1.

What are some of the similarities of the experiences of the character

Barbara in the film, and Miriam Weber, Julia Beherend and Frau Paul
from Stasiland?
Barbaras story centres on the Stasis intrusion in her life after she filed an official
request to leave East Germany. In response, she is incarcerated and then
transferred to a small town which is heavily monitored by the Stasi. Her
involvement in wanting to leave East Germany had led the Stasi to investigate
her unscrupulously, a similar situation that can be seen in many of the
characters in Anna Funders Stasiland. Miriam Webers early attempts as a
teenager to rebel against the GDR and escape over the wall has caused the Stasi
to pursue her for the majority of her life. She was prohibited from studying and
any job she applied for the Stasi made surewas turned down. Similarly to
Miriam, Barbara suffered the same career setbacks and relentless surveillance by
the Stasi which followed [her] every move. Citizens living under the GDR
suffered from the constant pressure of being watched and of being conditioned
to conform to Stasi ideology that resulted in a psychological state of
compartmentalisation. This can be seen in both Julia and Barbara, whom see
themselves slowly becoming more reserved and antisocial as the Stasi close in
on their private sphere[s]. This internal migration is demonstrated by
Barbaras cold rebuffs against Reisers romantic overtures, even though she
shares similar feelings towards him. Barbara is additionally punished by the Stasi
for the hours in which they cannot find her, seen twice in the film, where they
search her house, and strip and cavity search her. This slowly breaks Barbaras
spirit, likewise with Frau Paul, whose soul is buckled out of shape, forever
during her time in Hohenschnhausen prison where she witnesses prisoners
being tortured and by enduring 22 hours sitting on a four legged milking stool. In
all of these cases it becomes more and more evident that the past is never
really, over and that all of these experiences have left these characters, Miriam,
Julia, Frau and Barbara, with empty shells.
2.) What are some of the character traits and experiences that Andre,
Barbaras boss at the hospital, share with Klaus in Stasiland?
Barbaras boss, Andre Reiser, is shown to be honest, considerate and easy-going.
Andres experience is similar to Barbaras, as he loses his job at a prestigious
hospital in Berlin, because of an incubator accident that left two infants blind.
Because of the severe consequences of his mistake the Stasi relocates him to a
small rural hospital to work and report on suspect people as a Stasi informer. The
punishment for Andre was harsh by forcing him to work under the people that
destroyed his career. However he still remains easy going and open, which is
similarly seen with Klaus, whom lead the most famous rock band in East
Germany. The group was suddenly disbanded as the Stasi began to believe that
their lyrics suggested rebellion, poignancy and hope. His band, along with his
friends and livelihood were cut off- from fame and money to nothing, which
ordinarily would result in anger and hate, however like Andre, Klaus has the gift
of taking things easy and moved on. Both of these characters show that even
with their careers broken, they choose to remain composed and easy going.

3.) Anna Funder goes through great lengths to describe the oppressive
environment, architecture, buildings and clothing in GDR (East
Germany). What similarities can you see between the visuals in the film
Barbara, which is also set in the former GDR, and Funders descriptions?
The Physical environment plays a major role in creating an image of what living
under the GDR was like in the everyday streets of East Germany, in which many
similarities exist between the film Barbara and the novel Stasiland. Barbara is
often seen walking around her neighbourhood where she is surrounded by grey
Buildings that appear extremely old fashioned and melancholic. The dusty old
roads in the vicinity were wound through homes crookedly and carelessly.
Similarly in Stasiland, Anna Funder observes that the town [was] built by
accretion in this case extremely clumsily, which explains why Anna also
mentions that she got thoroughly lost, especially in Leipzig, portrayed as a city
of shortcuts and narrow streets with tumbledown houses. Funder constantly
notes the greyness and harshness of many of the buildings and the dirtiness of
places such as the railroad station and park- In Northern Germany I inhabit the
grey end of the spectrum: grey buildings, grey earth, grey birds, grey trees. The
clothing in Barbara is generally of extremely poor quality, such as the pale blue
rugged dress the Barbara consistently wears throughout the movie. This may
suggest that the clothes were likely manufactured by the state and thus state
sanctioned. Likewise in Stasiland, the overall image presented by clothes were
that many were also state sanctioned because of the strong belief in communism
and the meticulous nature of the GDR.
4.) The teenage girl Stella, in the film Barbara also shares personality
traits and experiences with both Miriam Weber and Julia Beherend in
Stasiland. Explore some of these similarities.
Stella is a young runaway from a hard labour camp whom wants to escape East
Germany in fear that her unborn child will be taken away from her. She had
previously attempted to run away three other times, which can be seen to be
persistent and brave considering the risks. Funder describes Miriam as brave
and strong and broken through her life experiences against the Stasi. First by
criticising the police for employing harsh treatment on protestors in Leipzig,
being sent to prison, and straight after her release, attempting to leave East
Germany, over the Berlin Wall. As well as both having the determination and
bravery to retaliate against the Stasi, both of these characters wanted to leave
East Germany and are very persistent in doing so, no matter the personal cost.
Julia and Stella are similar because in both of their cases the state was
relentlessly pursuing innocence. Like Miriam and Stella, Julias first encounters
with the Stasi came at a young age when she acquires an Italian boyfriend. Julia
and her boyfriend were subjected to intense Stasi surveillance, which terrified
him, and in Julia and Stellas case, the state had been responsible for every
hardship in her life. Both these characters understood the consequences of
succumbing to the Stasi and fought for their freedom and in Stellas situation,
the right to raise her own child, - I knew if I stayed with him [Major N] I would
not be able to determine my own life.

Personal thoughts and feelings about watching Barbara and reading

Stasiland.
Barbara presents a subtler and less melodramatic portrayal of the East German
surveillance state which I believe is a more realistic and accurate depiction of the
majority of the lives during that time. Barbara can be dry and uneventful for
most of the film, but constantly asks the viewer to think deeper of the characters
and symbolism that takes place to gain a greater understanding of what it truly
felt like living under the GDR. It creates a strong atmosphere that builds
suspense to gain greater immersion in the story and emphasises meaningful
remarks and statements by characters which become a powerful image of the
effects this oppression has on ordinary citizens. This evokes a concoction of
emotions and feelings of anger, sympathy, hope and relief which overall creates
a thought provoking and emotional film which you just cant achieve with todays
shallow and repetitive Hollywood action movies. Stasiland similarly evokes these
strong feelings of anger towards the Stasi and Sympathy towards the citizens,
whilst also giving justification to the Stasi and its informers for the actions they
once committed under the GDR. The book provides an array of characters that
each provide a unique glimpse into living in East Germany while the wall was still
up and how everyone copes with the regret, anger, and pride from the
experiences they once endured. Stasiland first appeared as a simple and
differently-structured novel but turned out to be filled with complex themes that
appear throughout the book with intricate and unique set of stories that gave
light to the diverse and individual lives of those living within, under and against
the Stasi.