Screening the East: Heimat, Memory and Nostalgia in German Film Since 1989

In the years following unification, there has been a growing sense among many Germans in the east that differences between Germany's east and west not only remain, but have been growing in recent years. This book investigates how these differences have been represented in German film since 1989, addressing debates about East German identity along the way. It identifies two East German identities being represented in post-Cold War film--the reemergence of a Heimat (homeland) identity celebrating the traditions of an imagined all-German past and the other celebrating aspects of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and mourning a perceived decline of the East German community--and argues that both are regressive in their representations. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Nick Hodgin has taught German and Film Studies at the Universities of Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. He has published numerous articles and essays on German film and has recently co-edited, with Caroline Pearce, a book on representations of the GDR since 1989 for Camden House (2011). His current research interests also extend to cult film and World Cinema.