SHORT
Blau Jeans is an award-winning documentary about the impact of American popular culture in Berlin and Germany’s love-hate for all things American. The one-hour documentary chronicles Germany’s journey from a divided country after World War II to the united nation of today.
MEDIUM
American popular culture cast a spell on Europe that has never worn off. Blau Jeans, an award-winning documentary by Meaghan Kimball, shows how this spell both charms and afflicts Berlin, one of contemporary Europe’s most dynamic cultural centers. We see how profoundly America has influenced German identity over the past 60 years and how much Germans hate to admit it. Renowned artists, filmmakers, actors, and scholars candidly discuss their first contact with America and how it continues to shape their lives. Examining influences ranging from hip-hop to Google, Star Wars to George W. Bush, the film paints a fascinating picture of a country whose battles have become internal, with one side revering America’s generosity and innovation and the other disdaining its arrogance and superficiality. The striking soundtrack features acclaimed German BMG electronic artists 2raumwohnung and Universal Classic Music oboist Albrecht Mayer accompanied by the Berlin Philharmonic. Blau Jeans is a vivid, entertaining, and provocative look at how one country views the nation that can be loved or hated but never ignored.
PROGRAMMING DESCRIPTORS
FORMS: Documentary, One-Hour
GENRES: Culture, Art, Educational, Independent, Post Modern, Period/Historical, Cerebral, Reality, Social Issue, History, News, Drama