a bittersweet sense of connection and loss. In the lectures I mention a few examples of how the film mobilizes ostalgie and irony. Describe a scene where you noticed some combination of these different affects or feelings at play in the film. How do understand the critical perspective of the film in the moment you have selected to describe? What is the role played by ostalgie or irony in the production of that meaning?
3. How do you interpret Brockman's claim that Good Bye Lenin! allowed East Germans to "mourn the loss of a dream"? What exactly does the film suggest East Germans are missing? Cite a moment in the film helped you understand the deeper significance of what they have lost.