糖心TV

Watching War: A Symposium on Edward Berger鈥檚 All Quiet on the Western Front (11 May, 2023, online)

Edward Berger's 2022 film adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's Im Westen Nichts Neues (All Quiet on the Western Front) has been described as 'the finest First World War film to date' (Wyatt, 2022) and as 'one of the worst films of all time' (zu Dohna, 2023). An extensive public enthusiasm for the film and the various accolades it has received e.g. the BAFTA for Best Film and the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film), which marked yet another return of German cinema on the international stage, faced a critical reception that also outlined the film's flaws. While some pundits praised the film's aesthetics, others decried its gratuitous sensationalisation of wartime experience and dabbling in tropes problematic at best - and dangerous at worst.

Taking the public enthusiasm for the film as well as its mixed reviews as a point of departure, this symposium brings together an interdisciplinary team of scholars in order to assess the contested discourse around the film. The format is straightforward: each session will feature scholars who will present short interventions into ongoing discourse about the film by way of stimulating a conversation.

The symposium is free and open to the public. We invite scholars, students, and cinephiles alike to join us in the ongoing debates about this film. Please register to attend via Zoom .

This symposium has been co-organised by Molly Harrabin and .

Programme

6:00-6:30 am Vancouver (3:00-3:30 pm Berlin) Welcome and Introductions (Molly Harrabin & Ervin Malakaj)

6:30-7:45 am Vancouver (3:30 - 4:45 pm Berlin) Session 1

Moderator: Molly Harrabin

1. 鈥淎ll strategic on the Western Front: German Visual Culture as Transnational Genre Narrative鈥� | Stephan Ehrig (University of Glasgow), Benjamin Schaper (University of Oxford), and Elizabeth Ward (Viadrina/ILCS)
2. 鈥淯S Industry, German Story, Chinese Audience: Questions of Transnationalism and Popularity in Im Westen Nichts Neues (2022)鈥� | Yejun Zou (Sun Yat-sen University)
3. 鈥淐omics Modes and War Representation in All Quiet on the Western Front鈥� I Rik Spanjers (University of Amsterdam)
4. 鈥淎苍 Ante-War Film? Disentangling the Spatiotemporal Logics Behind Receptions of All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)鈥� | Lawrence Alexander (University of Cambridge/ Freie Universit盲t Berlin)

7:45-9:00 am Vancouver (4:45 - 6:00 pm Berlin) Session 2

Moderator: Ervin Malakaj

1. 鈥溾�業m Westen stets etwas Neues鈥�: The Netflix adaptation of Remarque鈥檚 novel as a commentary on Contemporary Crises and a Reflection of Changing Perceptions of World War One鈥� | Bill Niven (Nottingham Trent University) and Karina von Lindeiner-Strasky (Open University)
2. 鈥淣arrations of Pain in German World War I Literature and All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)鈥� | Diego Le贸n-Villagr谩 (Freie Universit盲t Berlin)
3. 鈥淚m Kino nichts Neues: All Quiet on the Western Front and the Cinematic Legacy of World War One鈥� I Ian Roberts & Molly Harrabin (University of 糖心TV)

9:30-10:45 am Vancouver (6:30 - 7:45 pm Berlin) Session 3

Moderator: Ervin Malakaj

1. 鈥淢ilitary Masculinities; or, What鈥檚 Queer im Westen?鈥� | Tom Smith (University of St. Andrews)
2. 鈥淒ebunking Hegemonic Masculinity in All Quiet on the Western Front鈥� | Priscilla Layne (University of North Carolina Chapel Hill)
3. 鈥淭ruly a 鈥楻eflection of our Times鈥�? All Quiet on the Western Front and the War in Ukraine鈥� | Alrik Daldrup (Universit盲t Kiel)

10:45-12 pm Vancouver (7:45 - 9:00 pm Berlin) Session 4

Moderator: Molly Harrabin

1. 鈥淎esthetics of War: Realism and the Real鈥� I Evelyn Preuss (University of Oklahoma)
2. 鈥淒isappointed from Jump: All Quiet from the South鈥� | Michelle Moyd (Michigan State University)
3. 鈥淭he Sounds of War: The Auditory Aspects of All Quiet on the Western Front鈥� | Tom Ue (Dalhousie University)
4. 鈥淭ruly 鈥楢ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥�? The Global Aesthetics of Edward Berger鈥檚 Netflix Production All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)鈥� | Stephan Jaeger (University of Manitoba)

12:00-1:15 pm Vancouver (9:00 - 10:15 pm Berlin) Session 5

Moderator: Molly Harrabin

1. 鈥淗ere's mud in your eye: Cinema, War, Whiteness and All Quiet on the Western Front鈥� I William Brown (University of British Columbia)
2. 鈥淩ewriting the Stab in the Back? The General in Netflix鈥檚 All Quiet鈥� | Annette Timm (University of Calgary)
3. 鈥淭he Unbearable Cringe of Misplaced Pacifism鈥� | Ervin Malakaj (University of British Columbia)
4. 鈥淒omestic Space in War Films鈥� | Gaia Kriscak (Catolica University, Porto)

1:15-1:45 pm Vancouver (10:15 - 10:45 pm Berlin) Closing Remarks (Molly Harrabin & Ervin Malakaj)