Albrecht Classen: Why German Studies Today?
The first guest commentary in our Mission Possible series of hot takes on the purpose of German Studies comes courtesy of Dr. Albrecht Classen, Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of German Studies at the University of Arizona. His response to the question, “Why study German today?”, is an elegant reflection on the […]
Das Comeback der Promis ist ganz Pop
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Lianette Alnaber analyzes the motif of the hip-hop comeback in the first video in three years by Afghan-German rapper SSIO. SSIO, ein deutscher Rapper afghanischer Abstammung, hat am 26. September und […]
Apache 207 und seine goldenen Nike-Rollschuhe
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Lianette Alnaber examines the significance of consumer branding in constructing the persona of Turkish-German rapper Apache 207. Apache 207, ein deutscher Rapper und Sänger mit türkischen Wurzeln, ist in den letzten […]
Hip-Hop: Afroamerikanisch und Global
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Ray Savord examines the aesthetic and political development and impact of hip-hop since its inception, noting how the worldwide influence of black American culture has brought out new sounds in […]
Rapper sein, der neue Pop-Trend?
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Kian Jansepar unpacks the thematic complexities of German rap as the scene negotiates its relationship to gangster imagery alongside its growing popularity. Vor einem Jahr, wurde die beliebte TV Serie […]
Transit
With actors Frank Rogowski and Paul Beer. Premier German auteur Christian Petzold’s adaptation of the 1942 Anna Seghers’s novel follows Georg (Rogowski), a young Jewish man who flees the Nazis to France with the identity and papers of a dead author, only to meet and fall in love a woman searching for her missing husband […]
Zuhaus unter Fremden
With actors Herbert Grönemeyer, Aysun Bademsoy and Meray Ülgen. In this early made-for-TV engagement with migration and multiculturalism, a young Turkish-German woman, Ayshe (Bademsoy), meets and falls in love with Bernd (Grönemeyer), but is at odds with her father (Ülgen) over not just her love for a German man but over her preference for Germany […]
Yasemin
With actors Ayse Romey, Uwe Bohm, Sener Sen, Ilhan Emerli Jan (Bohm) joins a judo class and, on a bet, pursues his Turkish-German classmate Yasemin (Romey) romantically. Yasemin is uninterested and has her own problems, first and foremost the strict opposition of her father Yunuf (Sen) to her wishes to go to college. As her […]
Wolfsburg
With actors Benno Fürmann and Nina Hoss. Smug, reckless car salesman Phillip Gerber (Fürmann) runs over a young boy in a tragic moment of carelessness, and flees the scene. He follows the boy’s condition until learning of his passing, but doesn’t tell the boy’s grieving and vengeful mother, Laura Reiser (Hoss). Links: IMDB, YouTube (Trailer) […]
Wir sitzen im Süden (Based Down South)
color, Germany/Turkey, Martina Priessner, 88 Min, 2010 Four Turkish-Germans born who grew up in Germany and now live in Istanbul share their different stories and divergent paths that all brought them back to their ancestral homeland: one through deportation, two forced by their parents, and only one, Ciğdem, who came to Turkey of his own […]