Multicultural Germany Course: Week 4 Summary (Sept. 21 & 23)
Who defines identity? Germany’s struggle with inclusivity. This last week in class, we discussed the limits of Germany’s capacity to take in immigrants and what it means to be German. Proponents of reducing the number of foreigners in Germany believe that the “boat” of Germany’s capacity for incorporation of foreigners is “full.” To these native-born […]
True Stories of Being Black in Germany, Lakshmi Sarah
Lakshmi Sarah, one of the participants in the course Multicultural Germany, produced an article published in KQED entitled “True Stories of Being Black in Germany” in which she introduces a traveling exhibit from the Goethe Institut and its curator Victoria Toney-Robinson. Please click on this link to read the article in full: “True Stories of […]
Multicultural Germany Class Final Paper: Staged Realities
At the end of the past semester, students in the Multicultural Germany class at UC Berkeley wrote final papers on topics of their choosing. To conclude our series of posts from this class, we are delighted to share several of their papers here. This paper is by Treasure Nguyen, who wrote about Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s 1974 film, Angst […]
Film Reviews: “Alles auf Zucker!”
As part of their work in the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Jennifer Lau, Jenelle Mathews, and Brittany Scott reviewed Dani Levy’s 2004 comedy Alles auf Zucker Review by Jennifer Lau: Nothing brings an estranged family […]
“Alles auf Zucker!” Film Review by Jennifer Lau
Nothing brings an estranged family together like the death of a loved one and the subsequent promise of an inheritance. In Dani Levy’s 2004 comedy, Go for Zucker (Alles auf Zucker), two brothers are forced to overcome their animosity and reconcile both their personal feud and religious differences, which simmered for over 40 years as […]
“Alles auf Zucker!” Film Review by Jenelle Mathews
The 2004 film, “Alles auf Zucker” is a German work that engages with social issues such as religion, family loyalty and identity through the use of comedy. The film was directed by Dani Levy and is situated in modern Berlin. Levy’s work portrays two brothers and their families, who after many years of severed contact […]
“Alles auf Zucker!” Film Review by Brittany Scott
Go for Zucker! is a comedy film directed by Dani Levy that was released in 2004. The film portrays the story of a family divided by the Berlin Wall emotionally and physically. The division provides the basis for conflict between Jackie Zucker – a pool shark – and Samuel Zuckerman, his orthodox Jewish brother. The […]
“Alles auf Zucker” Film Review by Katja Minitsenka
A movie by a Swiss Jewish director about German Jews, Go for Zucker deals with multiple problems in German post-reunification society. Among many conflicts, depicted in this movie, are the differences between the West and the East, now and then, religious and not, politically correct and not, family relations or absence thereof, conflict of generations […]
Film Reviews: Kebab Connection
As part of their work in the Multicultural Germany undergraduate seminar at UC Berkeley, students in the course have reviewed recent German films relating in various ways to topics of migration, multiculturalism, and contemporary German identity. Sara Sellami, Preethi Kandhalu, and Victoria Brinkerhoff reviewed Anno Saul’s 2005 film “Kebab Connection.” Review by Sara Sellami: Kebab Connection is a comedy by Anno Saul, a German film […]
Kebab Connection – Review by Christine Leper
A comedy centered around a young couple in Germany from very different backgrounds, Kebab Connection makes light of many cultural stereotypes. At the beginning of the film, the main character, Ibo, a young man in his early twenties of Turkish decent, impregnates his aspiring actress, German girlfriend, Titzi (short for Patricia).