Fashion film Mode. The Political Narrative of The Socialist Unity Party of Germany through Moving Images

Abstract

Mode directed by Klaus Ehrlich, produced by the state television of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and aired between 1975 and 1990. The study is focused on the specific features of mise-en-scène of the medium, a multifunctional container capable of holding simultaneously several messages on different levels. The purpose is to highlight the communicative power of the body in a visual representation. The body, together with the dress and the setting are the elements on which is based the composition of a fashion image committed to the propagandising of the values and principles of the Socialist State. At the same time, the same elements are the key to revealing a series of contradictions and complexities, which are intrinsic characteristics of the very peculiar political and social context of those years.

Keywords

• fashion film
• multifunctionality
• visual representation
• socialist fashion
• body politic