Newspaper trump exam question

East Germany

Context of The Berlin Wall

• Conclusion of WW2, Germany was split in two (East and West Germany)
• Western side was assisted by UK and US
• Eastern Side was assisted by Soviet Union
• Berlin was divided into East and West Berlin 
• Many people began escaping from the East side to the West because of the worsening conditions.
• In August 1961, the East Germans ordered that the border between East and West Germany was closed
• This included cutting the city in half and erecting a border between the two.
• First a temporary barbwire fence was put up
• Families were no longer able to visit relatives on the other side
• Some East Berliners were cut off from their jobs on the West Berlin side.
• They then erected a permanent wall made of concrete, which was known The Berlin Wall
• 87 mile long structure, featuring 116 watch towers, dogs, chain link fences, barbwire, and trenches to stop vehicles from driving across, also included a secondary wall on the East Berlin Side
• There were several checkpoints where people would cross, including the famous 'Checkpoint Charlie"
• It stood for 26 years but in the 1980s it started to get criticised, with Ronald Reagan, The President of America, stating 'Tear Down This Wall'
• This caused many Eastern Germans to protest against the wall and knock it down by hand.

What was life like? 

• There was a lot of surveillance, with many people living double lives.
• Poverty was a big problem at this time with people only managing to afford the necessities in life
• People tried to sneak through the wall but they would be very fortunate to succeed

What did young people listen to/do for fun?

• Music was heavily censored in East Germany, as authorities would carefully review lyrics for any hints of dissent, and ban a band if they found any. Bands were also only allowed to sing in German. Needless to say, the youth began clamoring for bands from abroad, and a black market developed of copies of western artists’ music and bootlegs of it.

What was Education like?

• Schools in East Germany were not just educational centres in the narrow sense of the word. Beside regular classes, they also organised ’pioneer afternoons’ with different themes. On some, kids could bring their pets. On others, they would be talking about holidays. They also spent many a pioneer afternoon playing outside in the forest. The pioneer activities served as the first preparation for children to become ’good socialists’. On special occasions like the first of May, they wore scouting-like uniforms that were different for each age group. They remember wearing a white shirt and a blue tie, which belonged to the youngest pioneers. The next higher group, ’Thälmann-pioneers’ had white shirt and red ties.”

Why did people want to escape?

• Poverty
• Worsening Conditions
• Regional Inequalities still exist, leaving the East behind the West with higher unemployment and poverty rates, population decline, and scarcity of large companies. Unemployment in the former West Germany is at 5.6%, whereas in the former East Germany it is above 9%.

Was it all bad?

• Many people hadn't done anything in their life that interested the Stasi, many people woke up, went to work, came home, ate, drank, and slept like anybody else. 

CAMERA, MISE EN SCENE, SOUND, EDITING

Camera

• High angle looking down on social worker- patriarchy 
• Extreme close up of phone after it falls- extreme panic
• Most camera shots of the young people were eye level equality amongst us and directly with the audience
• Gun shot, long shot of Connie cut to close up of Eleven shot demonstrates panic
• Level three shot of boys in woods
• Two mid shot Jonathon and Joyce close on the sofa signifies closeness in relationship

Mise en Scene

• Byers' house- dim lighting, brown clothes, 80s interior
• Yellow phone contrasts and stands out = communication
• Benny's diner - Eleven seeks shelter
• Woods- heavy rain
• Nancy's bedroom
• Choppers, torches, shine Eleven's, theme of light

Sound

• Off screen sound of pot wash in Benny's diner to on screen of Benny washing
• Off screen diegetic knocking disruption of the narrative and raises alarm.
• Diegetic dialogue 'you don't sound the same as you did on the phone'
• Non diegetic contrapuntal song commences as soon as Benny is shot- White Rabbit Jefferson find song- volume and pace increase as Eleven runs away
• Non diegetic sci fi instrumental emphasises tension when they find Eleven 
• Joyce phone on screen siegetic sound of mysterious creature
• Nancy's room- Africa Toto is contrapuntal- romantic mood- 80s theme
• Look for twig sound and music interruption

Editing

• Jump cut Nancy's room/proximity/intimacy
• Connie pace of cuts increases- panic
• SFX electric bang from phone communication with Will and sci fi other
• Shot reverse shot
• Order of the narrative- multi stranded narrative underlines the LFTVD drama conventions. In the scene- happening mostly simultaneously except Eleven's escape and discovery. Linking characters at the end of the episode. 

Industry LFTVD

LFTVD Language

Camera (shot distance/angle/movement/framing)

In the exchange between Benny and the Social Worker, looking down at the female contrasts with the low angle of Benny, which suggests Patriarchy. Extreme close up of the phone as it falls after it burned, which shows panic. All shots of the boys are at eye-line suggesting their equality. Low angle of the secret service shows how they exert their dominance over civilians.

Editing (cuts/transitions/motion and speed/special effects/CGI/editing for perspective/ellipses)

In the scene of the bedroom. of Steve and Nancy, a jump cut is use to show the proximity between the two. As they move closer, the audience is made aware of the intimacy. When the social worker arrives at Benny's, the pace of the transition increase alongside the non-diegetic music. This creates an overall sense of panic. The use of special effects when we see electrocution on the phone, suggests the panic and the first sign of communication between Joyce and Will, this also links to the supernatural theme.

Mise-en-scene (location/setting/costume/props/performance/lighting)

Pathetic Fallacy as rain starts when they arrive at where Will was taken. The yellow phone is used in contrast to the brown and dark room to signify the first contact between the normal and the supernatural. The social worker is a counter type as you would not assume she is a killer due to the way she looks (make up, Costume etc.). The chopper bikes and walkie talkies that the boys use reference the 80's theme.

Sound (diegetic sound- Foley, sound effects, dialogue/ Non diegetic sound- sound bridge, incidental sound, synchronous/asynchronous sound, voice over narration)

In the Steve and Nancy scene, the music (Africa- Toto) is diegetic as it's from the radio in Nancy's room. The choice of song is contrapuntal as it's the wrong song for the mood that is trying to be set (romantic). When we are presented to Will's mum on the phone, we are introduced to on screen diegetic sound of the mystery creature on the other end of the phone. This creates an intense, panicked atmosphere.

Netflix and Technology

LFTVD Representations

Constructed Realism: You decide when to shoot, when to edit- the idea that all the media products and what we see in them is made or built using technical codes and media language such as camerawork, editing.

Dominant Ideology: Everything is ran by middle-class, christian, white men. In our society, the dominant group shapes the dominant values.

Representation in Media:

• All media products are 'constructed'.
• Producers use different elements/conventions of media language to construct these representations.
• Producers of different long form TV dramas may use different elements of media language to:

1. Offer different representations
2. Constructed media representations ensure that the meaning 'encoded' in media products can be quickly read and understood by the audience.