Blog
Mission Possible: Why German Studies Today?
Building on existing synergies in the Department of German at the University of California, Berkeley discussed at a recent workshop, the Multicultural Germany Project (MGP) invites you to submit brief takes responding to the question “Mission Possible: Why German Studies … Continue reading
Workshop on Archival Resistance and the Purpose of German Studies
What might the purpose of German studies be in the face of global gloom and doom? On September 26, 2020, the Multicultural Germany Project (MGP) addressed this question in a workshop organized by Kumars Salehi, Michael Sandberg, Jonas Teupert, and Deniz Göktürk … Continue reading
Das Comeback der Promis ist ganz Pop
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Lianette Alnaber analyzes the motif of the hip-hop comeback in the first video in three years … Continue reading
Apache 207 und seine goldenen Nike-Rollschuhe
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Lianette Alnaber examines the significance of consumer branding in constructing the persona of Turkish-German rapper Apache … Continue reading
Hip-Hop: Afroamerikanisch und Global
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Ray Savord examines the aesthetic and political development and impact of hip-hop since its inception, … Continue reading
Rapper sein, der neue Pop-Trend?
The following post was adapted from schook, a blog by students in the Fall 2019 seminar “German Pop Culture” at UC Berkeley. In this piece, Kian Jansepar unpacks the thematic complexities of German rap as the scene negotiates its relationship … Continue reading
Transit
With actors Frank Rogowski and Paul Beer. Premier German auteur Christian Petzold’s adaptation of the 1942 Anna Seghers’s novel follows Georg (Rogowski), a young Jewish man who flees the Nazis to France with the identity and papers of a dead … Continue reading
Zuhaus unter Fremden
With actors Herbert Grönemeyer, Aysun Bademsoy and Meray Ülgen. In this early made-for-TV engagement with migration and multiculturalism, a young Turkish-German woman, Ayshe (Bademsoy), meets and falls in love with Bernd (Grönemeyer), but is at odds with her father (Ülgen) … Continue reading
Yasemin
With actors Ayse Romey, Uwe Bohm, Sener Sen, Ilhan Emerli Jan (Bohm) joins a judo class and, on a bet, pursues his Turkish-German classmate Yasemin (Romey) romantically. Yasemin is uninterested and has her own problems, first and foremost the strict … Continue reading
Wolfsburg
With actors Benno Fürmann and Nina Hoss. Smug, reckless car salesman Phillip Gerber (Fürmann) runs over a young boy in a tragic moment of carelessness, and flees the scene. He follows the boy’s condition until learning of his passing, but … Continue reading
Wir sitzen im Süden (Based Down South)
color, Germany/Turkey, Martina Priessner, 88 Min, 2010 Four Turkish-Germans born who grew up in Germany and now live in Istanbul share their different stories and divergent paths that all brought them back to their ancestral homeland: one through deportation, two … Continue reading
Wir haben vergessen zurückzukehren (We Forgot to Turn Back)
This made-for-TV documentary film for the series Denk ich an Deutschland (“I think of Germany”) follows Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin and his parents (Mustafa Enver Akin and Cem Akin), as they visit the village the Akin family comes from. The elder Akins were … Continue reading
Von glücklichen Schafen (Of Happy Sheep)
With actors Narges Rashidi, Marlene Metternich, Benno Fürmann, and Jascha Baum. Young Can (Baum) lives with his sister Segvi (Metternich) and his mother Elmas (Rashidi). Struggling to make ends meet, Elmas works in a brothel but keeps it from her … Continue reading
Türkisch für Anfänger (Turkish for Beginners)
With actors Josefine Preuß, Elyas M’Barek, Anna Stieblich, and Adnan Maral. Based on, but not occurring in the same timeline as, the hit German culture-clash sitcom of the same name, “Türkisch für Anfänger” finds Lena Schneider (Preuß) and Cem Öztürk … Continue reading
The Green Wave
Ali Samadi Ahadi’s documentary tells the story of Iran’s Green movement and the brutal repression of protests after the disputed presidential elections of 2009. Links: IMDB, YouTube (Trailer) Genre(s): Documentary
