Good Bye Lenin
A prescribed text page containing TWO TEEEC paragraphs analysing one or two screenshots from the film that support your perspective on the statement and a link to the related material page.
The transformation of East Berlin society is made to seem more extreme through the plot device of Christiane's ignorance. In the scene in which she escapes from her apartment whilst Alex sleeps Becker uses a series of escalating images of the simultaneous growth of Western influence and decline of communist influence. As she puts on her coat Becked shows Ariane's Burger King uniform in the mise en scene in the background, however he uses dramatic irony to create tension for the audience who can see the uniforms and understand their significance, whilst Christiane stays focussed on the door. As she rests outside the apartment Becker shows Christiane in the midground staring at a fluffy pink lamp in the foreground, providing a stark contrast between the drab Eastern furniture which had been discarded on the footpath and the garish western accessory. The scene culminates in the removal of the statue of Lenin, the symbolic destruction of the communist history in East Berlin. Becker creates rising tension throughout the scene as the helicopter carrying the statue slowly moves around behind several buildings, however the final reveal of the statue creates an emotive and intimate moment when Becker show us the statue's appearing to gesture to Christiane directly whilst the camera shoots over Christiane's shoulder. The use of perspective in this shot creates a powerful sense of empathy with Christiane and the audience is given some emotional connection with the seemingly benevolent figure of Lenin. By providing this experience from Christiane's perspective, Becker creates a powerful sense of the disorienting loss in identity and value structure created by the upheaval of communism in East Berlin. |
The film's orientation establishes the pervasive influence of the DDR state into every aspect of its citizen's lives. Through a blend of intimate, personal scenes that the state intrudes upon and mass displays of miltary-political power the opening scenes of the film reveal the scale of the East German states influence over the people. In both the flashback sequence of the Stasi interrogating Christiane in her kitchen and the red room scene in which Alex tries to sleep through the 40th Anniversary celebrations, Becker shows the intrusion of the state into domestic spaces. The framing of Christiane in the window of her kitchen creates the impression that she is boxed in or imprisoned even in her own home, whilst the red glow in Alex's bedroom literally shows the glow of the communist banner outside his window and symbolically shows that the communist state was infiltrating even his most personal space. In these scenes Becker establishes that the DDR controlled people even in their personal, private spaces. Intercut with these displays of the personal Becker also shows soldiers marching through the street in the 40th Anniversary and row after row of prisoners after Alex has been arrested for participating in a peaceful protest. The stock footage of the soldiers adds verisimilitude to the film; a reminder that this was a political reality that affected real people. The slowly panning camera in the prison emphasises the vast scale of the police power that Alex has been personally controlled by. Through this blend of personal and public displays of State power, Becker demonstrates the ramifications of the control of the political system on every aspect of people's lives.
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