MASARYK UNIVERSITY Berlin Wall and Pop Culture
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MASARYK UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF EDUCATION Department of English Language and Literature Berlin Wall and Pop Culture Bachelor Thesis Brno 2018 Supervisor: Michael George, M.A. Author: Pavel Fuka Declaration I hereby declare that I worked on this bachelor thesis independetly and that I used only the sources listed in the list of references. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem tuto bakalářskou práci vypracoval samostatně, s použitím pouze literatury uvedené v bibliografii. Pavel Fuka, Brno 2018 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Michael George, MA. for the help with supervising this thesis, for patience and advice he provided Abstract The topic of the bachelor thesis is Berlin Wall and Pop Culture. The thesis focuses on the cultural environment in Berlin from the 1970s till the 2000s (i.e. the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall). In each chapter it briefly discusses a significant cultural topic relevant to a particular period. Documentary analysis serves as an applied method. The thesis is divided into four chapters, each chapter covers three subchapters. Apart from these twelve chapters, the first chapter is listed in the beginning of the thesis. Various books and internet sources are used as a researched material. The main aim of the thesis is to make readers familiar with cultural aspects related to Berlin in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Key words Music, film, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Berlin Wall, director, author, book, concert, West Berlin, East Berlin. Abstrakt Tématem bakalářské práce je Berlínská Zeď a Populární kultura. Bakalářské práce se zaměřuje na kulturní prostředí v Berlíně od 70. let až po rok 2009 (tzn. období po pádu Berlínské Zdi). Každá kapitola se věnuje významnému kulturnímu aspektu, který se vztahuje k určitému období. Dokumentární analýza zde slouží jako aplikovaná metoda. Bakalářská práce je rozdělena do 4 kapitol, každá kapitola zahrnuje 3 podkapitoly. Kromě těchto 12 kapitol, je na začátku bakalářské práce uvedena první kapitola. Různé knihy a internetové zdroje jsou použily jako výzkumný materiál. Hlavním cílem bakalářské práce je, aby se čtenáři seznámili s kulturními aspekty, které se vztahují k Berlínu v 70. letech, 80. letech, 90. letech a letech po roce 2000. Klíčová slova Hudba, film, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Berlínská zeď, režisér, spisovatel, kniha, koncert, Západní Berlín, Východní Berlín. Table of Contents Introduction Hansa Studios by The Wall in Berlin 1. Berlin Wall and Pop Culture in the 1970s 1 1.1 David Bowie- Low, Heroes, Lodger and How David Bowie helped to bring down the Berlin Wall 1.2 Zoo Station- The story of Christiane F. (1978) 1.3 Pink Floyd- The Wall (1979) 2. Berlin Wall and Pop Culture in the 1980s 2.1 Christiane F.- We Children from Bahnhof Zoo (1981) 2.2 Pink Floyd-The Wall -Film (1982) 2.3 Wim Wenders- Wings of Desire (1987) 3. Berlin Wall and Pop Culture in the 1990s 3.1 The Scorpions-Wind of Change (1990) 3.2 Pink Floyd-Live in Berlin (1990) 3.3 Pink Floyd- A Great Day For Freedom (1994) 4. Berlin Wall and Pop Culture in the 2000s 4.1 Tunnel film (2001) and Some Remarkable Escapes Across The Berlin Wall 4.2 Good Bye, Lenin! (2003) 4.3 Rabbit a la Berlin (2009) Conclusion List of References: Introduction The Berlin Wall was a guarded barrier that divided Berlin into two separate cities, West Berlin and East Berlin. The Wall was constructed in 1961 and it was torn down in 1989. Fall of the Berlin Wall is right after the end of the World War II the most significant historical event for German people. In Germany, this event has such a huge meaning that it can be compared to J.F. Kennedy's assassination or 9/11 in New York. Everybody knows what they did and where they were when it happened. Fall of the Berlin Wall brought sudden and unexpected changes to East Berlin, however, it is necessary to say that after 29 years on, not everyone agrees with reunification of Berlin. (See, 2018). Construction of the wall, its existence and its fall was a big topic for many books, films, songs and other artistic forms. Turbulent events of 1989 in Germany inspired lots of artists in various cultural fields. The importance of these works of art was to reflect the events related to the Cold War. The Berlin Wall was constructed in order to eliminate the increasing number of citizens from East Germany who were escaping to West Berlin after the World War II. From June 1961 till July 1961 the number of those who escaped was almost doubled. So the East German government did not have any other possiblity than to block it by building the Wall. John Fitzgerald Kennedy in June 1963 addressed his very famous speech in Berlin where he stated: „Ich bin ein Berliner". During the first year when the Berlin Wall was put up (1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966) the limitations were not strict and families in West Berlin could visit families in East Berlin. Willy Brandt, the former ruling mayor of West Berlin received in 1971 The Nobel Prize for Peace for his policy which was based upon rapprochement with East Germany, Poland and Soviet Union. When the city of Berlin was celebrating its 750 anniversary, there were a great number of celebrations both in West Berlin and in East Berlin. Ronald Reagan who arrived to Berlin on 12 June 1987, declared his famous speech to Mr. Gorbachev: „Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" „Concert for Berlin" which was in fact Concert for unification of Berlin took place on June 6 and June 8. Even there the concertgoers cried: „The Wall must go!" 40th anniversary of founding of the East Germany was linked with demonstrations which can be compared to „Perestroika" and „Glasnost" in Soviet Union. Ruling government in East Germany was increasingly unstable and this fact led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 9, 1989. (The Berlin Wall and the „Cold War", n.d.) 7 Culture can be defined as traditions, customs and trends which are common for a particular group. It is a general knowledge that a certain kind of culture existed long time ago, in prehistorical times. Popular culture is a kind of culture which requires people, that means us as human beings. As stated above, in general, popular culture has its origin in prehistorical times, however, William Shakespeare was the first pop culture „superstar". It is taken for granted that Shakespeare wrote his timeless classical plays for enjoyment of his audience. (Wertz, 2010) „The Kiss" is perhaps the most famous picture which can be seen on the remaining part of the Berlin Wall-East Side Gallery. Connection of politics and art is evident on this image. At first, some people might think it is a joke, but this is for real. This image was taken in 1979 when Brezhnev and Honecker on this occassion were celebrating 13th anniversary of German Democratic Republic. „The Kiss" is one of the 100 paintings which appears on the East Side Gallery. (Peterson, 2012) 8 Hansa Studios by The Wall in Berlin Hansa Studios are one of the most important studios in the history of music. It is located in the centre of the city of Berlin, very close to the Potsdamer Platz. Part of the city where the studios were before the fall of the Berlin Wall was called West Berlin. In the building which was constructed in the year of 1912 lots of wonderful recordings by amazing artists were made. Hansa Studios started to be famous all over the world particularly thanks to David Bowie who recorded Low and Heroes in the 1970s together with Iggy Pop. Other artists who made Hansa Studios well-known are for instance Depeche Mode, Nick Cave, REM or U2. Nowadays, The Hansa Studios are located on Kothener Strasse and it is considered to be „the most creative music house" in Berlin. As a matter of fact, all genres of music are produced here-rock, hip hop, pop etc. Hansa Studios were founded basically in the early 1960s by the brothers Peter and Thomas Meisel in Berlin. These brothers were using the Meistersaal (which was later known as Hansa Studios) since 1965. Since Hansa Studios received a good reputation in the following years, a great number of artists wanted to record their albums there, the Meisel brothers chose to build their own studio for independent production in the early 1970s. Hansa Studio 1 was opened in 1973 on Nestor Strasse in Berlin where plenty of amazing records were made later on. Sonopress Studio on Kothener Strasse was later turned into Hansa Studio 2 in 1975 and in fact these are the Hansa Studios which are known today as the greatest music studio in Europe. In 1976, the Meisel brothers bought a building on Kothener Strasse which was badly damaged during the WWII and later it was changed into a modern music studio. (Wendewende.de, 2012) According to the documentary Hansa Studios: By the Wall 1976-90, The Hansa recording studios existed on an empty land which was situated next to the Berlin Wall. The documentary has good reviews, it is so well-made that the watcher behind the screen can feel as if he visited the studios. The documentary includes of course the main megastars who recorded their albums in these studios-David Bowie and Iggy Pop, among others. In fact, there has never been released any documentary which would describe Hansa Studios in its great detail and its significance as this one. According to Barry Adamson, musician who played with Nick Cave (Australian rock singer) Hansa Studios has darkness within itself which can be of use.