Jan 19
Film Showing: Unser Kurzes Leben (Our Short Lives)
Prof. Schicker's GERM 320 course, "Life under Socialism," screens Unser Kurzes Leben (Our Short Lives), (109mins, German with English subtitles), a film about a young female architect in the German Democratic Republic who moves from the big city to a small town for both personal and professional reasons. She hopes to escape her desperate relationship situation and aspires to make a meaningful impact on the town's architecture. Hired for a socialist housing project, she aims to bring about more significant changes that improve the lives of the town's residents. However, obstacles are put in her way. She adapts to the bureaucratic constraints and learns to find satisfaction in both her personal and professional life, though her ideals are no longer as ideal as they once seemed.
This film lets the viewer into a world of gendered issues, systemic constraints, personal dreams and aspirations. It provides a window in how the German Democratic Republic functioned in the 1980s and how a woman tries to change it all.
Film in German with English Subtitles. Content warning: domestic violence, allusion to sexual violence and suicide. This film is a requirement for the students of GERM 320 and part of the curriculum.