Weeks 10 and 11

Just this year, I have started to become aware of the rising issue of Turkish-German identity in film. Most notably for me has been the work of director Fatih Akim. I was particularly looking forward to this week's film "Me Boss, You Sneaker" by Hussi Kutlucan, because it focused on such issues. To be honest, although I was interesting in seeing the film, I was a bit skeptical about it being a made-for-TV movie. Don't get me wrong. Some of my favorite films have been made-for-TV. But, there is a reason that those films have such a bad reputation. There are quite a few aweful ones too. Perhaps it's just a defense mechanism to protect myself from bad movies. Fortunately, in this case, that defense mechanism worked in my favor. Instead of being utterly disappointed, I was very much pleasently surprised. This was no normal made-for-TV movie. It was layered. Kutlucan not only made a film about the serious issue of multiculturalism in German, but he made it funny as well.

In Göktürk’s essays, she discusses such racial issues in film—how in entertainment, people have used comedy as a defense mechanism to racism. By making fun of one’s self and playing up the stereotypes, a filmmaker or performer may be able to make a serious point more effectively than that of a dramatic performance. In “Me Boss, You Sneaker,” Kutlucan focuses on the social and psychological games of asylum workers in Germany. Throughout his film, he portrays the multicultural characters in the most endearingly comical way. They all have certain stereotypical quirks for their race, but are also portrayed as good-hearted and charming. The most interesting part, I think, is the fact that Kutlucan, as a Turk and as a director, places himself as the Armenian protagonist. This creates even more tension, racially and artistically. Racially, he portrays a man, whose people were oppressed by his own people. I suppose, in a way, this was a smart move on Kutlucan’s part. He no longer has the pressure of misrepresenting his own people and he makes the point (if the viewer was unaware of his personal background) of how ethnically blind the world can be; that because he simply looks “ethnic,” or non-white, it is perfectly believable for him to play a race that may not be his own. Similar cinematic moves have been made in the past and caused quite a stir among that particular racial group. For example, in West Side Story, the Puerto Rican actress portraying Maria was of a Caucasian background. In Kutlucan’s film, his racial swapping works for him, I think. He puts the issue of multiculturalism at everyone’s level. No matter what background, Turkish, Armenian or another, he shows the struggle of all ethnicity groups in Germany. He even goes as far as to put himself in the situation where there is mutual rejection of between himself and his own Turkish background when there is the struggle at Hassir’s Restaurant. I loved this film for the very reason that it touched on such a current and interesting issue; an issue that I can related as a person from a mixed background and living and growing up in a predominately white-washed area. And, he created the film in such a way that is heart-warming and fun to watch.

Those are the types of movies I want to make—heart-warming. Let’s be honest right now. Every filmmaker wants to make that serious, deep and meaningful piece that makes the rest of the world take you seriously. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past year, it is that that is really not my style. I mean, I can be serious, of course. And I have made a serious film before for a class, and it was really fun. But, I have found that I enjoy comedies and more light-hearted material much more. Much like Göktürk’s point, some of the strongest films are ones that are cleverly written and go about discussing an issue in a funny way.

This week, I refined my new idea for my part of the film that I originally came up with a few weeks ago. Yes, this film keeps changing and it’s starting to get really confusing to try to explain to people what exactly it’s about. I won’t try to explain all of it now, but, essentially, this is how it’s going to go. We had an original script, which turned into a film about a film that we couldn’t make. That branched off into four parts that make up and deconstruct why the film didn’t work out. In my part, I’m talking about writing and memory, which I’m now conveying through a fairy tale. I know it sounds confusing. And, it kind of is. But, I think it will work. I worked on filming some scenes that fit into the story. The most surprising aspects of filming, I have found, was that most of the good shots I got were ones I hadn’t originally had in mind. They were places that I found on the way. Things are getting pretty hectic, though. I’m getting a little worried about getting all my shots in just because I feel pretty unorganized. I don’t really have a storyboard and I keep collecting all these extra shots that may work better. I feel like Werner Herzog a bit in that I’m almost just letting the film come together on it’s own. It’s scary.

Ah, the last week. This is really sad. But, we got to end it with one of my favorite films, Goodbye, Lenin! This weeks readings were pretty interesting and showed the problems between history and memory and the problematic views of West and East Berlin. Goodbye Lenin is a wonderful example of films that deal with these issues. I love it because it goes against the generally negative stereotype of East Germans. It show that the mother, although a member of the party, is smart and wants to move the state forward. And, it shows Alex, the youth in transition of his East German values to West, as a hard worker, and nostalgic to an East Germany that only existed in his ideals. It deals with issues with the conversion of East to West ideals from a relatively neutral perspective. And, I just love this film for the endearing and entertaining story of Alex running around and trying recreate a new GDR for his sick mother. He is a cosmonaut of his own kind, traveling into unmarked territory of fantastical memory, a GDR of his own imagination. This film is very much about awakenings and realizations and the juxtaposition of real and imagined world.

While I loved the film, I spent most of my time this week on finishing up my film. Still, we were collecting footage and running around getting last minute shots. I keep finding better and better places to shoot and getting better footage, which is good, but stressful, since we’re getting down to crunch time. A week ago, Sean and I were out shooting and I mentioned an idea that I wanted to put in my film that was very much a part of Berlin that I will forever associate with this city—Tagging. I wasn’t completely serious about the idea. But, this week, we made the last minute decision to just go ahead and do it. It was really fun, because it was all a secret. So much of our film was open to the group. And, this was also something that no one would expect. After getting the last shots, I dove right into editing. It was relatively easy, once I got started. I vaguely remembered how to from previous experience. It was good to get right back into it and relearn everything. Upon finishing, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, particularly about the music. Well, the sound in general is just crap. But, it was time for it to be done. Now, I don’t really want to change it at all. I am actually really happy with it. It’s a sort of snapshot of where I am right now at this point in my life.