Respond to one of the following:
*1) How would you characterize Alex's mother, Christiane, as a mother and a citizen of the GDR? In what ways are these two roles intertwined for her and her children? Does her affection for and devotion to the GDR make her seem sympathetic or odd (or both)?
*2) Pay special attention to what we might call the title scene, in which Alex's mother watches the removal of the statue of Lenin. Why is this scence important? Why is it so funny? What do the following elements contribute to this scene: Mrs. Kerner's facial expression and body language, camera angle, background noise, music?
*Christensen, Kristen M., Prof. "Discussion questions for Goodbye Lenin." Unpublished notes. University of Notre Dame.
3) Discuss the director's use of literary devices such as sarcasm and irony to address the social, political and economic realities facing East Germans in 1989/90. Is he effective? Use specific examples from the movie to illustrate your points.
27 comments:
Christiane, Alex's mother witnessed her idol, dare-i-say idol being carried away by a helicopter and there was not fight. She didn't scream, run, yell, or even cry. This was as the person who she believed in was taken from Germany. Her life's work was dedicated to Lenin. This scene is important because it shows that maybe Christiane is ready to hear the news about the GDR. Although Alex refuses to tell her it reveals a crucial point in the development of her character's maturity on this subject.
The camera angle and music add to the irony. The fact that she still believes the GDR is going strongbut is unable to comprehend whyt he statue of Lenin is being take away via helicopter. His outstretched hand can either be taken as a plea for help, for Christiane to save him. Or as a farewell, almost explaining the title of the movie, "Goodbye Lenin!" So in all, this "title scene" creates an ironic and funny look at the fall of the GDR.
Alex’s mother, Christiane, is a valiant citizen of the GDR and a loving mother. She is very devoted to the GDR and after her husband left her, she used all of her energy to teach children about the wonders of the GDR and help the country prosper as a whole. She received an award from the leaders of East Germany for her contributions as a social worker and a teacher. She was a very good mother, but would sometimes put the good of the country ahead of the well-being of her children. Christiane felt that the progression of the GDR was her responsibility and that she had to be solely dedicated to the GDR for it to prosper. Overall, Christiane was a great citizen of the GDR and was a very caring mother as well.
Alex’s mother’s roles as a citizen of the GDR sometimes intertwined with her role as a mother to her two children. As a reliable citizen of the GDR, she would teach young children (her own included) the glory of the fatherland and how to support the GDR so that it would be able to prosper. She was at times a strict disciplinarian, so that she could mold the children into young members of the society who could be placed where the GDR needed manpower. After Christiane’s husband left her, she became solely devoted to the GDR. In this sense, the GDR became the children’s father. Alex’s mother used this to teach her two children about the glory of the GDR and how to allow it to prosper. All in all, Christiane’s motherhood and citizenship of the GDR would often merge with each other.
Christiane’s affection and devotion to the GDR make her seem both sympathetic and odd. She seems sympathetic because her husband left her and she decided to cope with the pain of loss by replacing her husband with the GDR. This allowed her to become a “model” East German citizen. She also seems sympathetic because her life is basically ruled by the consensus of the GDR and she does not seem to have free will against the German government. On the other hand, her affection to the GDR makes her appear to be quite odd. The fact that she had a heart attack after she witnessed her son getting arrested shows that she was conflicted between whether to support her son or the German state. The fact that she seems to support the state over her children makes her appear like a tyrant. All in all, Christiane is a good mother as well as a loyal citizen to the GDR.
In Goodbye Lenin the character of Christine is developed quite rapidly as she goes into a coma early on in the movie. As a mother and an active politician she leads a busy life. As a member of the GDR she socializes only with members of her party and she is well established and respected. She spends so much of her time working to promote the party that it takes over her life and definitely effects the way she spends time with her children. She has such strong feelings that she can’t imagine another way and her children don’t always agree with her which makes it difficult. In fact her strong feelings distance her from her children. Her affiliation with the party makes her a sympathetic character mainly because she is only active in the party because her husband left. This connection is what makes her sympathetic, not her actual affiliation. The affiliation itself adds some conflict in the audiences feelings actually, as the party is so conservative that it is hard for any modern day American to agree with the sentiments. Its just odd that she would conform so quickly to the opposite of what her husband had wanted, but I guess this reaction would stem from fear as well.
In response to question 2
The scene in which Christiane walks out of her apartment and views the statue of Lenin dangling of a helicopter and being taken away is very amusing and at the same time symbolic and important. Christiane, walking out after several months are setup by the illusion that GDR still exists and everything is working just as she would have wanted it to be. As she walks out of her apartment, she is moderately shocked by seeing West German companies such as Ikea and BMW. But this leads up to the title scene in which the statue of her idol, Lenin, is being removed. Lenin has his arm out, almost like he is waving goodbye. A goodbye to East Germany and a goodbye to communism. Christiane is shocked by this sight because according to her illusion, nothing has changed. This scene is also amusing because we see Christiane’s dreams shatter, but it all happens in a highly symbolic and indirect way.
The director and the actors do a really good job in depicting this title scene. Firstly, this very “traumatic” moment is led up to by shots of a guzzling city and many Western Germany corporations like Ikea and BMW. Next, the director takes alternating shots of Lenin, waving goodbye, and Christiane’s facial expression of denial and shock. The most important part of the scene is Christiane’s reaction to this. She just blankly stares and does not even attempt to ask anyone what is going on. Her facial expression shows shock and denial, and Lenin waving goodbye makes this scene humorous and gloomy at the same time.
Christiane is a both a very strange and sympathetic mother and a citizen of the GDR. After her husband left her, Christiane became a passionate member for the GDR, teaching children and supporting the overall growth of East Germany. Christiane seemed almost a fanatical member of the party, leading her children to lie about the fall of East Germany because it may shock her to death. Although this seems odd in today’s world, Christiane’s passion for her country can draw sympathy from me at least. She wanted dedicated her life to the GDR, and her devotion and commitment gave me a new respect for her. I believe that because of her actions, Christiane is both an odd and sympathetic party member and mother.
Christiane’s devotion to the GDR and her children’s lives are intertwined heavily in the movie. She was a very passionate and devoted member of the GDR, teaching her children and those of others the promise and the glory of East Germany. I agree with Pete when he says that the GDR became Alex’s and Ariane’s father figure after their real father left the family. Christiane was always trying to help out the government in anyway she could. In one instance in the movie, Christiane’s loyalty directly connects the lives of her children. When Alex tells her that West German refugees are flooding the country, Christiane is immediately willing to take in refugee. I believe that this display, along with many others, shows how closeness between Christiane’s devotion to the GDR and her role as mother.
It is strange to think that in today’s society, someone could be as passionate and loyal to their country as Christiane was to the GDR. She was always trying to lend a hand to the government, by teaching children or by offering to take in refugees. Coming from a country where we have trouble getting people to stand for the pledge or even vote, it is quite odd to think someone like Christiane could love their country that much. She not only helped and encouraged her own children to strive for better futures; Christiane also pushed others to become passionate and loyal citizens. An example of how odd she is to me is revealed towards the latter part of the film. Christiane tells her children that she was supposed to flee the GDR and be with her husband in West Germany, but Christiane remained loyal to her government. This is so strange to think that a loving mother like Christiane would hold her children’s futures back because she was so loyal to the GDR. Because of her devotion to the GDR, Christiane seems to me to be an odd, fanatical supporter of the government
Although she does seem odd at times, Christiane is a sympathetic character. First, her husband’s departure causes her to become an intricate member of the party. Because her husband left, I can sympathize with her because she really joined the GDR to fill the void in her life. Also, Christiane’s motives and values were pure. It was not as if she encouraged and taught children for personal gain. She taught and mentored them because Christiane strongly believed in the progress and development of the GDR. I could see how happy she was when Alex was telling her about the development of the GDR, becoming a great and supportive government. All her dreams had come true and I almost felt happy for her when she believed that East Germany was a successful power. Although her actions may seem strange, Christiane does draw out sympathy and respect for her loyalty and support towards the GDR.
2) Christiane, Alex’s mother, is a member of the German Democratic Republic party in East Berlin. After a heart attack, she fell into a coma for eight months. During this time, East Germany and West Germany were reunited. Alex knows his mother well enough to realize that his mother would not be able to handle the news that Germany was once again a single entity. When Christiane finds the strength to stand up and walk, she wanders outside seems to be very confused. During the time when Germany was divided, the Soviet Union tried to hide western influences from East Germany. She had already seen the giant Coca-Cola sign out side of her bedroom window, but now she sees all other types of western symbols such as IKEA and BMW. When she first walks outside, furniture lines the sidewalk. She seems very excited to be outside, but also at the same time scared and confused about what is happening to East Germany. She is surprised to see a bright pink lamp and then talks to someone from West Germany. In the distance a helicopter roars down the street carrying part of a statue of Lenin. In East Germany, the destruction of such a statue would have been strictly prohibited. She again looks very confused. As the statue passes over the street, she looks up and the camera is positioned in such a way that Lenin is coming at the camera with his hand outstretched. Christiane continues to look at the statue and almost walks into the middle of the road, but Alex comes and pulls her onto the sidewalk.
The music in the background is the type of music that is played in music when one is discovering something for the first time. The notes are organized in such a way that they never resolve, but always lead to the next note or chord. This type of music is usually played in movies with children when the children are just discovering their parents for the first time or are just learning how to walk. The music becomes louder and louder until the scene is over and quickly quiets and fades away, never resolving.
Christiane’s facial expressions relate to the music. She is confused, but still wants to know why everything is different. None of the traditional East German signs are covering the landscape and are replaced by western influences. She first backs away from the flying statue, but as it flies away into the sun light, she follows it into the road as if she felt close to those traditional images. As a vibrant socialist supporter, Christiane worked to uphold the Germany that had formed around her; now it was being destroyed by western influence. In a subconscious effort to feel closer to the way things used to be in East Germany, Christiane is first scared by the fact that all she had worked for was being destroyed, but after feels comfort in such a traditional image as Lenin.
The noise in the city surrounding the music is that of a revived city full of new faces and renewed hope. Across the street from her house, Christiane sees a car dealer showing somebody a western car. The other noise is that of a normal city bustling with activity temporarily blinded by the roar of the helicopter.
This scene is very important because it continues Christiane’s education of the new Germany. The Coca-Cola sign clued her in that something was wrong when the curtains were closed. In the elevator back up to the bedroom, she asks what has been going on in Germany. Her thoughts are torn by what she knows, what she is learning, and what else there is to learn about the new condition of Germany. It also marks another break in the chain in Alex’s ultimately failed attempt to keep his mother ignorant of the unification. From this point on, Alex finds it much more difficult to hide the recent changes in East Germany.
The sheer dramatic impact of the title scene of "Good bye, Lenin!", as the formerly revered, righteous and benevolent leader of the Bolshevik Communist doctrine is flown out of the city before the eyes of one of his devoted yet time-frozen comrades, is undeniable. For obvious reasons it would be considered the title scene of the movie, not only because of the physical manifestation of Lenin leaving, but because of all of the themes that are captured in the scene. To Christiane, who herself is truly the model proletariat of Communism, the sight of the old statue, its almost regretful expression as it is removed from its former 'throne' over Eastern Germany, is shcoking enough. How could this have happened, after all the great news, the progress made by the Party? What was supposed to be a perfect system of equality, one that would spread through the hearts of the working class of the entire world and stand to defeat the corrupt capitalism was truly a fantasy; it is only fitting that such a mystical departure- a statue flown almost eye level by helicopter in front of Alex's mother the first time she leaves the house in ages- would signal the end of the illusion that was the dream of Communist East Germany, the dream Alex attempted to keep to keep his mother's heart from breaking. The relationship she has with Communism is personified in the statue of Lenin, reaching out, staring at her and through her as he takes his final bow.
In the scene, the camera and the climax of the music help in creating the effect of what seems to be a dream yet remains a crushing reality to Christiane. It further adds life to the statue and all it stands for, and Mrs. Kerner's open-mouthed expression of disbelief and slight anger reveal the feelings confusion and turmoil that begin to go through her mind. he viewer can openly see that she is almost questioning the statue, "Why are you leaving, why are you giving up if things are going so well?". With that, she questions all of the society she thought she knew, and the viewer can understand the shock of such a blow to one's ideals.
Test
Question 2 –
The “title scene” of Goodbye Lenin is the scene where the statue of Lenin is flown across where Alex’s mother, Christiane, is standing. This scene is important for many reasons, though they are best discussed by first analyzing the scene.
The scene begins as Christiane gets up for the first time since her coma, and takes the elevator to the bottom floor, and walks out of her apartment building. At this point, the background music starts softly, and is not one of grandeur or awe, as might be appropriate for such an important scene. Instead, the music has a curious tone to it, one of almost childish wonder. The high and almost whimsical melody emits a feeling of wonder. This is not an angry wonder, but more of amazement, with a feeling of puzzlement. The music does not change drastically throughout the whole scene; it only increases in volume, and to some degree intensity. The background noise also increases throughout the scene, showing how Christiane is being brought into this new world. There is a gradual crescendo throughout the whole scene, with more volume as she sees the statue. At this point, background noise drops to highlight the statue, and to give a sense of awe. After this it quickly dissipates, replaced with regular noise of the hustle and bustle of every day life.
As Christiane walks out of her apartment, she meets two young men who claim to be from the west. She then sees western furniture that they are moving, and asks to sit down. Her facial expression becomes a bit concerned, but is dominated by puzzlement. She continues walking, and sees an IKEA advertisement and some western cars. Her face shifts to pure puzzlement. She sees billboards, and is not concerned or angry, but only puzzled by what she sees. Then, as the statue passes in front of her, her face changes into a respectful pose, then to a look of awe, then to a final look of shock and bewilderment. She then looks around, dazed and confused, until she is ushered away by her children.
In the end of this scene, the camera work becomes vital to the scene. As the statue floats past Christiane, the camera angle becomes low. At this point, the stature is facing her. These two elements combine to create the illusion that Lenin is reaching out to her. The camera then focuses on her, but uses an effect that pulls away from her, making her look bigger, and giving the it the “walls are closing in” feeling. Then, as Lenin leaves, the camera angles change rapidly, showing a diminishing Lenin, Christine from overhead, and the rushing traffic. This gives the end of the scene a sense of rushing, of quick change.
All these elements; music, acting, and filming; give the scene its importance. The scene captures Christiane’s feelings as she transitions from her old thoughts of Germany to the cold reality her children have denied her. The scene starts whimsical and childish. She is like a small child discovering something new. She is still safe in her own thoughts. But when she sees Lenin, she is reminded of East Germany, explaining the respectful pose. The statue passes in front of her, and it seems to extend its hand, asking her to believe in the old ways, inviting her to come to him. She seems happy, but for a flicker. When she realizes it is being taken away, she becomes shocked and bewildered. She is confused as to why this is happening. It is as if her whole world is crashing down. The traffic simulates confusion, and the statue disappearing into the sunset mirrors her child like beliefs disappearing. The importance of this scene is to show how Christiane reacts to being confronted with the truth. It also foreshadows what will happen later - that she will learn the truth. Overall, this scene is very important.
This scene could be considered funny because of the way Christiane is portrayed. She is seen like a little girl, exploring and learning new things. When she sees Lenin, her reaction is comparable to that of a child learning that Santa Clause is not real. Even her walk is childish. After her big discovery, she seems bewildered, like a child thrust into the adult world. In this way, the scene could be quite comedic.
Andrew Morris
In the movie “Goodbye Lenin” Christiane doesn’t seem like a good maternal figure. She seemed very cowardly, lying to her children about how there father left them. She should have been able to tell them that he was heading to the west for a better life for all of them, but her love for the Communists got in the way of her love for her children. Her lie made them hate there father, and think that he was a fat greedy sloth, when he was really trying to help the family. It was her cowardice and not being able to make the decision to put her family before herself when she had the chance to leave and taking the easy way out that caused the family to splitter. However, she does redeem herself eventually in the end of the film when she tells the truth about how there father really wasn’t a cheating dishonest man.
As a citizen of the GDR Christiane was an excellent person. She obeyed all the rules and brought her children up in the sheltered manner that the government wanted. She made them fiercely loyal to the government and made them see it as perfect even though it clearly wasn’t. She also wrote suggestions to the party members to help make life better for the people instead of protesting and rioting in the streets. It is seeing her son protesting in the streets that causes her to have a heart attack. She also organized the youth of Germany to promote patriotism. She was such a strong party member that she didn’t follow her husband to West Berlin when given the opportunity. The GDR could not have asked for a more someone with more unwavering loyalty to the party then Christiane.
These roles are intertwined in the decisions she makes when raising her children. All the decisions that she makes are have the GDR as the first priority and the children as and family as the second priority. When she has the chance to move to West Berlin she refuses because she wants to stay in the East with the Communists. She splits her family up because she loves the party more then them. Also she raised her children to be sheltered and think that the GDR was perfect which it most certainly wasn’t. The GDR and the communist party play a large part in her maternal role.
Christiane’s extreme devotion to the GDR caught me as quite odd. Many of the older people in the film were upset by the fact that the GDR was gone. They were out of work and poor because of it. They did not however lock themselves in a room and pretend that the wall had never fallen. I think that Christiane was taking things to the extreme. I’m sure that if Alex had told his mother gently that some changes had taken place she wouldn’t have had a heart attack. When she found out because the nurse thought she was a lunatic for thinking that she was still in East Berlin she didn’t die. She accepted the fact that things had changed. However allowing her son to keep her in her fantasy world was a little bit much. I think that she was a bit odd for not being able to completely accept the change.
Mark Morris
The “title scene” as it might be called in “Good Bye Lenin” was when Mrs. Kerner saw the statue of Lenin being removed form the city of Berlin. This is a very important scene in the movie for several reasons. It is symbolic of the communist regime being removed from the city of East Berlin, (and half of Germany for that matter) and ushering in the modern era. The helicopter is reminiscent of the new ideas and modern world, and the statue represents the old beliefs of Communism that are being removed by the capitalists. It is as if she came out just in time to witness the last part of her history, all that she knew and stood for being taken away.
Many thematic elements make the scene very significant. The first of which is the fact that Mrs. Kerner and then bedridden for the past year, and had no knowledge of the outside world and the changes that have occurred during that time. She walks outside and is greeted by all these new cars, people, clothing, and buildings. It as though she woke up in a different world. The camera pans around the city as though the viewers were seeing the city for the first time, pausing on those items of which would be considered most new and different to Mrs. Kerner. Then Mrs. Kerner spots an object of familiarity, the statue of Lenin being flown out of the city. We as an audience are made to feel confused and lost. Then the sight of the statue baffles the viewer almost as much as it would have Mrs. Kerner. The camera does a 360 around the statue and Mrs. Kerner as if to show that them that change surrounding them both. Mrs. Kerner’s expression is that of shock and confusion. She does not know what is going on and what all of these new things surrounding her are and where they came from and why they are there. There was also some denial mixed in, in her expression. She must have realized that change has come and that the world which she left was much different then than the one in which she was now in. At the end of the scene the background noise and music take over paying no mind to Mrs. Kerner and Lenin’s silent goodbye.
This is actually a very funny scene when you stop bothering to look at it symbolically. Seriously we have an old woman standing outside in her bathrobe looking as though she hadn’t gotten out of bed for the past year (oh wait) staring at a floating statue. A floating statue is just funny anyway but we forgot to mention the fact that she totally ditched her grandkid in order to go outside. There could have been some pills he could have gotten into or something. This was an example of good parenting in my opinion.
However humorous the scene was viewed it was a key part of the movie for it showed one f the major theme of the movie (removal of Communism from Communist Germany) as well the effects of the changes on an older member of the Communist Party who like Mrs. Kerner shared feelings of disbelief and confusion.
“Good Bye Lenin” follows the life of Alex Kerner subsequent to the collapse of the German Democratic Republic and his frantic attempts to keep his mother, an avid member of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, from hearing this potentially life-threatening news after she awakens from an eight-month coma. Early on in the movie, Alex’s mother, Christiane Kerner, is portrayed as a very ardent and prominent believer in the party. When her husband leaves for West Germany and beckons his family to follow, Christiane is afraid to betray her country and stays in the German Democratic Republic. This event apparently drives Christiane temporarily insane and for a while she contemplates killing herself. After returning to a stable mental health, Christiane becomes a more passionate party supporter then ever. After her marriage falls apart, it is almost as if Christiane remarries to the German Democratic Republic and all of the socialist ideals it stands for. She tries to protect her children by raising them with strong party beliefs, and deceives them about the real reasons surrounding their father’s defection.
Extremely confident in her socialist beliefs, Christiane sometimes appears to play the role of a loyal G.D.R. citizen over that of a mother. Though she is a very loving and concerned mother, her enthusiasm for her political ideologies often surpass the needs of her family. Christiane is so blinded by her confidence in the Socialist Unity Party of Germany that she truly thinks her support is the best way to ensure the best future for her children. Alex observes that his mother seems “not quite the same” since their father’s departure, and that she has grown cold towards her family. Rather, it seemed as though Christiane felt being a socialist and installing socialist virtues into her children was more important than acting like a typical mother to them. Many times she unintentionally ends up being a more dedicated advocate of socialism than a mother figure. Comparably, her children observe that the German Democratic Republic plays a very definite role in their mother’s life, and they do the best they can not to insult her ways. Despite their personal political values, especially Alex’s antigovernment beliefs, Christiane’s children are obedient around her and do not try to interfere with her “second marriage” to East Germany.
As Americans get “socialism” and “bad” simultaneously installed into their minds, an automatic response to Christiane Kerner’s devotion to the Socialist Unity Party of Germany would not be far off from “odd” or downright “strange”. However, Christiane’s affection for the German Democratic Republic makes her seem more sympathetic then anything. Because she was so traumatized after her husband left, she filled in that void with her country, and transferred all of the love and fidelity she once had for her husband to the G.D.R. and its causes. So absorbed in her devotion to the socialist party, Christiane felt raising her children in a socialist “environment” would be the most important thing to do. Though she did seem distant and even unconcerned at times, all of her intentions regarding her children were of the best nature. The character Christiane Kerner reflects the possible perspective of families from the former East Germany and their struggle to readjust to a completely new world after the fall of their beloved country. Absorbed in her socialist beliefs, Christiane also wished the best for her children, making her a sympathetic character searching for the best solution for her quest of stability.
Christiane was a failure as a mother and succeeded. She led her children, Alex and Ariane, to believe that their father had ran away with an American woman when they were young, when really he had went to the Capitalist West Germany, to flee ridicule from the Socialist Party. Christiane being an avid socialist was afraid to leave the Socialist East Germany. Not wanting to wait for a Visa she made up a lie to shield her and her children from the truth. The children grew up in disgust of their father, while really he waited for three years to hear from them. As a mother Christiane lied to her child and failed, but also raised with happy memories, succeeding in motherhood.
Christiane found comfort in the Socialist Party and when she saw her son Alex being arrested for an anti-government demonstration, she fell into a coma for eight months. Fearing that the news of the fallen wall will kill or seriously injure his mother Alex creates a fake East Berlin in his mother’s room. As a citizen to the GDR Christiane did quite well, and would frequently write letters to the leaders. These letters were written to try to improve the lives of her and her fellow socialists.
Her role of being a mother and as a socialist intertwined in different points in the movie. At one point it was when the children’s father left. She chose to be a bad mother and tell her children that the father ran away, but was a socialist when she told them that lie to stay in East Germany. Her devotion to the GDR makes her seem sort of odd, in my opinion. She puts the GDR before her family and makes it seem as if the country is more important to her. Christiane’s character is certainly a controversial one but her character in my opinion was a citizen before a mother.
Question 1:
Christiane as a mother is obviously someone who really cares about her children, and we see this multiple times in the movie. When she has her little “break down”, its her kids that she comes back toand its them who she tried to grow up the ways that she thinks is right, so she’s really only trying to do the best for what she thinks is right for them. She teaches them how to sing, she shows them to love, and makes them proud by being such an activist in the party that she belongs to. Even though she kept her children from connecting with their father, she wanted to keep them from a world that she thought would corrrupt them, that would harm them in some way. All that Christiane really wanted to do was to be the best mother to her chilren, to be a good role model and to teach them how to be model citizens as well.
As a citizen of the GDR, I think she was one of the most influential people involved in the party. She received countless awards, and was always trying to get the youth involved, so that she could set up a positive future for the party. She was extremely deticated as an activist and was always willing to help people fight for what they believed in through petitions, even when she was stuck in bed. When she came out of the coma and was told that Western refugees needed a place to stay, she was more than willing to lend them one of her beds. She was also very gullable though, because anything that was said on the tv, or any of the rediculous lies she was told, she believed. But that showed that she believed in her party, she believed that they were chainging the country for the better.
I think that her devotion for the GDR makes her strong, and a good role model for her kids. Her dedication, passion, understanding, and interest compells her children to do the same, and Alex does so with his nonstop devotion to making sure that his mother does not think anything has changed. It is sad that her son has to drag himself through this rutine every day, and unfair for those invovled, but it just shows how much power belief is worth. Therefor, I do not find her sympathetic or odd, just simply a strong believer.
The title scene in “Good Bye Lenin!” was a very notable and symbolic scene. This scene was very important in the movie because it was really the first time that Mrs. Kerner sees the many changes that occurred during the 8 months that she spent in a coma. Mrs. Kerner, a socialist devoted to the German Democratic Republic, got a glimpse into the new world that had developed in East Germany during this time. She realized that her dreams of a socialist Germany suddenly seemed to be crushed. Since Mrs. Kerner had spent much of her life fighting for socialism, seeing the statue of the leader who shared her ideals being carried away was a large shock and disappointment.
This scene, however, is funny because of the use of camera angles. As the statue of Lenin is being lifted away by the helicopter, it seems like Lenin is reaching out to Mrs. Kerner. This is very symbolic. Lenin reaches out to Mrs. Kerner, and then slowly drifts away. The unique use of camera angles during this scene definitely added to this effect. The viewer is able to see the statue of Lenin be carried away through the eyes of Mrs. Kerner. In this scene, Mrs. Kerner’s face is filled with confusion and distress. Although she is not able to realize exactly what has happened in East Germany during the past few months, she can tell that major change has occurred. I felt that the background noise and music helped to focus the attention of the viewer to Mrs. Kerner and the statue of Lenin. The music seemed serious, which made sense since this was a major scene in the movie. This was clearly an extremely important and memorable scene in “Good Bye Lenin!”.
See alternate blog response.
Answer to number one!
The role of citizen, of whichever country, is very important and will affect all other aspects of that person. No matter where a person lives, that will always affect that person. In Christiane Kerner, the GDR citizen took priority of all other aspects of her life. She was scared to lose that role when her husband deserted to West Germany and instead of choosing to put her family or even herself above everything, she chose her country. She was very loyal and in many ways was the ideal citizen in the Communist mind. However, (partly due to our capitalist society) that does not garner much sympathy from an American audience. Communism, in our minds, is not strong enough of a reason to give up the well being of one's children. That is also, ironically, a product of our own citizenry. As residents of the United States, we as a people do not agree with the Communist mind thought. Therefore there exists a lot less sympathy in the American audience. America has always been capitalist, it and its citizens had never had to deal with the dramatic change from Communist to capitalist. So I think that in Germany, where the movie was made, there must have been a lot more sympathy for the character. Many audience members would either know that feeling or know someone who went through that exact situation. That would cause them to be much more empathetic to Christiane. Personally I feel pity, and not sympathy or empathy, for the character because of her tragic flaw. At the deepest level, Christiane's loyalty to the GDR (and anyone's loyalty to anything at all, to a certain extent) stemmed from a fear of change. It was not loyalty that kept her in East Germany but the fear of something new and different. Her fear was so great that she gave up the health of her children. That, in my opinion, is what makes her sympathetic as a character.
The director effectively used irony and sarcasm to address the social, political, and economic realties facing East Germans. The truth to many Germans at the time was the union of the country seemed like a joke and some could not really accept the union of the country, and by the directors use of irony he reflects on those issues. The biggest irony in the story was how Alex tried to make it appear to his mother that the Berlin wall had never collapsed. This reflects on the east Germans who supported the socialist rule, to be unable to accept that all they had lived for had vanished. The Berlin wall was knocked down without any planning or thought into the lives of the people in Germany. This was shown by the mothers old friends who were now unemployed because they could not find a job in a capitalist society. This shows that although there was much excitement for the arrival of the “great capitalism”, it downgraded the lives of those who depended on socialism.
There are however time was Alex deludes his mother into believing socialism was great, which was ironic because socialism had fell. For example, Alex tells his mother that there were refugees from capitalism who took interest into the benefits of socialism. He also makes a fake news show where a former cosmonaut addresses the East Germans to allow West Germany to come into east Germany. This is ironic because the wall was to keep the east Germans from going into the west, not the other way around. In the cosmonauts speech he says socialism does not keep people walled in, it allows them to be free. But Alex was creating a social world for his mother, which in fact was walling her in from the truth of socialism.
This irony is effective because the reality is that the East Germans were not completely ready for the collapse of the wall and that it happened with haste and disregard to the effects it had on the people of Germany. The author has a rip van winkle effect that shows how that what the people in East Germany were accustomed too vanished. This was shown by the mother who was in a coma for the time of the collapse and could be deluded to believe that the collapse never happened.
Alex’s mother is a devoted GDR party member. She uses almost all aspects of her life to serve the party. This includes her role as Alex’s and his sister’s mother. Christiance makes contributions to the party through her involvement with youth. In this way she is able to serve the party and be an attentive and mother to her children. She cares about the GDR party. She received an award for extraordinary service to the party. However, she’s also a caring mother, as we can see by Alex’s devotion to her health and happiness.
Christiane’s role as a GDR party member and a mother intertwine each other as would her role as a mother and a as a wife. The narrator states that after her husband left, it was as if Christiane had married the fatherland. She addresses both with devotion. For her children, the devotion to the GDR party is not nearly as strong as for Christiane. She finds Alex at a rally advocating the unity of Germany, and his sister ends up working at a Burger King. Both are eager to change their lifestyles to fit the more modern West German way of living.
Christiane’s devotion to the GDR party, to me, makes her seem sympathetic. She obviously feels pain for betraying her husband and deceiving her kids. She turns to the GDR party where she feels she can redeem herself. Her passion for politics seems like her dedication to become a better person.
When Alex’s mother, Christiane, watches the removal of the statue of Lenin, the film hits the peak of one of its most significant climaxes. At this time, Christiane fills the screen with such great emotion simply by the cinematic production of the scene. This emotion represents the greater feelings that truly existed for the masses of Christiane’s population during the re-unification period. Not only is Christriane confused as she watches the statue pass her by, but the suggestions that her mind is pondering upset her. The pivotal removal of Lenin’s statue represents the pivotal turn in many people’s lives for the worse, especially those devout to the GDP. As shown in the film through Christiane’s friends, some people suffered greatly by this turn in politics by losing their jobs. This scene is important because it suggests the historical facts of the drama accompanied by the removal of Lenin.
The scene also adds humor because of the extremity to which the event is dramatized. Christiane’s children both drop what they’re doing (Alex leaves the baby unaccompanied in the apartment, his sister drops her shopping bags) to lead their mother back upstairs. Alex practically runs over a baby carriage on the stairs on the way down and he sprints to his mother. Both he and his sister hold their mother by the arms in the elevator as if she is about to commit a dangerous crime. All of these extreme reactions from Christiane’s children spark after she sees the statue fly by her. This in itself is a little ironic and humorous; that the statue of Lenin would not only coincidentally be flying overhead as Christiane is outside, but it would also be leaning forward and towards her, with an arm reaching out almost directly to her in the street. It appears as if it is only a few yards above the height of the cars on the street and then it flies up high into the sky, towards the light of the sun. The entire practicality of this “flight” for Lenin is pretty humorous when a moment is taken to look at it.
Some ways in which the scene is directed simply add to the meaning of this plot, like Mrs. Kerner’s acting. Her facial expressions and body language alone tell that she is fatigued from the beginning of the scene. She stumbles down the stairs outside, walks slowly down the street and appears tired, confused, and just dazed with her eyes and lack of smile. This reassures to the audience that she is recovering and with a combination of her squinting into the sun as she looks at the big word, “IKEA”, it is not hard to remember that she has no idea what is going on in the real world. She then gazes up to the statue of Lenin as it goes by her; she even ends up in the middle of the street because the sight distracts her. Clearly her devotion is represented in the way she reacts to the sight of Lenin overhead- for that time she ignores everything around her and just follows the statue with the turn of her neck.
The camera angles in this scene add to the exaggerated drama, by looking up at the shadow of the statue on the buildings until it finally flies all the way up into what appears to be the sun. Christiane is shown turning her neck as her eyes follow Lenin as he flies by and the camera pans with this to show how she won’t let her eyes drift from directly on the statue. Close-ups of the statue emphasis the power that it represents also.
Finally, the sounds of music and background noise add to the scene. The music follows the emotion of Christriane, getting faster and changing its pitch when she is getting most nervous and sees the statue. This sight is accompanied by music that suggests some kind of enlightenment, because it gets louder and more complex with background notes. The other sounds in the scene are primarily the sound of the helicopter chopper, the sounds that the characters make by walking, the cars on the street, and the wind. The wind and the sound of characters make the scene seem most realistic and the stomping of feet while running emphasizes the effort the characters are making to get to their mother quickly. The cars also make the scene realistic but they also make notice that these cars exist in the setting. These cars are major changes that were brought to East Germany during this unification and for Christiane, it is her first time being exposed to them. And lastly, the helicopter chopper makes the most noise to emphasis the power and importance of the presence of the statue of Lenin. Clearly the transportation of the statue is important and therefore made to be shown in the most dramatic sense as possible.
Goodbye, Lenin! is a movie directed by Wolfgang Becker that was released in 2003. The movie is a fictional story about a family living in East Germany before the Berlin Wall was taken down. The mother within the family, Mrs. Kerner, tragically falls into a coma and wakes up after the wall was torn down and the socialism destroyed in Germany. Her son Alex tried his best to prevent his mother from seeing the changes that were brought to Germany. Mrs. Kerner was extremely devoted to the German Democratic Republic and she would be devastated to find out about how it ended. Despite Alex’s best attempts to isolate her from the new environment outside their apartment, Mrs. Kerner escapes one day. The scene in which Mrs. Kerner is wandering about outside can be referred to as the title scene. The reason for this is because while she is outside, a helicopter flies past her carrying a large statue of Lenin, the man who Mrs. Kerner praised for his socialist beliefs. This is a very important scene. The removal of the Lenin statue represents the final removal of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Also, the scene is so important because it is Mrs. Kerner’s first experience that shows her that the GDR is no longer. Since she woke up from the coma, Alex and his friends did such a great job hiding the truth that Mrs. Kerner still thought she was living in the GDR with socialism. It was probably extremely shocking for her, because of her beliefs and extreme devotion to the socialist cause.
The scene is also somewhat humorous with regards to how the director filmed it and how it was produced. The obvious reason as the why it is funny is because there is an elderly woman standing in her bathrobe in the middle of a busy part of Germany. This is not an everyday occurrence. Mrs. Kerner was bedridden for 8 months, and she is just walking outside for the first time. When the statue is flying past Mrs. Kerner, Mrs. Kerner’s face is one of shock. She seems very confused and in disbelief of what is going on. Her face adds to the scene because it shows that this is the first time that she saw the end of the GDR. Her dazed expression is justified, because she went out for a quick walk expecting to see the world as it was one year earlier. What she actually saw was the exact opposite, her world turned upside down. Another aspect of the scene that makes it funny is the music in the background. The music is up-lifting and positive while this scene is going on. It is funny because the music makes it seem like a victorious moment, while for Mrs. Kerner it is not victorious at all but rather a defeat. The camera angle also makes the scene humorous. When the scene was shot, it was shot from Mrs. Kerner’s point of view. While the statue is flying by, it seems as though the statue is reaching out directly towards Mrs. Kerner. It was as if the statue was actually saying goodbye, and Mrs. Kerner was actually saying Goodbye Lenin! They seem to have a personal connection with that scene. Overall it was a very important scene, as well as a very important movie.
Question #1
Christiane as a mother and a citizen of the GDR was very loyal to both. Even though her husband left her and she went through some hard times, she used her children as well as her duty towards the GDR to overcome the loss. She spent most of her time writing to improve her life style as well as the republics, and promoting nationalism to others. As a mother she lied to her children to protect them from the awful truth.
She wanted to teach her children the socialist ideals and the truth about their father might have stopped that. She was so loyal to her socialist party that she let her husband leave her. She kept a secret from them about their father that might have greatly affected them if she had told them as children. Her children looked up to her so much that when she became sick Alex created a “safe” world for her in order to keep her healthy. This shows his pure love for his mother and that she did a good job of raising her children. They loved her when she was not mentally stable and when she was in a coma.
As a member of the socialist party she did everything she could to teach it to others and her children. These two roles of motherhood and a member of the socialist party intertwined because she taught them their beliefs as well as keeping them from the bad sides of the socialist party. Their father was driven away because he didn’t agree with the government. Christiane was so loyal to her beliefs that she lost her love and made her children grow up without an important figure in their lives. Even up to her illness she did everything for GDR.
Christiane’s devotion towards the GDR does make her seem odd because she didn’t do what was best for her children as mother. She kept them from their father, which as a mother seems wrong. However, as a citizen of the GDR she did the right thing by keeping from the imperfections of the socialist ideals. However she had the passion, dedication, and devotion towards the GDR which at that time not many possessed. She can be seen as somewhat selfish because she only cared about teaching her children what she believed was right.
In the title scene of "Goodbye Lenin", where the statue of Lenin is airlifted out of the city, the use of camera angles, lighting, expressions and noise all contribute to the creation of the mood of the scene. This scene, although powerful, is also humorous due to its absurdity. Alex's mother, having no knowledge of the change in government systems is appalled as her idol's statue is hung from a helicopter and flown from the city. The image of Lenin flying towards her, illuminated in clouds, his finger stretched out in blame at her ignorance of the fate of his socialist state, is symbolic, but also odd. Most director's would acknowledge the toppling of his statue as being a powerful and moving scene. However in this film, the director instead chooses to represent this monumental moment, by having Lenin dangle past Christiane as she watches in shock.
Dialouge is replaced with music, creating a much more powerful scene. The director focuses on the acting ability of his cast to portray the emotions they are feeling. He cuts between Alex's terror at his mother's absense to Christiane, standing horrorstruck as her beloved Lenin is flown from the city. The lack of dialouge allows for the audience to feel the emotion rather than being told what the characters are feeling. We can recognize the panic in Alex's search as well as the shock in Christiane's eyes and relate to their emotions. The cuts used, as well as the angle's presented, set the mood. The quick jumps between Alex and his mother make the audience nervous as they wonder what will happen when he finally finds her. They also help to break up the scene of just Christiane, to make the movie more interesting and fast-paced. The shots of Lenin are shown in slow motion to convey a sense of suspended time as Christiane's world collapses in front of her. As Lenin passes, the camera rotates around her, showing that this is a huge realization and shock to her. The 360 degree view conveys her every emotion as Lenin flies by.
The director's use of noise, angles and expression in this scene contribute to make it climatic but humorous. As Lenin passes through the clouds, this scene allows for Christiane to say her final goodbye.
In the movie Goodbye Lenin, the mother, Christiana was deeply devoted to both her children and the GDR. Her devotion stemmed from the loss of her husband who was forced to move across the border. Christiane was supposed to follow her husband across the border with her two children but she was unable to do so because she felt it was a betrayal of the GDR. It is after this key moment in Christiane’s life that she becomes a completely devoted activist to the socialist party. She begins to write letters to the party leaders to try and affect change within the party and she is even awarded a medal for her outstanding contributions to the socialist party. All along her children are with her and she remains just as loyal to them as she does to the party. The loss of their father thrusts all the weight of parenting down upon Christiane’s shoulders. Secretly though Christiane knows that the reason her children don’t have a father is because she could not betray the GDR and because of that guilt she tries to be as devoted as she can to her children. The result is Christiane becoming both a good socialist citizen as well as a good mother.
The two roles are intertwined because as a mother her beliefs are passed to down to her children who are forced to grow up in a world that is dominated by complete trust in the socialist party. As a result though, her children being teenagers begin to rebel and take an opposing viewpoint to their mother. For example, Alex her son, loves his mother very much as is evident throughout the movie but it is Alex who she sees at a freedom of the press rally which results in her collapse and heart attack.
Christiane devotion to the GDR does not make her odd at all. She is simply a person that believes very strongly in the political set up of her government. She feels that socialism is the best way to get things accomplished. The same is true for most of Americans who see the fruits of a free market economy and having lived under it are biased to say that it is the best way for things to be run. Regardless of whether a free market economy is the best way to run an economy the fact of the matter is that people are going to be biased to say that the economy they live under is the best because in most cases it is the only way they know how to do things.
Christiane’s force of will make her an excellent citizen of her country, while she does everything from writing petitions to leading rallies of the young German children to praise their Fatherland. This also heavily influences her own influence as a mother in her children’s lives. Alex and Ariane grew up learning patriotic slogans, going on outings with their mother, and watching as she received “good citizen” awards from the government, so they had always been imbibed into the world that Christiane loved so much and knew just how much their country meant to her. In this way, the roles of mother and citizen are intertwined. Alex and Ariane knew that the news of the end of East Germany would shock such an ardent devotee of the government, so they created the entire fabrication both out of love for her as their mother and to save her some wounded pride as a citizen from finding out that her beloved system had come crashing down like the Berlin Wall itself (stupid joke fully intended).
Christiane’s socialist beliefs are faintly echoed in the beliefs of her own children. Alex expressed his displeasure several times throughout the movie at Western customs—Ariane working at Burger King, calling out Rainer as a “Damn Wessie” and his imagined picture of his father as an obese man eating cheeseburgers by a swimming pool. However, Alex also uses his own idealized beliefs to create a fantasy of what he felt the GDR should have been like, indicating another influence by his mother.
Her devotion to the GDR seems, in some instances, rather odd (another “suspension of disbelief” moment, perhaps?), for I personally wonder how a woman could devote herself to a country so fully when she knew firsthand that her husband had been forced to leave because of the very government that she loved so much, but this raises a whole new batch of questions. The viewer is never let in on Christiane’s background, where she grew up, and what her political influences were, so her entire motivation is nebulous in that way. On the other hand, it is understandable that a lonely woman with a strong character and a more optimistic viewpoint would want to do something to better the country that had driven out her own spouse. Another skeptical moment was when she lay dying in the hospital bed and she told Alex, “Now you can take someone in” (when Alex lied and said Western refugees were crossing the border). At that moment in time, a normal human being would have most likely been thinking self-centered thoughts about whether they were going to live or die, but all Christiane could think about was the country and how it would benefit.
Socialism certainly had a say in raising Christiane’s children, which is why Alex cited it as “taking the place” of his father’s absence. While she taught her children well, to love and respect her as she loved and respected the GDR, Christiane valued duty to country on the same level as she valued her own children.
Christiane seems to be one of those ultimate mothers that can handle working and being a fulltime mom, but she also proves that this idea is unattainable. Most of her choices before she had the heart attack seem to put her family on the back burner while her enthusiasm for politics ruled. Christiane’s increasing interest in the German Democratic Republic over her family was blatantly exhibited when she told her children that they’re father had left the country for another woman. Resentment and anger for their father boiled inside of her kids all their lives and she never had the courage to tell them otherwise. You would have thought that the many letters from her husband to herself and her children would encourage her to tell the truth but it happened that she tried to cover it up further. Its funny how that worked out because all her life she had been keeping the truth from her children and towards the end of the movie her children kept their secret from her. As soon as the children found out the truth about their father, they were primarily in shock for a bit just as when Christiane found out the temporary truth of Germany’s unification/ West German Refugees. Both lies were told to protect the person on the other end and there’s really no way of knowing if what Christiane did was of benefit to her children or whether it really harmed them to grow up with no father.
From Amy H -
The title scene is which Mrs. Kerner watches the removal of the statue of Lenin by airlift is extremely significant. First and foremost, the eradication of Lenin’s statue indicates the official unification of Germany and the westernization that results. With German unification comes the demise and elimination of all socialist ideals in East Germany. The removal of the statue of Lenin crushes the mile high dreams and ambitions Mrs. Kerner had for the GDR and socialism.
I found the airlift of Lenin’s statue extremely entertaining, but not necessarily the reaction by Mrs. Kerner. The effective use of the camera angle, as if from the perspective of Mrs. Kerner made the flight of Lenin’s statue amusing. The former communist leader of East Germany flying in Mrs. Kerner’s direction had arms open as if he was reaching toward her and her devotion to the communist party. It almost seemed as if he was trying to touch her hands or wave goodbye to the old political order. This scene adds an element of comedy as Mrs. Kerner, an undoubtedly loyal citizen to the GDR, without an idea of the change her country has undergone, watches the airlift of the statue of Lenin.
Mrs. Kerner expression was a blank stare in confusion. As the statue was headed in her direction, Mrs. Kerner took a step back as if in disbelief. The positioning of the camera angle at the back of her head shows her hollow appearance and outright dishevelment. The background music is dimmed and morbid, almost as if the scene is signifying the death of communism and tradition as the background noise faded away. I was able to connect the overwhelming nature of Mrs. Kerner’s reaction to complete westernization, competition, and advertisement to that of a convict locked up in jail for decades finally coming out of his cell to see the improvements and technological advancements of the world as being completely surreal.
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