Berlin Calling

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?
I think at first he uses them to relax and have a little more fun.  But once he becomes addicted and things start to go down hill, he uses them to escape life.

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?
His fan take them because it appears to be the social norm in that setting.  The drugs are taken by themselves or with him; in the bathrooms or apartments.  The drugs mentioned are Ketamine, MDMA, MDA, Crystal, THC, Cocaine, amphetamine, and PMA.

3. While we can see that his drug habits get him ill and into a psychosis, and while we witness his relapse and inability to work successfully, why does the subculture Ickarus belongs to focus on drugs?
From what we notice in the movie and even in our own culture, is that people tend to associate drugs, drinking, night clubs to a party life. And the setting is all about the night life and parties.

4. Compare the standards you know from your home society with the people you see depicted in this movie. Which are the stark differences and contrasts?
We don't have openly explicit nude scenes in our society.  We also don't promote or accept drugs the way they are shown here. Legally we are not allowed to.

5. Germany is considered a strong industrial nation over the world.  Do you think that the youth culture as depicted here could change that? How about work ethics of Ickarus and of Alice, the label director who fires and then re-signs him?
I think if this movie portrays the youth accurately (that of being in clubs and enjoying the party life), then yes the youth could change it.  It would no longer be a strong industrial nation.  Ickarus tries hard but just doesn't go about it the right way. Alice is right to let Ickarus go until he becomes clean.  She can't take that risk as a businesswoman.  If there are more people like Alice I think you'll be fine.

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?
None that I can think of.


Personal Opinion
I think this movie is interesting in the sense of seeing the point of view of a struggling, drug addict, musician.  We have many of those here in the states too.  In fact some of them aren't struggling.  Some develop the habit while they are famous because that is where the association is.  There are many genres known for the high drug consumption.

Anthroposophy

Dr. Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925) thought we needed to locate and use our spiritual being to better live in this world.  He called this Anthroposophy and as he stated, it is ‘a path of knowledge to guide the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the universe’.  This idea was meant to help bring a more humane world by understanding how the spiritual existence of each worked and how they could work together.  Not only is it used in art, as most probably expect, but it’s also used for medicine, economics, sciences, education, and others.

Headquartered at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, the Society tries to make a spiritually based contribution to the life of humanity.  They provide lectures, conferences, and courses for anyone who wants to learn.

There is also a facility in Great Britain and the only thing you need to do to be a member, is to recognize the existence of the institution, such as the School of Spiritual Science, is justified.  This doesn’t mean what one person thinks is the same as the next person, but that both have the underlying agreement that existence is necessary.

Rudolf Steiner and Anthroposophy. (2014, October 22). Retrieved from Rudolf Steiner House: http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/pages/whowas.html

Stanislaus 'Kat' Katczinsky

My name is Stanislaus Katczinsky.  Everyone calls me Kat. I am 40 years old and by far the oldest in our little group.  Why they've brought a bunch kids here, only 19 years of age, I don't know.  I take them under my wing since they haven't a clue what they are getting into.  Many times I must go and gather things for us to live off of.  They all find it quite amazing how I can get just about anything we need, even from a place that looks like there's nothing. It's hard seeing the affects this war has caused on these boys. They are changing. The war would change anyone. It's getting very tiring. We have good days and bad, but each time we go out we come back with less and less. Paul has been the closest to me. It's not as lonely when you have someone to talk to. And while he gives me company, I teach him survival techniques.  He'll need this to continue through war and at home, if he makes it out.  I'll do what I can to help him through. We are under attack again, bullets and shrapnel flying.  I feel pieces hit my legs and something to the back of my head.  I fall in pain, realizing my shins are tore up. Paul the brave man that he is now. picks me up. I'm in so much pain. He wants to bring me to the triage area. I know I won't make it though.  The pain in my head is getting worse and I feel something dripping down my neck. It hurts so bad. Every step he takes it gets worse and worse. It's not much longer that I start to fade and I can't help but think how these men, who were just kids in the beginning, are no longer kids. My last thought is that they are now my brothers.

AQWF Chapter 1 Review - Tabitha, Zach, Fayez

Chapter 1 Summary and Character Review

Top Layer Summary:

- Introduction to the main characters

-Circumstances of being in the war:

           ·         Modesty is lost

           ·         Bargaining is a big tool (Cigarettes, Rum, Bread, Clothes, etc.)

           ·         Loyalty and Brotherhood

           ·         Becoming hardened

-Disappointment in the older generation:

           ·         For not teaching them what would come of them for joining the war

           ·         For allowing the military to mature them the hard way

           ·         For falsely glorifying the war

Specifics:

The first chapter is used as an introduction to the different characters: the way they act and they way they are treated during the war. 

We see the waste of the resources they have and the inadequate form of communication they had during the war. 


The first thing that we notice is the terrible amount of communication that goes on between the different areas in the war.

• The cook has no idea of the amount of men that are coming back from the front. He believes he is preparing rations for 150 men but only 80 have survived. The 80 left are then issued all the rations that were prepared for those men. 

An example of misusing what little resources they did have, was the environment at the hospital that Kemmerich is kept in. 

• There are wounded left everywhere and when Kemmerich eventually dies they waste no time moving him and replacing someone else in his bed. 

The war was tough on everyone and they had to deal with the inadequate amount of supplies, but because of no communication they are wasting a whole lot of rations (that they don't necessarily have) on a smaller group of soldiers.

Kantorek, the schoolmaster, encouraged them all to join and if you didn't you'd be ostracized.

Franz Kemmerich is the first to get wounded in battle.  Him and Behm both pass away.

Paul and his friends are forced to disconnect from emotions, like grief, sympathy, and fear. They now have to be in survival mode.

Characters:

Paul Bäumer

• Narrator
• Sensitive, but the brutal experiences of warfare teaches him to detach himself from his feelings.

Leer

• Paul's classmate
• Close friend during the war
• Thinks of women a lot

Müller

• Paul's classmate
• Hardheaded
• Dynamic
• A bit of a dreamer but looks out for No. 1

Kropp

      ·    Paul's classmate

      ·   A close friend of Paul's 

      ·   His interest in analyzing the causes of the war lead to many of the most critical anti war

      ·   He notices the ranking differences and the treatments that come with it. (Hospital with Kemmerich)

Tjaden

      ·   Locksmith

      ·  Skinny, young man with a voracious appetite

Katczinsky

      ·   Kat is the unofficial leader

      ·   40 years old

      ·   Resourceful, inventive, and always finds food, clothing, and blankets

Haie

            ·   Peat-digger was a body as large and powerful

            ·  Wants to remain in the war

Detering

      ·  Homesick

      ·  Kind hearted

      ·  Nature lover