LFTVD essay

In each of the long form tv dramas, Deutschland ’83 (D83) and Stranger Things, there are many stereotypes represented that are being both subverted and conformed to. Some of the representations are based on areas including age, gender and class. Each tv drama is set in different countries (D83 being Germany and Stranger Things being in America) and so this affected the extent as to which the audience reacted to the release of each drama. 

Stranger Things was released as a Netflix original however, it was produced by 21 Laps Entertainment. People all over the world can access Stranger Things if they have a Netflix account. However, even if they don’t, the drama is available online over various illegal websites and streaming services. Netflix gets their funding from their subscribers, so the outcome of the success of Stranger Things was crucial to Netflix. This resulted in many people subscribing to Netflix in the end as the release was so successful.  Netflix roughly has 158.3 million subscribers and this aided in the 40 million US households who watched the show in the first 4 days of the release. On the release, all of the episodes were shown in order to enable the audience to ‘binge watch’ the show. As Stranger Things is a Netflix original, this prevents other large streaming services from showing the tv programme online. Stranger Things was released on 15th July 2016 and it had 14.07 million adults, within the ages of 18-50 years old, watch it within the first 35 days of its season 1 release.

The hybrid, Cold War, spy thriller - Deutschland ’83 - was premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, meaning that it was able to be globally distributed for the viewing of the 16-35 year old, ABC1 audience. It was created by a husband and wife team Joerg and Anna Winger. As D83 is a German original programme which was shown on the German TV channel, RTL Television, it was also premiered in the US and the UK. In the US, it was premiered on Sundance TV and in the UK, it was premiered on Channel 4. Each of these television channels showed slightly different trailers for the programme. This was done in order to draw the attention of the different cultures around the world. Furthermore, D83 was the highest rating foreign language drama in UK history. The programme was released in October 2015, however it was released on Channel 4 in January 2016. Each episode title was taken from actual NATO military exercises. This creates a sense of realism to what is being shown throughout each episode. The titles link greatly to the political aspect of what the show brings. 

ST had a budget of $6 million per episode (there are 8 episodes). Throughout these episodes, they were able to incorporate the clothing and typical neighbourhood of the 80’s through their use of props. By using the choppers (bikes) throughout the first season, they are trying to create a realistic 80’s setting which people will recognise from that time. D83 had the biggest budget series (in 2017). Throughout this tv drama, they were able to incorporate the costumes and props that wold have been evident in the army during the 80’s. Similar to ST, this meant that they were able to closely link the drama to the countries political stance as well as social and cultural in the fact that it was obvious when the programme is set. 

There is a much greater relation to historical context in D83 due to the fact that is is based on the differences between East and West Germany during the 1980’s (real historical events). When D83 was released, there was a negative reaction to it. This was because the German people were ashamed and offended by the fact that the drama portrayed a Stasi member (Martin) as the main character who we should all love and want to see be successful throughout his journey. This contrasts to what the German’s feel about the Stasi members, creating a negative outlook from the German population on the tv drama. 

In both ST and D83, representations of family are shown throughout. In D83, Martin is a very family-orientated man who will do anything to get his mother on the kidney transplant list. In ST, both Joyce and Karen are protective over their children and will try to help them no matter what. 

When Martin comes home at the beginning fo the first episode, it is evident that he misses his mother (Ingrid) as well as his girlfriend (Annette). He embraces both of the women when he sees them and this shows to the audience how he is down to earth when it comes to his family. This subverts the typical man as they are seen to be less affectionate and not show their emotions as much. 

In ST, Karen Wheeler has the whole family around the table together (conforming to the stereotypical image of a family dinner). On the other hand, Karen is subverting the stereotype of a mother in the family as she takes charge throughout the whole scene and is more authoritative than Ted (the father). 

Overall, D83 shows more of a political context than ST due to the fact that it is based on real, historical events. However, due to the fact that they are both set in the 80’s, they both show the setting through the use of props and costumes.