Film Review: The Swissmakers (Die Schweizermacher)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Karla Palos The 1978 film Die Schweizermacher (The Swissmakers) is a good cop/bad cop comedy directed by Rolf Lyssy which dramatizes the bureaucratic exchanges between immigration officials and immigrants applying for Swiss citizenship. The film focuses on two officials: Walo Lüönd, who plays […]
Film Review: Fack ju Göhte (Suck Me Shakespeer)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Jasmine Giang Fack ju Göhte (Suck Me Shakespeer) is a 2013 German screwball/romantic comedy, directed by Turkish-German director Bora Dağtekin. It proved to be one of the most commercially successful German films of the decade, placing second in gross income in the 2013 German […]
Film Review: Dirt for Dinner (Dreckfresser)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Cara Bohmann Dreckfresser – Dirt for Dinner This documentary from 2000 by Branwen Okpako tells the story of Samuel Njankouo Meffire, son of a Cameroonian father and German mother, Samuel became a figurehead for diversity in the city of Dresden when his portrait […]
Book Review: Along a Dangerous Road
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Evelyn Roth Along a Dangerous Road – “Der Schlaf in der Ténéré hinterlässt eine unzerstörbare Spur im Körper. Eine Erinnerung für das ganze Leben“ (Sleeping in the Ténéré leaves its mark within one’s body. A memory that will last a life time)”[1]. The same thing can […]
Film Review: My name is not Ali – Ali im Paradies – Jannat Ali
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Tina Schlagenhaufer Film Review: Viola Shafik’s My name is not Ali – Ali im Paradies – Jannat Ali My Name Is Not Ali is a documentary by Viola Shafik[1] from the year 2011 about the actor El Hedi Ben Salem M’barek Mohammed Mustafa, who was […]
Film Review: The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Gradey Wang The 2006 German drama film The Lives of Others (German: Das Leben der Anderen) directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck follows the lives of playwright Georg Dreyman (played by Sebastian Koch) and his girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland (played by Martina Gedeck) in […]
Film Review: Head-On (Gegen die Wand)
Posted in conjunction with the course Multicultural Germany in fall semester 2015. Author: Andrew Christensen Gegen die Wand is a dark and dramatic romance directed and written by Fatih Akın. The film makes a powerful statement about the nature of love and family by exploring the unorthodox relationship between two initially broken individuals – Sibel […]
“Still Alive: Memory of Economic Contribution of the Korean Guest Workers” by Jung Woo Park
As the wave of immigrants continues to flood into Germany fleeing the war-torn countries such as Syria, the refugee crisis in Europe dominates the newspaper headlines around the world. Interestingly, however, not all of the newspapers seem to have the same focus. While major Western news sources mostly focus on the political implications of this […]
“Made in Germany: Identity and Memory” by Jung Woo Park
Last Tuesday, we had the opportunity to watch the film Almanya – Willkommen in Deutschland, a German comedy film about a former Turkish guest worker. The film was very interesting, not only because it deftly wove comedy into the history of the Guest Worker Program, but also because it reminded me of another film about […]
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 6 Summary (Oct. 5 & 7)
Migration brings both culture and religion. This week in our course we focused on religion and secularism, acknowledging the complexity of the terms in context of past and current migrations related to Germany. Our discussion found its beginnings in questions such as: Does religion form part of collective memory? Which conflicts arise around differing religious […]