DEFA at the Crossroads of East German and International Film Culture : : A Companion / / ed. by Marc Silberman, Henning Wrage.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DGBA Architecture, Design and Arts 2000 - 2014
• MitwirkendeR: Allan, Seán,; Bivens, Hunter,; Blessing, Benita,; Byg, Barton,; Fisher, Jaimey,; Hake, Sabine,; Hodgin, Nick,; Köppen, Manuel,; Pinkert, Anke,; Powell, Larson,; Prager, Brad,; Silberman, Marc,; Soldovieri, Stefan,; Wrage, Henning,
• HerausgeberIn: Silberman, Marc,; Wrage, Henning,
• Place / Publishing House: Berlin ;, Boston : : De Gruyter, , [2014]; ©2014
• Year of Publication: 2014
• Language: English
• Series: Companions to Contemporary German Culture , 4
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (346 p.) :; Div. Abb.

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Table of Contents -- Acronyms -- Introduction DEFA at the Crossroads: Remapping the Terrain -- Part I. Extending the Socialist Collective -- Chapter 1. Cinema and Socialist Modernity -- Chapter 2. Emplotting Antifascism: Heroes, Scoundrels, Traitors -- Chapter 3. Divided Loyalties: Technocrats and the Working Class in DEFA Films -- Chapter 4. Representations of Art and the Artist in East German Cinema -- Chapter 5. Family Feelings: Kinship, Gender and Social Utopia in DEFA Film -- Part II. Expanding the Reach of Entertainment -- Chapter 6. Not Only Entertainment: Sights and Sounds of the DEFA Music Film -- Chapter 7. The Trail Runs Cold: DEFA’s Crime Films -- Chapter 8. A Late Genre Fade: Utopianism and its Twilight in DEFA’s Science Fiction, Literary and Western Films -- Chapter 9. Public Figures, Political Symbols, Famous Stars: Actors in DEFA Cinema and Beyond -- Part III. Enlarging the Map -- Chapter 10. ‘Wind from the East’: DEFA and Eastern European Cinema -- Chapter 11. DEFA Children’s Films: Not Just for Children -- Chapter 12. DEFA Films for the Youth: National Paradigms, International Influences -- Chapter 13. Alternative Realities and Authenticity in DEFA’s Documentary Films -- Bibliography -- Selected Filmography -- List of Illustrations -- Contributors -- Index