Today in the 21st century, most tv shows and
films lack originality because in the post-modernism society we live in today
has run out of original ideas to go by. Different shows will follow a new plot
and have new characters, but they will all follow the same pattern depending on
what genre of show they are following. Stranger things and Deutschland 83 are
both good examples of shows that follow a certain genre, but they both lack
originality because they both incorporate aspects of other shows and parts of
the genre that other shows have already used.
Post modernism suggests that the world we live in has no
more originality anymore and everything is just a remake or reinvention of
previous material which has been redeveloped for different audiences. In
Stranger Things there are similar camera angles and sound effects that were
originally used in films like E.T where the beginning of the film there is a
shot of the starry sky and in Stranger Things in the first episode there is the
same starry sky shot panning down. There is also the boys playing a game of
dungeons and dragons which is a homage to the Goonies which was a popular film
in the 1980s. There are many more different homages to certain aspects and
inventions in the 2980s, such as the posters of Blondie in Nancy’s room and
Knight rider being played on the tv when Mike’s father is trying to fix the tv
in the living room. Although when looking at the plot and storyline of Stranger
Things you can suggest that they do have an original format to the show, there
are a group of children fighting a monster which is something you wouldn’t
usually see in a sci-fi horror show. Stereotypically you would have adults
fighting a monster, but Stranger Things challenges that and creates their own
originality.
When it comes to Deutschland 83 however, it is substantially
more difficult to find originality as the show is based around real events in
the 1980s, specifically during the cold war. In the beginning of the first episode,
we see and hear the direct speech Ronald Reagan gave during the cold war,
giving us context and homage to the era that the show is based in. Furthermore,
due to the genre of the show being compatible to many spy films and shows, it
is even harder to find originality because every spy show and film have
specific codes and conventions to follow. In most spy films you have the good
guys and the bad guys, and stereotypically the bad guys are German and the good
guys are English. Deutschland 83 loosely follows this, but switches the roles
and represents the west as the bad
guys and the East as the good guys. Despite them switching this role and having
the plot follow a slightly different route, it still lacks originality as
people are familiar with this sort of genre and outcome.
However,
while Deutschland 83 won’t be considered original to an eastern audience,
western audiences who will have never experienced or viewed the eastern
ideologies presented within the series will consider it very original. This
would be due to the fact that in the UK and the western world they are used to
thinking of Russia and other eastern countries as the enemy, but Deutschland 83
presents then as the ‘good guy’s’ and present America and the west as the
enemy. This provides originality as the western audience who do watch Deutschland
83 wouldn’t be used to the viewpoints due to their physical positioning and
political alignments to western ideologies that they’ve grown up being taught.
This Outlines a point that disagrees with the statement as it suggests whilst
Deutschland 83 won’t be original to an eastern audience a western audience
would definingly consider it original as it provides a completely different
viewpoint and set of ideologies that they wouldn’t be used to before.
Because we live in a post modernism
society, it is hard to find and create a show that has originality, but
companies like Netflix know that there is a certain format that people like and
if people see a show that they have seen something similar before, then they
are more likely to watch the show.
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