A historical revelation from Goodbye Lenin

A historical revelation from Goodbye Lenin

Goodbye Lenin was released in Germany on February 13, 2003. The film tells the story of the son who in order not to let his mother suffer from heart disease, hide the fact that the Democratic Republic of Germany has been disintegrated, carefully shaped a completely different from the outside world "Democratic Germany" touching story. From the point of view of a tender white lie, the film reflects the psychological state of the East German people during the historical tide of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The story in the film brings out a special time background: the upheaval in Eastern Europe. After forty years of cold war, the two systems of socialism and capitalism have been in severe friction and a series of "revolutions" have taken place in the past three years. It started in Poland and spread throughout Eastern Europe and finally ended with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Although the background of the era seemed very heavy, the director adopted a comedic approach to deal with it, which was more interesting than some serious works. “The hilarious film shows the beginning of the end communism in Europe and the world. Its almost easy to forget how divided Berlin was before the fall of the wall or for that matter the globe. Its explains the real historic event in a humorous way but without compromising the integrity that democracy represented for many in those times. In less than 30yrs. Germany has shaken its communist past. In that span of time people of younger generations probably never new that Germany was divided. This is a testament to the resilience admiration to freedom the German people display." ( Admin,2016)

                                                                                                                                  The poster of Goodbye Lenin

Historical Background: After World War II ended in 1945, Germany was occupied by Britain, the United States, France and the Soviet Union as a defeated country. Three years later, the United K ingdom, the United States and France in the west were merged to form the Federal Republic (abbreviated as West Germany), which implemented the capitalist system. In the east, the Soviet Union occupied the Democratic Republic of Germany, which implemented the socialist system and Germany was officially divided. But Berlin sits squarely within the border of the East German side and during the Berlin crisis of 1961, the East German authorities built a wall around West Berlin and cut off the land lines. East and West Germany lost contact completely and Berlin became the front line of the rivalry between the two camps. The story in the film takes place in East German Berlin. Although in such a turbulent era, director Wolfgang Baker presents the audience with a warm family story. The director himself is an East German, but the film's creative team also includes many West Germans. In this film, there is no discussion about which side is better, East Germany or West Germany. Instead, it portrays the resilience of the German people, who are struggling and living an optimistic life despite the turmoil. The film's original team viewed the split and confrontation in a warm manner. There is a classic scene in the movie, in which Lenin's statue symbolizes the passing of an era. This scene perfectly illustrates the confusion ofindividualsbefore the great changes of the era.

Goodbye Lenin was a great achievement during the bleak period of the German film industry market at that time and gained high box office and reputation, even won some awards. The director stated that he placed his 30-year-old dream on the protagonist in the film. The moment he saw that the Berlin Wall was torn down, a large number of people entered the west, which must have given birth to his passion for making this film. The film is a utopian film, and the fall of the Berlin Wall and the accompanying collapse of the Eastern Bloc, from a retrospective perspective, is particularly suitable for creating a sense of history in the virtual atmosphere and the potential of the film to deal with history. Reunification was a shock to the East German worldview, and they were suddenly going to embrace a different way of life. ( Roger, 2006) Therefore, the film also expresses the director's nostalgia for the past life.

                                                                                                                                The film's director and lead actor

The film is a beautiful political fairy tale with producer Stefan Adit lamenting that West Germany spent hundreds of billions to achieve reunification. Much should have been learned from East Germany, but was ignored and abandoned. He wanted the audience to look at the good side of the lost East Germany. The era of competition may have been more efficient, but it's not the whole story. It's interesting that in many countries when they push Lenin's statue. In 2020, a statue of Lenin was rebuilt and unveiled in western Germany. (Global Times, 2020) 1990, Goodbye Lenin. In 2020, see Lenin again.

                                                                                                                       Statues of Lenin have resurfaced in Germany

References list

Admin. (2016) The History of Berlin: The End of the Old and the Beginning of the New. Retrieved 6 June 2016, from https://www.good-bye-lenin.de.

Roger, H. (2006) Goodbye Lenin (2003): History in the subjunctive. Jun 2006, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p221-237. 17p.

Global Times. (2020) It's a 'miracle' that Lenin's statue has been erected Germany. Retrieved 22 June 2020, from https://news.sina. com. cn/w/2020-06- 22/doc-irczymk8257624.shtml.