The Spy Who Came In From The Dust And Good Bye, Lenin !

The nature of the human condition and a questioning of humanity and human beliefs and values on a political, social and personal level have been explored by a number of texts throughout history. Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, John Le Carre’s The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Louise Lawrence’s Children of the Dust and Wolfgang Becker’s Good Bye, Lenin! are permeated by a climate of Cold War anxiety, resulting in a heightened level of questioning being reflected in these compositions. Influenced by an underlying sense of fear that characterised the post-bomb period, these composers also question the appropriate ways of thinking that would best result in a society of integrity, amidst a potentially futile struggle for meaning.

The After
Early in the film, Alex describes his mother, Christiane, as “a passionate activist for the simple needs of the people and against the small injustices of life” in a voiceover narration. This is validated in the scene of the evening of October 7, 1989, when “several hundred people united for an evening walk to promote the idea of walking without borders”. The low tones and heavy beat of the music during this scene reinforce the complete and utter brutality demonstrated by the police when the peaceful march quickly turns violent. Despite being a heavy believer in the Communist Party and its values herself, Christiane recognises the dehumanising behaviour of those with authority, exclaiming “stop it!” The courage exhibited by Christiane contrasts with typical fear and anxiety of the time and highlights the way in which some composers explored the questioning of human morality and the appropriate ways of thinking that would best result in a society of integrity. Hence, it is evident that whilst some composers, such as Le Carre, took such questioning to new levels of concern, other composers, such as Becker, explored the notion of questioning in a more sanguine