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SÖDERMALM

Mosebacke: Observing the SoFo brigade

Kathleen Harman finds that Mosebacke's jazz brunch is a great place to observe Stockholm's alternative set.

Published: 19 October 2007 18:42 CEST
Mosebacke: Observing the SoFo brigade
Photo: Kathleen Harman

Tipping Point

If some of Stockholm’s residents are known for being over buffed and over tanned, there is another, perhaps lesser known tribe, that wanders the streets of southern Stockholm, in a general state that could never be described as even approaching over buffed or over tanned.

I am referring to the residents of SoFo, a trendy acronym for ’South of Folkungagatan’, a large road that cuts through Sodermalm. It is here that people are trying to recreate a certain Left Bank of Paris circa 1960 meets Camden Market, London, circa 1980 type of environment – a meeting point between academia , art and alternative living. Key words are beards and Crimpolene.

Unlike their Stureplan counterparts, the SoFo brigade have eschewed the orange look for the pallor of the recently exhumed, no doubt a result of the hours spent holed up in dingy basement coffee shops, reading existentialist poetry and collecting interesting stains on their polyester turtle necks.

The word ‘smelly’ pops into my head but that is probably unkind, even if it is true. If SoFo fashion is done well, the sort of vintage French rockabilly thing, the results are great and a whole lot more original than the generic scrubbed look of the Stureplan lot. However, SoFo fashion is for the most part not done terribly well, and second hand beige Crimpolene slacks, which never looked good first hand, just look, well, even sweatier and more unhygienic in their pre worn state.

But the SoFo tribe seem a kindly, off the wall bunch, who probably don’t give a monkey’s about mainstream criticism such as mine. Imagine them, if you will, as a sort of quirky Sesame Street collection of characters – very appealing, even if you might want to wash your hands thoroughly after having your hand up one, so to speak. This is in stark contrast to the Stureplan lot who are walking talking versions of Malibu Barbie and Ken, that is Malibu Barbie and Ken after having been marinated just long enough in barbeque sauce to get the correct plastic-to-orangey-grease ratio.

And one of the most pleasant places to observe a SoFo resident in its natural habitat is to spend a Sunday at Mosebacke Etablissement’s Jazz Brunch.

Now, I realise that for some the concept of jazz is as painful as listening to fingernails being scraped down a blackboard so I must assure you that this is tinkly, mellow jazz, not squeaky, lock jaw jazz. The venue is a charming, slightly dilapidated theatre which in the summer boasts an amazing terrace that overlooks the city. Apparently, even Eartha Kitt and Arlo Guthrie have graced Mosebacke‘s hallowed halls, so you will be dining amongst the ghosts of the great.

Because the dress code is less than casual, it makes for a fantastic place to go when completely hung over. You could drag yourself in wearing your old flannelette pyjamas and a face like death, and you would simply blend in with the rest of the crowd, albeit in a non man made fibre sort of a way. I have spent many a morning after the night before here and can assure you that it is the best place in town to feel seedy. One gets the distinct impression that one is amongst friends.

The brunch buffet is excellent, ranging from salad stuff through to bacon and eggs, with falafels and pancakes along the way. They also do a great cauliflower cheese which must have a magic combination of carbohydrate and fat, because it makes the alcoholically-afflicted feel much, much better and able to face a little hair of the dog, courtesy of the theatre bar that opens at midday.

The Jazz Brunch does suffer, however, from being a victim of its own success. It is so popular that you really have to be there for when the doors open at 10.30 to secure a good seat in the room where the musicians are performing. Queues for the buffet begin to get quite long come 12.00 so you do want to have finished eating and be on to the drinking by then. This may well be an occasion when a bushy beard comes in handy, because you can always secrete a few chicken wings and bits of hummus in it to have with your beer whilst tapping your toes to the music.

But it seems that I may have been too quick to judge when it comes to beards, turtle necks and beige slacks. The next time you find yourself at a newsagent’s stand just check out the front cover of this month’s Plaza magazine, one of Sweden’s leading fashion tomes, because it features a beardy male model clad in said turtle neck and slacks. The chicken wings and hummus are missing but trust me, they are going to be this season’s hottest accessories.

Sunday Jazz Brunch:

10.30 -15.00, price 150 SEK

Mosebacke Etablissement, Mosebacketorg 3, 116 46 Stockhom, Tel 08 556 098 90,

www.mosebacke.se

FILM

Five films that shaped the GDR’s legacy – and what east Germans think of them today

Nearing the 30 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, we explore how five films compare to the real East Germany and how east Germans feel about these portrayals of their former state.

Published: 25 September 2019 15:49 CEST
Five films that shaped the GDR's legacy - and what east Germans think of them today
In 2017, 'Goodbye Lenin' was screened in Berlin living rooms "ostalgically" designed to look like those in the GDR. Photo: DPA

A generation ago, the East Germans led a peaceful revolution as the Berlin Wall collapsed, and shaping Germany into the country it is today. With the reunification of Germany came the end of the GDR, along with all of its horrors and all of its unique charms.

For the majority of the world, the main means of accessing GDR history and the unique experiences of its population is through art. More specifically: film. 

GDR themed films make up a large chunk of Germany’s most internationally renowned films. The Local spoke with Dr Jochen Staat, a political scientist and GDR specialist at Free University in Berlin, about how these films are thought of in former East German.. 

Goodbye Lenin 

Wolfgang Becker’s ‘tragicomedy’ follows Alex Kerner, a young East Berliner who tries to conceal the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the GDR from his staunch communist mother after she wakes up from a coma in order to prevent the shock of the news causing her a second heart attack.

Goodbye Lenin is arguably one of the most iconic German films, with almost every German language student watching the film at least once, or studying it in class. It’s a César winner and it’s both Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated.

The film captures East Germany through the lens of Ostalgie (nostalgia for the GDR) and shows the audience how becoming part of a capitalist Germany wasn’t as easy as putting up Coca Cola banners and opening a Burger King.

According to Staat, Goodbye Lenin was widely well-received by those in the former East Germany because it cleverly creates its own unique world. We don’t see the real East Germany, but rather we see Alex’s East Germany, the country he imagined and dreamed of as a child.

Through the opposing perspectives of Alex and his mother Christiane, we are offered an insight into the differing perceptions of the GDR according to generation, granting an East German audience multiple avenues to connect with Becker’s characters.

Sonnenallee (Sun Alley)

Sonnenallee is a coming of age comedy, released in 1999, about growing up in East Germany. For these “Eastie Boys”, illegal music from the West is an essential aspect of teenage rebellion. 

The question of whether Sonnenalle, a comedy, does justice to the brutality of the East German regime has been up for debate for 20 years. In a review for

Der Spiegel, Marianne Wellershoff stated that the film glorified the GDR and played down the negative aspects of life in East Germany under Erich Honecker.

READ ALSO: Honeckers: the most powerful family in former East Germany. What happened to them?

However, Staat pointed out that the film was well-received by East German viewers, and it is set towards the latter period of the GDR, when the regime was losing control over the population. 

He notes that the character Wuchsel, who lives and (almost) dies by the Rolling Stones, is particularly relatable for a generation of former East Germans, who like him would scour the black market to find copies of records from the West.

Despite its lighthearted approach, there are moments in Sonnenallee that reminds the audience that life in the GDR isn’t all rock music and house parties, such as when Mario, another of the boys, is forced to sign up for military service in order to support his family.

And, when Wuchsel is shot by a border guard, surviving only because the bullet gets lodged in his Rolling Stones LP, it highlights how music really was lifeline for some East German youth.

READ ALSO: How the Stasi failed to silence Rolling Stones fans in East Germany

Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others)

Das Leben der Anderen focuses on the imposing presence of the Stasi in 1980s GDR, as Stasi agent Gerd Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) spies on a playwright before he becomes increasingly sympathetic to his struggle.

In Western eyes, a film about the horrors of the Stasi and the suffering that took place across East Germany would probably seem more historically accurate than comedies such as Goodbye Lenin and Sonnenallee.

However, Staadt, emphasises that every perception of the GDR is subjective and former East Germans would connect with films that most accurately reflect their experience.

For those who were teenagers when the Wall came down, and lived as the Regime lost its grip on the public, a comedy would potentially be more relatable. However for those who suffered at the hands of the Stasi and experienced the Regime during its earlier and tougher days, Das Leben der Anderen would probably be a harrowing watch that is uncomfortably close to home.

Staat stated that because they are an “easier” watch, it is generally the comedies that are most widely viewed in the former GDR.

Deutschland ’83

Though not a film, Deutschland ’83 is the first German language series to air on a US network and is the most popular foreign language drama in the history of British television. The internationally successful series tells the story of a young East German, Martin Rauch, who is sent to West Germany to spy on behalf of the Stasi’s foreign intelligence agency.

Unlike the other films in this list, Deutschland ’83 doesn't focus particularly on East German life, rather dedicates equal amounts of airtime to both the Western and Eastern sides of the Wall.

Not only does this grant the audience access to both sides of a divided Germany, Staat highlights that viewers also experience varying levels of conflict through the drama. He explained this was key to the programme becoming a “sleeper hit” with viewers across Germany.

Whilst the series is based around political conflict on a wider scale, small-scale familial and personal conflicts plays a large role in the storylines. For example, the AIDS crisis and infidelity are just two of many personal issues to affect the politically-charged characters in the series.

Barbara 

In the 2012 film Barbara, life in rural East Germany is depicted, rather than city life in East Berlin. The title character is a doctor who formerly worked in the prestigious Charité hospital in East Berlin, but is transferred to a rural hospital by the Baltic Sea as a punishment from the State after applying to leave for the West. She is still monitored by the Stasi, even in this small town.

Staat highlights that Barbara’s situation wasn’t unusual for former East Germans, and its one that many from the former East Germany can relate to.

It was an ongoing and increasing problem for the GDR’s economy across its existence that many of its skilled workers were lost to the more-attractive seeming West, if they were willing to go through the tedious but possible process of an “Ausreiseantrag” (an application to leave the GDR).

For those applying to leave, they’d typically face social exclusion and denunciation, much like in Barbara’s experience, both as a punishment and as a deterrent to others. 

What does the future look like for GDR focused films?

By remembering the GDR through iconic, classic films such as Goodbye Lenin, Das Leben der Anderen and Sonnenallee, Staat stated, it means we focus on the latter period of the GDR, the late 70s and 80s when the films were set.

A possible explanation for the tendency to set films in the late GDR is the this is the GDR that directors remember. The directors of these three films either weren’t alive, or were children, during the earlier half of the GDR in the 50s and 60s, when the regime was stricter and life was harder.

Whilst these iconic films are a means of accessing the history of a country that no longer exists, it’s important that we don’t forget the earlier history of the GDR.

There are newer films about the GDR, such as Der Zukunft Zugewandt (Facing the Future), set in 1952, about a woman’s arrival into the young GDR from a Soviet labour camp. Films such as these are bringing the GDR’s earlier days to greater international attention, and could well play a significant role in the future of German cinema. 

 
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