#cugermany

Prompt 2: Museum Communication meets Metropolis: At the museum, look for two examples of science or technology to relate to the film: 1 - Find an exhibit that suggests the film was accurate in communicating the future. 2 - Find an exhibit that suggests the film was inaccurate in its vision of the future.

Woche Drei

Blog Drei: Find an example in Berlin (not TV, online, etc.) of communication from a regional, city, or national governmental body about a particular technology. Drawing on Habermas, examine it first from a public sphere perspective: What information is needed about this technology for citizens of a democracy to have informed civic debate and deliberation about it? Then, drawing on Jaganathan et al , examine it from a rhetoric of advertising perspective: What persuasive arguments might a manufacturer or distributor of the same technology want to make to the public?

“Citizens behave as a public body when they confer in an unrestricted fashion—that is, with the guarantee of freedom of assembly and association and the freedom to express and publish their views” (Habermas Page 1). The photo above contains the background of a communist rally in Paris. Passing this rally there were cars parked in the middle of the street with newspapers, pamphlets, and communist flags. “Newspapers changed from mere institutions for publication of news into bearers and leaders of public opinion—weapons of party politics” (Habermas Page 3). These newspapers contained the communist plan for government and how it compared to France’s current government. These forms of technology were used to educate the French people of the ‘communist way.’ In order to process the communist party rally, the people need to understand what communism is and how it is implemented in government compared to France’s current government.

“While the language of advertising needs to be concise and manifest a great impact, every element used via the codification also portrays the different styles in putting forth a message creatively” (Jaganathan Page 2). The pamphlets handed out were written in different languages to communicate to all the people in the region of Paris. In these papers, the argument is made that the French government is corrupt and that the only way to save France is to reform to the Communist Manifesto. In order to combat this type of communication and demonstration, the government can come back with examples of where communism fails and why communism actually limits the citizen, rather than freeing. The government will have to appeal to the public sphere.“By “the public sphere” we mean first of all a realm of our social life in which something approaching public opinion can be formed” (Habermas Page 1). The government would have to present the argument against communism in a multilingual way to address all citizens. They would need to cut down the utopian idea of communism and address its true agenda through past history examples.

Sources:

The Way of the Future

Review notes on Futurism. Read “The Furturist Manifesto.” What exhibit at the Mercedes Benz Museum do you think Marinetti would like the most? Why?

 According to F.T Marinetti,  “No reason to die unless it is the desire to be rid of the too great weight of our courage! We drove on, crushing beneath our burning wheels, like shirt-collars under the iron, the watch dogs on the steps of the houses.” On the tour at the Mercedes museum, I notice these two cars as a symbol of the enduring human spirit to have the courage and to fully embrace the desire and the adrenaline of the speed of the car. You should not feel ashame or guilty for taking a chance for the advancements in speed car. The death of some many drivers for Mercedes is a result of creative destruction. Just When Marinetti alluded in the Futurist Manifesto that,  “Death, tamed, went in front of me this at each corner offering me his hand nicely, and sometimes lay on the ground with a noise of creaking jaws giving me velvet glances from the bottom of puddles.” For the death of these people created an opportunity for the advancement in the creation of a faster and efficient car. As the cars got faster the in the sports cars so did the fashion such as the goggles, hats, gloves, jackets.  The images that Mercedes had throughout the museum with celebrities, political figures, and everyday folks is a “testament to all the living men of the earth. “ It takes some sweat, tears, and failure to fully live out the meaning of the human endurance and that’s what defines a person.

Prompt 1 (extended): Pick a concept from the chapter 14 reading on cross-cultural communication and PR that you have seen exemplified during our time here so far. Perhaps at a cafe you've witnessed differences in how space is used (Proxemics). Maybe on a weekend trip you've seen ways that people from some countries view time differently than we tend to (Chronemics). Or perhaps you've seen a really clever ad that bridges cultural/linguistic boundaries. Post a photo or video, and explain how it captures or illustrates the concept you choose.

Prompt 1 Extended: Capture an advertisement that you think would be ineffective in the U.S. Tell me why it would be ineffective, and then describe how you might do it differently for a U.S. market. Post a photo of the advertisement so that your classmates and I can see what you're referring to. (Note: You cannot post something in German and say "it would be ineffective because it isn't in English" or something similar. Think in terms of the intended message, intended audience, and how both are communicated - would the spirit of the message be ineffective? Why?) Make a connection to at least one of our readings from the program.

Prompt 1: Computerspielmuseum / DDR Museum: Public Communication of Sport Sciences and Technologies. Compare and contrast an example from each museum that talks about, shows, or otherwise presents a science or technology used in sports. Embed a music video of one song you would choose to play along with each sport (one for each, two songs total). Use supporting quotes from McLeod to explain why you chose those songs.

Woche Vier

Blog Drei: At Teufelsberg this week you will see a lot of graffiti. It's a cultural phenomenon here - highly skilled artists have been allowed to paint the walls of this defunct spy station. Some murals have lasted years, while others are painted over from one week to the next. As Ledingham tells us, “Public relations is best defined and practiced as the active attempt to restore and maintain a sense of community.” How is this graffiti a function of community building/maintenance? How might this space be different in the U.S.? Would the owners of this property or the federal government be likely to allow this long-term graffiti haven to continue untouched by anyone who isn't part of the community? Post a selection of murals to illustrate your post.

The graffiti at Teufelsberg is the free expression of the people. The art on the buildings represent a culture healing. The graffiti helps the people voice their opinions and views of their society and allow others to see different opinions through art. The graffiti keeps the buildings at Teufelsberg standing. Without the graffiti art Teufelsberg would have already been turned into luxury apartments. People paying to see the graffiti funds the people’s ability to keep the space as a creative outlet for all German citizens.

Woche Vier

Blog Drei: Dimeo, Hunt & Horbury, “The Individual and the State: A Social Historical Analysis of the East German ‘Doping System’” explores a governmental scandal about a sports/medical technology. Compare this to a contemporary sports scandal of your choice, using at least two quotes from the reading. Take a local photo to illustrate the East German doping scandal in some way, and another photo to illustrate the scandal you choose.

“Doping in the German Democratic Republic, which was central to the national policy for sport from the mid-1960s to the collapse of the Soviet satellite in November 1989, has been represented as fundamentally different to other historical and contemporary examples of doping” (Dimeo, 1). The article above advertises the doping scandal that happened during the Soviet reign. It walks through the setting of East Germany and if the doping scandal was true or not. It is brought to light with Germany going to the World Cup in 2014. As the Soviet reign in Germany ended,  there became “...overwhelming, hard evidence of some of the doping, and that since the country no longer exists as a separate entity it has been easier for the details to be publicly aired” (Dimeo, 2). It became clear that after the Soviets left, they had been dosing their athletes for years and had started doping them from a young age.

“What is important to note is that the use of performance-enhancing drugs was a systematic part of . . . East German sports policy, and that it involved a wide variety of people . . . the drugs were provided by the state, and all aspects of the athletes’ development, including those relating to the administration of drugs, were supervised and monitored by specialists in sports medicine” (Dimeo, 8). This concept that doping was a fundamental part of sports is being repeated in Russia. Russia has repeatedly been disqualified due to doping, but this does not seem to stop them. Doping in Russia was banned in 2016, but according to one player he seems to believe the scandal was not an accident. “‘You'd never know if it was on purpose or by accident, but obviously that's been banned for a year and a half and I can't imagine that that was something that happened on purpose,’ said John Shuster, the captain of the U.S. men's curling team” (NBC Article). Because the ban on doping athletes is still relatively new in Russia, his teammate does not seem to think it was an accident. A teammate of the accused athlete states “...that there is absolutely strength and conditioning and fitness in curling and you know it (doping) will give you a little bit of an edge’“ (NBC Article).