The construction of family in German feature films in the digital era

Abstract

This paper critically examines images of domestic life in German cinema in the digital era. Based on the assumption that the film medium in Germany, which is largely sponsored by the state, reflects struggles for legitimate meaning, the discourse analysis of 20 outstanding German feature films dealing with family matters from the past decade reveals that despite cultural and technological changes, national film output mainly constructs idealistic family scenarios that plead for cohesion and are hardly progressive.