Berlin Calling

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?
     In some way drugs mean nothing to Ickarus, but in another he relies on them so much. They make up who he is. Without them he feels as if he is not as good of an artist. After being sober and on medication for a little while Ickarus ends up making the best music he has ever made.

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?
     His fans are taking drugs at all times of the day. They will wake up in the morning and go party. They are not only at the club doing drugs while Ickarus is performing, they are doing it everywhere they are and at any time of day. Although, it  did seem that his fans were using more drugs at his performances that during the day.

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 is in focus on drugs?
     This is a difficult question overall. The subculture is what it is. The techno-music brings out the inner person people want to be and want to feel like. To enhance this the people in this subculture take drugs. Drugs to this subculture seem like a way to escape from reality more or less.

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?
    Some things that really stuck out to me was that this movie shows a lot of sexual scenes, but does not keep the viewer involved in the scene for very long because the purpose is not to be romantic, it is simply to show reality. American movies and shows today would never show two men having intercourse even if it were  a rated "R" movie. In America it is not as accepted as it seems in Germany. I also cannot imagine there being that crazy of a club in America where people are easily able to do drugs and have sex out in the open in the club bathroom. That, however, is me being naive. I know there are these things out there but there is so much shown in Berlin Calling that I hardly ever see in the movies and shows made in America.

5. Germany is considered a strong industrial nation the world over. 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?
     The youth shown here like they are going in the wrong direction for holding onto their strong industrial nation. But with selling drugs,  there has to be something good in the economics department for all of the underground/illegal selling of drugs. The work ethic of Ickarus shows that he believes in what he does and has a passion for his music. Ickarus shows what you could have if you followed your dreams. He also shows how things can go downhill fast. Alice shows a lot of responsibility while still doing things that aren't very good for her, but in moderation. The label-director is definitely a person who believes in second chances. The problem with her is that she gave a very unreliable person a second chance. Also, you can tell that they only reason why she hired him back on is because she knew she would make a lot of money off of his brand new album.

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?
     I don't believe I have ever seen one, but after hearing some of you talk about Cult movies in class, I remembered "Rocky Horror." I have not seen the original, but I did watch some kind of  reenactment on the TV series Glee.

(661 WORDS)