10/26/11

Questions:

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?
Drugs mean being carefree and living his life how he wants to live it.

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?Some of his fans take drugs all the time and others only when they are out on the town.  They take drugs to either enhance their experiences while out, to change their mood, and others because they want to live without care.  They take many different drugs such as: ketamine, cocaine, meth, and ecstasy.

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?I would like to say most of the reason is because it is what is expected from the subculture, new people go and see what everyone else is doing and want to try it to.  Eventually, everybody in the subculture is on drugs.  The drugs allow people to truly be themselves.

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?

Similarities: The techno/house/trance scenes are the same.  The drugs taken are similar.  In both countries, the subculture is looked down upon. 
Differences: The club scene is bigger and more pronounced in Europe and is more acceptable.

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 resigns him?No, I do not think that the culture will change the industrialism.  There are people that don’t fit the norm in every generation such as the Woodstock era.  Ickarus is carefree and doesn’t show he cares about his work, but deep down I think he is dedicated to his work and does not realize that what he does can affect the outcome of his career.  I think Alice was dedicated to her work and although she took Ickarus back after firing him, she knows that her job is to make money and Ickarus can do that for her.

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?

None that I am aware of.

Reaction:

I enjoyed watching the film Berlin Calling mostly because I love techno/house/trance music.  Although it seems this movie is about the club/drug scene in Berlin, I found that it was not the main point of the movie, it was more of a backdrop.  Ickarus being so unpredictable throughout the movie made it enjoyable to watch because I really did not know what he would do next; it kept my attention on the movie throughout even though it was in subtitles.  I was surprised that Ickarus stayed in the psychiatric ward so long, I figured he would not have stayed in the first place.  He is dedicated to his work and although he does not think he needs to be off drugs, the drugs are getting to him to the point where it could be life threatening.  At the end of the movie Ickarus and Matilde are back together traveling the world, although it is a happy ending it is not realistic.  I think everything seen in this film would be easy to find in the US.  Overall, if I had seen this movie in a store I would probably have watched it.