After the end of World War Two, the newly formed countries of East and West Germany were struggling to create new national identities in the aftermath of the destruction caused by the National Socialist German Workers party and the war. A parallel of the country as a whole, the capital city of Berlin was also split into an East and a West portion controlled by the Soviet Union and the Allies respectively. The close proximity of the East and the West in the same city—a political, economic, and cultural center—allows historians to look closely at the similarities and differences between East and West Germany and their attempts to mold a new German identity. Countering these attempts, however, was the strong influence of American consumer culture
…show more content…
In fact, German authors had published most of the films and pieces of literature of this genre in the early part of the century and accounted for much of the market. It was not until after the West German currency reform in 1948, which fully opened West Germany to American distributors, that the American market began to sell to the German audience. During the 1950s, dozens of American westerns were shown in West Germany—many of which were cheaply produced B-movies—and many West Germans attended their showings. The Catholic Film Commission for Germany reports that the number of American western movies released in West Germany rose from two in 1948 to two hundred in 1953. Furthermore, although East Germany banned Wild West movies and dime novels out of their country during the 1940s and only allowed for the release of six American films in total during the 1950s, many East Germans crossed the border into West Germany to see showings of films there. Small shops also existed on the border in Berlin between the East and the West which sold dime novels targeted to the East Germans who would cross the boundary to shop until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Yet, even though the Germanys differed on their permissiveness of westerns in their countries, they both attempted to control the genre in …show more content…
When the Wild West genre first began its rise in popularity after World War II, experts on youth and film criticized them heavily and tied their consumption to juvenile male delinquency. After a number of years, though, these critics came to realize that in contrast to gangster movies, westerns did not drive the viewer to relate to the criminal, but instead were moralized and focused on “town tamers”—righteous heroes that saved the day. Fritz Stückrath, an expert on youth and film in West Germany, exemplifies this switch in attitudes towards western films at first damning Wild West films and literature in his publication entitled “The Attack of the Ogallala on the Youth,” which marked both westerns and American Indians as dangerous. After a few years, though, in 1956, he wrote a follow up article that argued that westerns were beneficial to society by helping boys distinguish between good and evil. Similar to his paper, a number of publications came out in the year following his work that went as far as to say that westerns “provided an outlet for the excessive energies of young men and thus fulfilled an important societal function.” In East Germany, on the other hand, attitudes towards westerns remained relatively constant throughout the 1940s and
In fact, German authors had published most of the films and pieces of literature of this genre in the early part of the century and accounted for much of the market. It was not until after the West German currency reform in 1948, which fully opened West Germany to American distributors, that the American market began to sell to the German audience. During the 1950s, dozens of American westerns were shown in West Germany—many of which were cheaply produced B-movies—and many West Germans attended their showings. The Catholic Film Commission for Germany reports that the number of American western movies released in West Germany rose from two in 1948 to two hundred in 1953. Furthermore, although East Germany banned Wild West movies and dime novels out of their country during the 1940s and only allowed for the release of six American films in total during the 1950s, many East Germans crossed the border into West Germany to see showings of films there. Small shops also existed on the border in Berlin between the East and the West which sold dime novels targeted to the East Germans who would cross the boundary to shop until the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Yet, even though the Germanys differed on their permissiveness of westerns in their countries, they both attempted to control the genre in …show more content…
When the Wild West genre first began its rise in popularity after World War II, experts on youth and film criticized them heavily and tied their consumption to juvenile male delinquency. After a number of years, though, these critics came to realize that in contrast to gangster movies, westerns did not drive the viewer to relate to the criminal, but instead were moralized and focused on “town tamers”—righteous heroes that saved the day. Fritz Stückrath, an expert on youth and film in West Germany, exemplifies this switch in attitudes towards western films at first damning Wild West films and literature in his publication entitled “The Attack of the Ogallala on the Youth,” which marked both westerns and American Indians as dangerous. After a few years, though, in 1956, he wrote a follow up article that argued that westerns were beneficial to society by helping boys distinguish between good and evil. Similar to his paper, a number of publications came out in the year following his work that went as far as to say that westerns “provided an outlet for the excessive energies of young men and thus fulfilled an important societal function.” In East Germany, on the other hand, attitudes towards westerns remained relatively constant throughout the 1940s and