Contemporary German cinema

German film is enjoying enormous levels of success, whether success is defined in terms of financial returns, popularity with audiences at home and abroad or critical acclaim. The 2000s saw German productions become regular guests at all the major international film festivals, from Sundance to Tokyo, winning awards across the globe. As such, and as reviewers are keen to point out, the German industry appears to be reaching once again the aesthetic heights that brought it the international praise of critics from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. Also, domestic productions are becoming more popular and, as a result, more commercially viable. Contemporary German cinema examines the success of recent film production in its wider industrial, cultural and political context, blending broad overviews of recent trends with detailed examinations of key case studies. As a starting point, it explores the German film funding system and the economic place of the German industry within global film production. Subsequent chapters then look at the impact of this system on filmmakers’ aesthetic choices. This is complemented by discussion of the dominant issues these films explore, from the legacies of Germany’s Nazi past and post-war division to the nation’s increasingly multicultural make up, the changing age and gender demographic of cinema audiences and the nation’s shifting relationship with the United States as both a ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ space. Paul Cooke looks at many of the most successful films of the last two decades, including Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin, Hans Weingartner's The Edukators, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarchks, The Lives of Others and Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall.

Contemporary German Cinema

Arts & Photography

Cooke, Paul

Photography & Video

Manchester University Press

German film is enjoying enormous levels of success, be success defined in terms of financial returns, popularity with audiences at home and abroad or critical acclaim. On the one hand, the 2000s saw German productions become regular guests at all the major international film festivals, from Sundance to Tokyo, winning awards across the globe. As such, and as reviewers are keen to point out, the German industry appears to be reaching once again the aesthetic heights that brought it the international praise of critics from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. On the other, domestic productions are becoming more popular and, as a result, more commercially viable. Contemporary German Cinema examines the success of recent film production in its wider industrial, cultural and political context, blending broad overviews of recent trends with detailed examinations of key case studies. As a starting point, it explores the German film funding system and the economic place of the German industry within global film production. Subsequent chapters then look at the impact of this system on filmmakers’ aesthetic choices, be it the role of realism in contemporary cinema, or the rediscovery of the Heimatfilm as a popular film genre. This is complemented by discussion of the dominant issues these films explore, from the legacies of Germany’s Nazi past and post-war division, to the nation’s increasingly multicultural make up, the changing age and gender demographic of cinema audiences as well as the nation’s shifting relationship with the United States as both a ‘real’ and ‘imagined’ space. Paul Cooke looks at many of the most successful films of the last two decades, including Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run, Wolfgang Becker's Good Bye, Lenin!, Hans Weingartner's The Edukators, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarchks The Lives of Others and Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall.

Before the fall of the Berlin Wall many East German writers were praised in the Western world as dissident voices of truth, bravely struggling with the draconian constraints of living under the GDR's communist regime. However, since unification, Germany has been rocked by scandals showing the level to which the Stasi, the East German Secret Police, controlled these same writers. This is the first study in English to systematically explore how the writers have responded to the challenge of dealing with the Stasi from the 1950s to the present day.

German Writers and the Politics of Culture: Dealing with the Stasi (New Perspectives in German Political Studies)

Literature & Fiction

Plowman, Andrew

History & Criticism

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

I had a dream as a teenager, that dream was to play drums on the BBC Top of The Pops TV Show. This was based on a fascination not only with playing the drums at a very early age 13 years old, but also with Don Powell the drummer from the band Slade and little things like the fact that he used to put three rings of red tape around his drum sticks, of course this I copied early on of course. My meeting with Don Powell at a Marylebone bar in London in the mid 1980's was also another milestone for me but not necessarily as positive as my first one due to his accident and health issues at the time. What follows in my photo book is a true account of a young musician's journey told via his own pictures using a newly acquired Olympus Trip 35 camera. This book documents journeys from small-town obscurity to being players in a bigger scene worldwide from London to Europe and the USA. From a team of ambitious teenagers to famous adults establishing products for record companies like CBS to sell and exploit in the Millions and that eventually started the brand 'Sade' that still exists today and is popular worldwide. This media record gives the viewer some insight into the early days of that formation and how a group of young creative people played around London, mixed with the right people and created artistic work with some degree of worth and merit.

My Pride, Sade and Esposito Photo Book

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Fifty key outdoor destinations for hiking, bird watching, rock climbing and more.

Natural Wonders of Texas: A Guide to Parks, Preserves & Wild Places

History

Cooke, Sunita

Americas

Country Roads Pr

The Gus Gus Book

The perfect children's book for dog lovers! Gus is an adorable, but sometimes naughty puppy. This children's book takes readers on a memorable journey with Gus in his daily adventures, troublemaking, and puppy training. Bold illustrations enable the imagination of a playful puppy enjoying his favorite activities such as fetch and tug-o-war. Three children; Kason, Myla, and Nolan decide to train Gus after the troublemaker chews shoes, gets into the trash, and has potty accidents inside. Young readers learn basic commands to use with dogs such as sit, stand, shake, and stay along with the expected response from the dog.

Children's Books

Animals

2523 Books

In this adorable sequel to The Gus Gus Book, Gus builds an unbreakable bond with his new sister puppy, Suzy. While Gus loves the companionship, he quickly learns that there are big responsibilities with being a big brother.

Big Brother Gus

Judas: The Story of Paul Cooke

Durham, Adrian

Professionals & Academics

Pitch Publishing

When the Berlin Wall came down and the two Germanies were reunited, culture was held up to be one of the keys to national unity. Ironically, however, Cooke argues it is the realm of culture that, at times, has most clearly demonstrated the continued divisions between East and West. Taking culture as broadly defined, this book examines state memorialization, literature, television, film, and the internet, to map out the problematic path of German national identity as it struggles to deal with the legacy of division. Drawing on postcolonial theory, the author examines the contention that the East has been colonized by the West, looking at how such perceptions have pervaded both east and west German culture. Cooke also discusses the complex phenomenon of nostalgia for East Germany, as evident in the recent international hit film Good Bye, Lenin! Rich in detail and first-hand accounts, this book provocatively asks how far East Germany can be read today as a postcolonial culture.

Representing East Germany Since Unification: From Colonization to Nostalgia

Berg Publishers

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Books by Cooke, Paul