An analysis of Wende memories through selected movies from Germany and Zimbabwe and the impact on the teaching of Landeskunde in foreign language learning

Abstract

This study explores the revolutionary narratives as reflected through the four selected movies. These movies are Das Leben der Anderen and Goodbye, Lenin which reflect the Wende revolution in the German Democratic Republic and Flame and Albino which reflect and document the narratives of the Second Chimurenga in Zimbabwe. The study pursues a comparative approach which is championed by the theoretical concept of Localisation. This concept advocates for the teaching of the target language Landeskunde by comparing it to that of the learner. It, therefore, contributes to the important area of curriculum transformation. Furthermore, the narratives in the four selected movies are analysed through the use and guidance of theories of memories (as discussed by theorists such as Pierre Nora, Maurice Halbwachs, Aleida and Jan Assmann). The study is, therefore, able to establish interesting insights into the traditions of remembering and reinterpreting the past as portrayed through the four selected movies. It establishes for instance, that the two selected movies on the Wende revolution in Germany reflect the post-Wende memory culture (Erinnerungskultur) of the German society which is guided by a memory boom