2025: REPRESENTATION QUESTION - A POSSIBLE REPONSE

‘Representations in long form television dramas are always shaped by the cultural and political contexts in which they are produced.’ How far do you agree with this statement?

Long form television dramas inherently reflect the cultural and political contexts of their production. This is evident in Deutschland 83 and Stranger Things, both set in 1983 but shaped differently by their contemporary production environments. Deutschland 83 presents a realist exploration of Cold War politics rooted in German history and the political climate of 2015, while Stranger Things offers a nostalgic, stylised vision of 1980s America that addresses modern cultural concerns such as childhood trauma and institutional mistrust. This initial contrast demonstrates that representations in LFTVDs are always shaped by cultural and political contexts, but the specific nature of this shaping depends on whether a drama uses its historical setting to interrogate political reality or to construct a nostalgic myth of the past in response to contemporary cultural concerns.

Economic context plays a significant role in shaping representation. Deutschland 83 was produced for a German and international audience by public broadcaster RTL and SundanceTV, reflecting economic factors such as funding models prioritising historical prestige and cultural capital. According Hesmondhalgh’s theory of cultural industries, economic pressures influence producers to balance creative ambition with audience appeal. The high production values and realistic depiction of Cold War Germany show an investment in authenticity that appeals to a niche, historically engaged audience. Stranger Things, produced by Netflix with a large budget and global distribution platform, is designed for mass appeal. Its economic context encourages the use of popular genre conventions and nostalgia to attract wide, international audiences and generate subscriber growth. Therefore, economic context directly influences how representation is constructed, favouring either political complexity and cultural specificity, as in Deutschland 83, or broad emotional resonance and mythologised culture, as in Stranger Things. This reinforces the argument that the shaping of representations depends on whether the historical setting is used to interrogate political reality or to construct nostalgic myths in response to contemporary cultural concerns.

The political context strongly influences representations of institutions and power. Deutschland 83 reflects contemporary German politics by presenting Cold War surveillance and espionage with nuance, showing Martin Rauch’s ethical conflicts amid ideological division. This aligns with Stuart Hall’s theory about representation, where meaning is constructed within ideological frameworks. Conversely, Stranger Things channels post-9/11 American anxieties about government secrecy through Hawkins Lab’s shadowy experiments, shaping its narrative around mistrust of authority. Both dramas demonstrate how political contexts shape representation, but Deutschland 83 interrogates historical political realities, while Stranger Things mythologises political paranoia to speak to modern concerns. This contrast further supports the argument that cultural and political contexts influence representation differently depending on the drama’s use of historical context.

Cultural context also profoundly influences the representation of identity, place, and community. Stranger Things deliberately draws on 1980s American pop culture and genre conventions to create a hyperreal world, a point illuminated by Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra and hyperreality, which argues that media often produces a copy of reality that becomes “more real than real,” blurring the distinction between fact and fiction. The show’s meticulous recreation of 1980s aesthetics and tropes (such as references to Spielberg and Stephen King) does not aim for authentic historical accuracy but instead constructs a nostalgic myth that resonates with contemporary audiences’ desire for escapism and emotional connection. This hyperreal world serves as a cultural resource, in line with Gauntlett’s ideas, providing viewers with symbolic tools for identity. Conversely, Deutschland 83 grounds its cultural representation in realistic detail and historical specificity, inviting viewers to critically interrogate ideological conflict rather than escape into myth. These differing cultural representations clearly demonstrate that representations are shaped by cultural and political contexts in ways that reflect either a critical interrogation of political reality or a nostalgic construction of the past.

Character identity reveals further contextual shaping. In Deutschland 83, identity is fragmented and constrained by political ideology, reflecting Hall’s notion of identity as constructed within discourse. Martin’s and other characters’ struggles show the effects of state control and ideological pressure. Stranger Things presents identity through trauma, resistance, and emotional growth, with characters like Eleven embodying contemporary concerns about empowerment and trauma, reflecting Gauntlett’s theory of media providing identity “tools.” These contrasting approaches to identity illustrate how cultural and political contexts determine representation depending on whether a drama pursues historical realism or mythologisation, thus reinforcing the central argument.

Audience reception also mirrors these contextual influences. According to Hall’s Reception Theory, Deutschland 83 anticipates an engaged audience familiar with Cold War history, encouraging critical or negotiated readings. Stranger Things, designed for a broad global audience, promotes dominant emotional readings based on nostalgia and genre familiarity. Additionally, Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory helps explain how the long-running nature and style of Stranger Things can cultivate particular worldviews and emotional responses, shaping audience expectations of authority and community through repeated exposure to its nostalgic myth. This demonstrates how cultural and political contexts influence not only production but also how representation is positioned for consumption, highlighting once again that the shaping of representations depends on whether a drama uses history to interrogate political reality or to construct nostalgic myths responding to contemporary cultural concerns.

In conclusion, both Deutschland 83 and Stranger Things exemplify how cultural and political contexts fundamentally shape representation in long form television dramas. However, this shaping varies according to the drama’s approach to history: Deutschland 83 interrogates political realities of division and ideology through historical realism, while Stranger Things mythologises 1980s America to address modern cultural concerns. The economic context, political environment, cultural positioning, character construction, and audience reception all interact to produce these divergent modes of representation. Thus, representations in long form television dramas are always shaped by cultural and political contexts, but the way they are shaped depends on whether a drama uses its historical setting to interrogate political reality or to construct a nostalgic myth of the past in response to contemporary cultural concerns.