Monday, March 24, 2014
Berlin Calling
Film: Berlin Calling
1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?
Drugs are a way to relax for
Ickarus. It is part of his way of life. Being in the club as a DJ and partying are
a way of existence for him. He is also under pressure to finish his album, so
he uses drugs to stay up all day and night to be able to do his music and
party. In reality, the drugs are inhibiting his creativity and motivation.
2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?
His fans take drugs like he does:
anywhere and everywhere, especially at parties and in the club. For them, it is
also a part of their life and the scene they are in. Everyone does it for the
most part, so not participating would mean missing something. The main drugs
are ketamine, crystal, ecstasy, cocaine, MDMA, and MDM. Ickarus took some pills
with a dangerous mix that also had a hallucinogen and ended up in the mental
health ward because it sent him into psychosis.
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 belongs to focus on drugs?
The people want to be able to party
all night and get messed up. For them, it is fun and what they do, and I
imagine most get addicted. It also seems like a way to escape reality and
problems in life.
This ties into my overall viewing
experience (see below). The similarities relate to young people experimenting
with drugs, drinking, and partying all night. This type of lifestyle is
stereotypical of rock stars who have been known to use hard drugs and become
extremely addicted. Promiscuity is also a common theme in the film and in the US.
Some differences include a more
liberal and open view of sexuality. People are having sex in the open at
parties. Same-sex sex also seems to be more accepted (see below). I also
noticed that Ickarus is very set in his ways and is not afraid to express his
opinions. In Minnesota especially, “Minnesota Nice” as many like to call it is,
in my mind, “Minnesota Passive-Aggressive” in which many people do not know how
to be assertive or fear confrontation or even having a different opinion. To me
it is unhelpful and stifling. I would like to see people in MN become more
assertive with their needs and opinions, more similar to the ways in which
people express themselves in Germany.
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?
I do not think that the youth
culture could change the fact that Germany is a strong industrial nation. They
are too drugged and high to have any motivation to do anything. They seem very
passive in major issues that could have any influence on changing the presence
of Germany.
Ickarus is a hard, motivated worker
when he is sober. After abstaining from drugs, he finds his passion and creativity
again. Alice is a stickler and strict on deadlines and how her business is run.
If Ickarus was clean and working with Alice, I think they could to a lot to
change Germany. Consequently, if Ickarus was a big enough name to be a role
model in the “cult” to forget about drugs, I think he could then lead the youth
into changing Germany dramatically if the movement was large enough. However, I
do not think this is likely to happen.
6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?
The only similar show that came to
mind was Jersey Shore concerning the idea of going out and partying, getting
drunk in excess to the point it is dangerous or getting arrested, which
reflects the partying scene in the film. It ties into the idea that that is
what everyone does in that scene; it is what is “cool” and accepted among that
group of people. To not participate in partying and getting stupidly drunk
would mean not being included within that group.
Overall Viewing Experience
Overall I enjoyed the film. It was
difficult at times to watch, especially when seeing Ickarus making poor
decisions and his discrepancy between how his album “rocked” when he was really
lacking because of the drug influence. Seeing him in such absurd and dangerous
predicaments after “bad trips” was scary, and then to see him react as if
everything was fine was devastating as a viewer. He was being sucked into a
world of drugs that put his safety and mental sanity on the line, along with
his creative presence and motivation to get the album completed. It was most
enjoyable to see him triumph in the end and turn down drugs. He pulled his life
together and created an album that “rocked.”
Some of the cultural differences
that jumped out at me began with similarities. Many famous artists, especially
rock stars, are known for excessive alcohol and illegal drug use just like
Ickarus and his scene. The parties were not all that different than what people
could find in the US. What stood out to me as different was the portrayal of
sexuality in the film. Sex was happening everywhere outside of the privacy of one’s
home, which is more often how sex is portrayed in the US. There were many
people engaging in sex at parties and in bathrooms, which is showed in
movies/media in the US, but it was shown in a way that seemed to say that this
is natural and normal, whereas in the US it is looked at as deviant. I was also
surprised that one of the sex scenes portrayed two males having sex. Same-sex
sex is certainly not generally accepted in the lives of many people in the US
based on the idea of heterosexism, and portraying this scene in a US film would
cause great controversy. It shows that in Berlin, and what I understand about
Germany as a whole, is more accepting of people in the LGBT community and does
not view homosexuality necessarily as something abnormal, rather it is an
acceptable way in which to identify.
I also noticed a difference when looking at
mental health stigma. Although issues with mental health can be seen negatively
in the US, it has become more accepted and looked at as a sign of courage to
seek help when needed. In the film, it seemed there was a more negative stigma
attached when seeing Ickarus being admitted to the mental health institution,
called the “loony bin.” He did not want to tell people where he was, which
shows shame around the idea that his drug use was a problem and needed
psychological help in order to recover.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Turkish-German Hip Hop Music
Turkish-German Hip Hop
German Hip Hop
· -
Began with German hip hop: American hip
hop culture, especially graffiti and break-dancing, became a part of Western
Europe in the early 1980s
· - Did not gain popularity until early
1990s
o
Fie Fantastischen Vier and Rödelheim
Hartreim Projekt
o
Influenced by films: visual of cultural
elements + music
Turkish-German hip hop
·
The group Cartel was among the scene's first hits. Their Middle Eastern
beats and socially critical lyrics struck a nerve with young migrants.
Cartel's 1995 debut album drew much attention to the rap formation built
around Hakan K. (l) and Erci E from Berlin. They ended up on music TV
channels like MTV and VIVA, and the rock star Peter Maffay helped
produce their album "Begegnungen" (Encounters).
-
Express frustration with society and
disadvantages of Turkish descent
-Embrace “thug life”
-After fall of Berlin Wall sought a way
to express their identity
·
First
Turkish rap single, Bir Yabancının Hayati or The Life of the Stranger
o
Themes of identity and life as a foreigner
o
Lack of permanency and belonging
·
-Develop Turkish-German vernacular
o
Promoting Turkish identity over German
o
Kanak
Sprak: “nigga speak”
§ Negative
hip hop/African American clichés
§ Believe
they are exactly like African Americans and trying to reinvent themselves
o
Rappers switch between Turkish and
German languages
·
-Suggests Germany is failing to address
need for young people who are trying to assert new identities in a recently
multicultural country
· -Different than German rap
o
Use US art form/culture to form a
Turkish identity; not German or Turkish-German
o
Identify more closely with Black
Americans
-Neighborhood of Kreuzberg: high population
of Turkish immigrants and hip hop culture
· Berlin's Turkish hip-hop scene: A mic in the hand and rapping about xenophobia, discrimination and
conservative Islamic traditions - by the early 1990s, young Germans with
Turkish roots had discovered hip-hop. The clubs, cultural centers and
tucked away courtyards of Berlin's multi-cultural district Kreuzberg
became the epicenter of the scene.
The Kreuzberg rapper and actress Aziza A. proves that Berlin's hip-hop
scene isn't just for the boys. She is among the pioneers of
German-Turkish rap, putting out her debut album "Es ist Zeit" (It's
Time) in 1997. Her bitingly ironic plays on words deal with the
precarious circumstances faced by Turkish youth in Germany, and the
songs chip away at common clichés about Turkish women.
-Rapper Eko Fresh
·
Released the first Turkish-German rap
album in 2003 = big hit
o
König von Deutschland
·
-Typical story of growing up in Turkish
and German cultures
·
-Uses both languages and demonstrates
daily struggles of Turkish-Germans
·
Single: Der Gastarbeiter (Guest worker;
immigrant)
Resorces:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)