Berlin Calling

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?

I see Ickarus using drugs to relieve stress, but also to break up what he sees at monotony. 

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?

Why they take drugs is a choice.  When they take drugs is to party.  And how they take drugs is a mish mash.  They take whatever drug is available; not specific.  A drug is a drug!

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?

It’s the type of music or beat that coincides with drugs; goes hand in hand.

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?

My home society is small town and I may be blind to what is really going on.  My standards are very opposite to what I witnessed in the movie.  I think the group of individuals you hang out with and the type of work you are involved in is a choice and these choices play a part in the society you live in. There is no comparison of my family life to the life of Ickarus and Malthide in this movie.

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 re-signs him?

The youth culture as depicted in the movie will change Germany.  They will no longer be a strong industrial nation because they lack a work ethic; very selfish. The work ethic of Alice plays into the norm of what is witnessed in the movie; it is not industrial, but superficial. 

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?
I’ve seen drug movies in the past, but I’m not sure if they are “cult movies.”  What I do recall are the movies always involved music, and more specific, music singers and their struggles with drug additions, which more often than not, leads to death.

Film Reaction:

Sex, drugs and rock and roll!  The words of a great party, or the sins of the world?  The words by themselves tell me fun, free of religion, selfish desires, living life.  But together, I can’t imagine living a life by these words.  If my life only involved sex, drugs and music I would feel lost and abandoned.  I would have a life without meaning.  There is so much more to life than these three words procure.  The movie, “Berlin Calling,” takes place in Germany, but it could take place anywhere in the world.  For sex, drugs and music is not specific to a region or country, but is most prevalent among youth.

I don’t seek out this type of movie to watch, mostly because it makes me cringe. I feel sorry for the person, or character, in the movie and want them to find help and a way out, but also feel disgusted that a person would allow themselves to fall into such an addiction.  In the movie, it is discovered that Ickarus lost his mother when he was young, which may or may not explain the path he has fallen into; abandoned by his mother and a father not really being there to fill in the gaps may explain Ickarus’ choices.  It’s sad to see an individual struggle with acceptance and something to believe in.  It tells me he has a hole in his heart and needs something besides sex, drugs and music to fill it.  Love may be an answer.  Acceptance from his father may be an answer.  I am not sure of the answer, but only know I see emptiness.

The end of the movie leaves you without a definite answer; more of a “fill in the blank.” Does Ickarus continue to say ‘no’ to drugs, or does he go back to his old ways?  I’d like to believe Ickarus has changed.  That he is heading down a path without drugs.  But is he really?  Given Ickarus’ profession, is it really possible to stay in his job and not be on drugs?  I tend to think they go hand in hand.  But I could be proven wrong!