Good Bye, Lenin can be viewed or rented here.

Good Bye, Lenin! is a 2003 German film that follows a family’s struggle in East Germany during the fall of the Berlin Wall. The mother, extremely dedicated to the socialist party, is in a coma as the wall collapses. Doctors tell the family that the shock of the wall collapse could very well kill their mother, so they take every action to conceal the collapse of the wall and communism.

Similarities:

• The cultural structure of family in Germany is similar if not almost identical to that in America. Roger Ebert makes an excellent point in his blog here. He states “How many of us lie to our parents, pretending a world still exists that they believe in but we have long since moved away from? And are those lies based on love or cowardice? Sometimes, despite a doctor’s warnings, parents have to take their chances with the truth.”

Differences:

• The families in East Germany must change their entire lives to fit in the West during the reunification of Germany. there’s a huge shift in political ideology, landmarks, jobs, clothing, and furniture. This is an experience I never had to endure due to laws, social culture, already inherent capitalist society, and the democracy of America.

Cultural, Social, Political Influences:

• The falling of Socialist ideology and lifestyle are overtaken by West Germany’s Capitalist society.
• Alex creates an almost parallel universe for his mother, having the culture, lifestyle, and world he once knew live on in his mother’s hospital room (and bedroom), whilst trying to fit in to the western culture out in the world.