German Culture Through Film: An Introduction to German Cinema

by Robert C. Reimer, Reinhard Zachau, Margit M. Sinka

German Culture through Film is part of a two book series, along with Arbeitsbuch zu German Culture through Cinema. This text covers thirty-one films with emphasis on German language skills. The series is designed to appeal to professors who teach courses in general education, liberal arts, cinema, or who conduct a course in German film exclusively in English, or for where students share the same class (and films) with those studying the German language. Each chapter includes: - Portions of the screen play, generally 2 or 3 scenes each running a page or two - A division of the film into 5 or 6 parts with each part having a listing of that section’s scenes and a brief summary of the scene. Each brief summary is followed by 4-6 questions - Vocabulary exercises that require students to match words and expressions in one list with those of another. (A few chapters have grammar exercises) - Information boxes that give background on the film as well as history and culture needed to understand the movie - A brief summary (120 words) which recycles vocabulary and asks students to fill in 5-7 mixing vocabulary word

Genres: Film

256 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but for a supposedly university level textbook, Robert C. Reimer's German Culture Through Film is simply TOO MUCH of what I would label annoying spoon-feeding, in other words too much forcing the author's viewpoints and opinions regarding his selected and analysed films onto and into us readers. I mean, German Culture Through Film is marketed and presented as an intellectual and academically stimulating tome for post-secondary students, but almost ALL of the analyses of the chosen films are basically or at least they to and for me have felt to be very much "my way or the highway" on the part of Robert C. Reiner, and should not a textbook about culture, about film, about the history of Germany geared towards university and thus of course adult students be penned in a manner that allows for and encourages discussion and debate and not simply readers being subjected to attitudes and world-views that are featured almost like appearing on a proverbial silver or golden platter?

And personally, I know I would have been very much offended if my German professors at university (both during my undergraduate and graduate years) had attempted to force-feed me Robert C. Reimer's seemingly ready-made concepts regarding film, German culture, German history and what the diverse movies he has selected to interpret supposedly somehow mean to say. And yes, while I was reading the film interpretations offered in German Culture Through Film, not only did I not always and actually not even all that often agree with the author, I also feel that Robert C. Reimer does not seem to really even appreciate different ideas and conflicting points of view all that much, that he basically considers himself to be generally if not mostly right, no matter what others might claim to the contrary. Two rather grudging stars, and German Culture Through Film is really only recommended for the historical information and the list of films included (and perhaps to and for potential readers who do not all that much mind having their films, their history and cultural information about Germany and the Germans interpreted for them and fed to them).

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this to be an excellent introduction into a period of film that I had never thought about. It had the bonus of teaching me about German culture and making me think more critically about culture outside of the United States in general.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-designed introduction

The cover shows “Lola rennt” (1998). Not one of my favorite movies. However, this is a good collection of German Cinema. As with many collections, your favorite may not be included such as “The Lives of Others” (2006) as it is too new. Luckily, I found “Der Himmel über Berlin” (1987) with Peter Falk.

But I digress. This looks like a student’s study book as it displays 31 movies. Each movie has:
A black and white still from the movie (maybe two.)
Credits director, screenplay, …. Etc. (so you will know what to expect)
The story (including many spoilers.)
The background (What was happening in Germany at the time.)
The author’s evaluation (What he/she thinks the movie meant.)
Questions (to see if you were paying attention.)
Related films (films that help expand the experience.)
Information (takes the place of subscripts.)

I have most of the films here and it is still fun to read the book to get a “different view” and re-watch the movie.

Just a note the copyright is 2005 so do not expect anything recent.

[Staci Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this textbook to be a good companion for the German Culture Through Film class I took. It had a nice variety of context for each film: technical information, summaries, historical context, and critical context. I think this book works well for students who have some background with critical theory, but if a student doesn't it can possibly be misread (as was the case with some of the people in the class I had).