In Jenen Tagen and Ehe Im Schatten: The Challenges of Vergangenheitsbewaltigung in Postwar German Film
Abstract
In the shadows of the celebrated Weimar and New German Cinema eras, Rubble Films are regarded either as an unspectacular transition period or are ignored altogether. This has changed in recent years, first with the publication of Wolfgang Becker and Norbert Scholl's exhaustive 1995 survey, In jenen Tagen: Wie der deutsche Nachkriegsfilm die Vergangenheit bewaeltigte..., and more recently with Heide Fehrenbach's Cinema in Democratizing Germany. Lastly, Robert Shandley has added the most thorough, English language analysis to date with Rubble Films. The recent popularity of this era can perhaps be explained by timing: the New German Cinema has run its course and, ten years after reunification, interest in DEFA films has slowly begun to wane. With Weimar and Nazi-era cinema already well researched, Rubble Films are perhaps the only major era left to be 'discovered'. I prefer instead to think that these films are worth consideration on their own merit, particularly in the context of the time in which they were made.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 22, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA402300
Entities
People
- Kenneth W. Burkman
Organizations
- University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign