Thikuna Canna binti Mohd Suffian
1398768
Elective: Censorship and Social Transformation
Dr. Ksenia Robbe
word count: 925
A simulated reality- film review of Good bye Lenin!
East Berlin, 1989. On the 40th
anniversary of the GDR, only days before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Alexander
(Daniel Bruhl), a young German boy participates in a riot to promote the idea
of walking in free borders. His mother, Christiane (Katrin
Saß), is very loyal to the communist regime of the GDR. When she coincidently
sees him participating in the riot against the regime, she instantly gets a
heart attack and lapses in a coma. For eight months she stays in coma, and she
sleeps though all the changes that East Berlin went through. She sleeps through
the fall of the Berlin Wall, the first free elections, the reunification of
Germany and the increasing westernization. Essentially mom overslept the
triumph of capitalism. When she finally
wakes up, the doctors tell Alex and his sister Ariane (Maria
Simon) that the slightest shock could cause another heart attack. Mom, being a
very idealistic promotor of her socialist fatherland, would not survive in this
new capitalistic Berlin. Alex and Ariane then decide to pretend nothing has
changed and they create this fictional, simulated reality in which mom’s
beloved socialist regime is still in charge.
Good Bye Lenin! is an unusual story about an all changing Berlin. This political tragicomedy is unique in its genre, as it is told from a German perspective. Social criticism on the German reunification and capitalism is given from different sides, and this is exactly what makes this movie unique. The movie is built around the representation of censorship in a constructed world. Censorship has a significant role in this movie. Not only because it is one of the main topics throughout the story, but also because we can identify different types of censorship that provide us with new perspectives on censorship itself. Shortly, it motivates us to critically think about censorship.
In one scene, Alex says; ‘’The country my mother left was a country she had believed in, and which we kept alive until her last second. A country that in fact never existed like this. A country that in my memory will always be connected to my mother.’’ This clearly illustrates that the GDR Alex created for his mother was in fact the one he would have liked to have. In this, he not only shows resistance to this new system of capitalism, Alex also creates his own imaged regime. This imaged regime is essentially based on censoring as well.
Another form of self-censorship can be found in Christiane’s extremely positive image of socialism. She was a fanatic promotor of the socialist GDR, or as Alex states. ‘’…my mother got married to her socialist fatherland’’. Christiane seemed to only see the good sides of communism, and in that she censored all the negative aspects of the GDR. It is striking to realise that the socialist regime of the GDR was built upon this type of self-censorship. Christiane therefore becomes an image of an ideal socialistic regime, that in fact is in denial about its own flaws and shortcomings.
This brings us to the different discourses that the main characters are related to. Clearly, Christiane as a very loyal and idealistic promotor of the GDR’s socialist regime would never approve of capitalism. Her daughter Ariane is somewhat different. She embraces the new system of capitalism, that brings her modernity and opportunities in life. She gives up her studies to sell hamburgers at Burger King. Alex is somewhat in between. He embraces his new life, as he states ‘’… the future was in our hands, uncertain and promising.’’ According to him, Berlin after the fall of the wall, ‘’ was the most beautiful place on earth again- in summer it felt like the centre of the world.’’ This illustrates Alex’ sympathy towards the new system of capitalism. However, he also sometimes felt nostalgic of the old Berlin he used to know. ‘’20 Years of GDR didn’t harm our health, right?’’ Alex wonders in one particular scene in which he seems to be the only one who is critical towards the new system. He doesn’t seem to realise that by keeping his mother in a simulated reality of the old GDR, he keeps himself there as well. This censorship of remembering prevents him to fully embrace the new system of capitalism, and thus his new life.
Good bye Lenin! is as entertaining as it is reflective. It is often funny, as Alex’ determination of keeping the GDR alive leads to unexpected situations. The deep love he feels for his mother makes him determined to overcome all obstacles in keeping her healthy and happy, even if that means creating a world that is long gone. The white lies eventually come out, as it becomes increasingly harder for everyone involved to maintain all the deception. Lara (Chulpan Khamatova), Alex’ girlfriend, is in the end the one who values the truth higher than the lies. Although her motives for telling the truth were not entirely clear in the movie, she was less consumed by the imaginary world Alex created and she had a certain distance to Christiane which gave room for clear thinking. In the end it becomes clear that everyone involved feels differently about all the lies and censoring.
In conclusion, (self)censorship is depicted in this movie as something that doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, as it can be a way of protecting your family. But, this movie teaches us that although censorship and lies can sometimes be used for a good cause, truth will eventually prevail and will be what people value highest.
Good Bye Lenin! is an unusual story about an all changing Berlin. This political tragicomedy is unique in its genre, as it is told from a German perspective. Social criticism on the German reunification and capitalism is given from different sides, and this is exactly what makes this movie unique. The movie is built around the representation of censorship in a constructed world. Censorship has a significant role in this movie. Not only because it is one of the main topics throughout the story, but also because we can identify different types of censorship that provide us with new perspectives on censorship itself. Shortly, it motivates us to critically think about censorship.
In one scene, Alex says; ‘’The country my mother left was a country she had believed in, and which we kept alive until her last second. A country that in fact never existed like this. A country that in my memory will always be connected to my mother.’’ This clearly illustrates that the GDR Alex created for his mother was in fact the one he would have liked to have. In this, he not only shows resistance to this new system of capitalism, Alex also creates his own imaged regime. This imaged regime is essentially based on censoring as well.
Another form of self-censorship can be found in Christiane’s extremely positive image of socialism. She was a fanatic promotor of the socialist GDR, or as Alex states. ‘’…my mother got married to her socialist fatherland’’. Christiane seemed to only see the good sides of communism, and in that she censored all the negative aspects of the GDR. It is striking to realise that the socialist regime of the GDR was built upon this type of self-censorship. Christiane therefore becomes an image of an ideal socialistic regime, that in fact is in denial about its own flaws and shortcomings.
This brings us to the different discourses that the main characters are related to. Clearly, Christiane as a very loyal and idealistic promotor of the GDR’s socialist regime would never approve of capitalism. Her daughter Ariane is somewhat different. She embraces the new system of capitalism, that brings her modernity and opportunities in life. She gives up her studies to sell hamburgers at Burger King. Alex is somewhat in between. He embraces his new life, as he states ‘’… the future was in our hands, uncertain and promising.’’ According to him, Berlin after the fall of the wall, ‘’ was the most beautiful place on earth again- in summer it felt like the centre of the world.’’ This illustrates Alex’ sympathy towards the new system of capitalism. However, he also sometimes felt nostalgic of the old Berlin he used to know. ‘’20 Years of GDR didn’t harm our health, right?’’ Alex wonders in one particular scene in which he seems to be the only one who is critical towards the new system. He doesn’t seem to realise that by keeping his mother in a simulated reality of the old GDR, he keeps himself there as well. This censorship of remembering prevents him to fully embrace the new system of capitalism, and thus his new life.
Good bye Lenin! is as entertaining as it is reflective. It is often funny, as Alex’ determination of keeping the GDR alive leads to unexpected situations. The deep love he feels for his mother makes him determined to overcome all obstacles in keeping her healthy and happy, even if that means creating a world that is long gone. The white lies eventually come out, as it becomes increasingly harder for everyone involved to maintain all the deception. Lara (Chulpan Khamatova), Alex’ girlfriend, is in the end the one who values the truth higher than the lies. Although her motives for telling the truth were not entirely clear in the movie, she was less consumed by the imaginary world Alex created and she had a certain distance to Christiane which gave room for clear thinking. In the end it becomes clear that everyone involved feels differently about all the lies and censoring.
In conclusion, (self)censorship is depicted in this movie as something that doesn’t necessarily have to be negative, as it can be a way of protecting your family. But, this movie teaches us that although censorship and lies can sometimes be used for a good cause, truth will eventually prevail and will be what people value highest.
First of all, you wrote a very good and clear review of “Goodbye Lenin” in my opinion. The structure was clear, and I like the fact that you used quotes to underline your arguments. They’re effectively chosen, and always bring your arguments back to the film. You also have really good insight into the characters. Alex, Ariane and Christiane’s motivations become clear, especially how they mean well for each, even though, as you say, they are constantly involved in self-censorship I agree with the majority of your arguments, but I have some comments to add.
ReplyDeleteAlex longs for the regime he created himself rather than the socialist system that would have been if it still existed. You can see this for example in the fact that he did support the fall of the wall at the beginning of the movie. So in some ways the world that Alex created was also a way for him to come to terms with the loss of his childhood world and his mother. I wonder what would’ve happened if he didn’t create this utopia for his mom? Would he have looked back with any fondness at all if he wasn’t constantly involved in recreating the most nostalgic aspects of the regime?
Furthermore, I’m not actually sure that Christiane would not have approved of a capitalist system. Maybe she wouldn’t necessarily have supported it, but the fact that she wanted to follow her husband to the capitalist West indicates that she wasn’t against capitalism. I see it as a form of self-protection from Christiane’s side because she was scared to follow her husband to the West, and that’s why she turns to another extreme, which is the devotion to GDR. This in turn led to her self-censorship. Furthermore, when Lara tells her the truth she didn’t take it as badly as Alex would have expected. But of course, this can also be a sign of her self-censorship to the point of denial.
Overall you wrote an excellent review, that not only looks at the motivations of the characters and the themes of censorship, but also invites people to watch the movie.
I fully agree with you on the uniqueness of the tragiccomedy „Goodbye Lenin“. However, it is not only the narrative from a German perspective that makes this film unique since there are several examples of such (Friedship!, Sun Alley etc.). Nevertheless, what makes this fil unique is the insight into both opportunities and constraints determined the daily routine of the average GDR citizen who was effected most by the sudden political change. By portraying a family dilemma with two generations involved, the film clearly exposes to the audience how deeply intertwined the political and the personal may become – even when not actively engaging in political matters ( such as Alex and his sister who do, for instance, not actively commit to pro-/ against- communist parties).
ReplyDeleteAn observation that intrigued me in your analysis is the statement that Christiane not only praised the good sides but that she seemed to have censored all negative aspects. Considering her confession towards the end of the film when she admits her lies about the father’s disappearance and her failure to leave the GDR (with him), it is implied that, at an earlier point in history, her perception on the GDR was very different - if not opposed - from her sudden socialist after her ‘healing’ in a hospital. Her self-censoring about negative aspects can thus be seen as a behavior to deal with a situation she cannot change. This observation however can be applied to various situations even beyond the scope of “Goodbye Lenin” since it corresponds to studies that have shown that humans tend to romanticize and self-censor the past in order to make the present more endurable.
Even though I agree with you that the different characters in the film assessed the relevance and impacts on the mother’s censorship differently, I do not think that we can leave the statement “that everyone involved feels differently about all the lies and censoring” uncommented. Despite the different attitudes on the self-censorship for Christiane, it is important to stress that there is a common objective to all sorts of personally implemented censorship as they are all aimed at protecting - either oneself or the beloved ones around. Consequently, I agree with your conclusion that indicates this observation although it does not explicitly relate it to the different attitudes towards self-censorship that can be observed in the course of the film.