Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Research on the Presentation of Ostalgie in Post-Berlin Wall German Film: Case Study of Goodbye, Lenin!

Chenyang ZhaoDepartment of Culture Media & Creative Industries, Faculty of Arts & Humanities of King’s College London, London, WC2R 2LS, United Kingdom*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

This paper mainly focus on the presentation of Ostalgie in the film Goodbye, Lenin!. Goodbye, Lenin! is a German tragicomedy directed by Wolfgang Becker, and is popular for its strong historical imprint of German reunification. The representational identities and material nostalgia presented by the film will be analyse though observation of plot design, character setting and visual icons appeared in the film. The main findings of this essay indicates the semiotic portrait of characters of the film enables further evaluation towards the future rather than the past. The role that characteristic of the mother Christine and the space enthusiasm of protagonist Alex play in the film will be reevaluated. The aim of the research is to investigate the way how ‘Goodbye, Lenin!’ engages with the audience and history as a compromise product of the western-led narrative framework and the celebration of East German identity. Further social impact of this film is also discussed though the positive side of promoting the justification of East-German identity and also the negative side of ignoring the undermined causes that lead to the depreciation of such identity after the German reunification.

Keywords: Nostalgia; Ostalgie; “Goodbye，Lenin!”; Historical film; Post-berlin wall German identity
Published: May 17, 2023
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/3/2022859
Volume: CHR Vol.3
pp. 876-881
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