Postcards From Berlin #20: Innovators and Copycats

By Jeff Allers
October 1, 2007

German word of the month: Nachmachen (to copy)

Taking his cue from the band, the comedian walked out onto the soundstage to roaring applause. Although the show was being taped during the daytime, the mock cityscape behind him gave television viewers of this late-night show the illusion of being live. Dressed sharply in a suit and tie, he delivered a punchy monologue before retiring behind a large oak desk to interview his first guest. But this wasn’t “The Late Show with David Letterman”; it was German Harold Schmidt.

The first time I saw the program, I was amazed at the lengths Schmidt went to copy the look, and even the gestures, of Letterman himself. Fans here, however, didn’t seem to mind the lack of originality, as they were mostly unfamiliar with the real thing. And although most of the hit shows from the States are shown here in dubbed versions, it just wouldn’t be possible to translate the very American humor of “The Late Show” for a German audience—so Schmidt created a carbon copy instead.

Though Schmidt is no longer on the air, German television is dominated by other copies of American programs, and often these are the types of shows from which I was quite happy to escape when I left the country. Quiz shows like “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” spawned at least three different German versions, all of which had exactly the same format as the U.S. original, complete with overly dramatic lighting and soundtrack. One of them even included a host who had Regis Philbin’s quirky facial expressions and timing down to the proverbial “T.”

German reality shows covering everything from minor courtroom disputes to apartment makeovers have every cliché of the American genre down pat. The casting show “Germany Seeks a Superstar” is a replica of “American Idol,” even including three judges with similar personalities (the sympathetic woman, the brutally honest and obnoxious producer everyone loves to hate, etc.). And there are scores of talk shows that mirror the soundstages and gestures of everyone from Oprah to Jerry Springer. The guests even behave appropriately, sobbing and fighting in front of a live studio audience. It’s as if they all sat down together to watch the American examples to see how it was done. Or maybe it’s simply the sad side of the human condition demonstrating how alike we all really are. Did I forget to mention that there is a German “Super Nanny”?

The German entertainment industry is, at least, partially redeemed by some innovation and creativity from its filmmakers. Recent offerings include dramatic Oscar winners “Nigendwo in Afrika” (Nowhere in Africa) and “Das Leben der Anderen” (The Lives of Others), the touching comedy “Barfuss” (Barefoot), and the postmodern mind-bender “Lola Rennt” (Run Lola Run). It has also helped that independents like Wim Wenders have brought international attention to German cinema through older films like “Der Himmel über Berlin” (Wings of Desire), which was remade later as “City of Angels” in America. (Ironically, the “happy ending” in the original film, which is viewed here as “typically Hollywood,” was changed into a tragedy for U.S. audiences.)

Of course, not all German studios are willing to support art and originality at the expense of higher profits, and whenever a Hollywood film does well here, local producers scramble to adapt the formula to their next project. The bandwagon is just too tempting for a marketplace that still discourages risk-taking.

German music is in a similar crisis. Perhaps there are some innovations in the techno/trance genre, but mainstream music—made up mostly of rock and hip-hop—suffers from the heavy influence of the American and British artists (and posers) that dominate MTV. So the airwaves are filled with gangsta rappers preaching violence in an almost gun-free society of passivists; dozens of boy groups with pretty, lip-synching faces; and Barbie dolls with low-cut jeans literally singing “la la la la.” It’s sad to admit that many of these things originated in my homeland, but even worse to see them so shamelessly copied and mass-marketed here.

It used to be a kind of personal quest of mine to find a rock band that had something of an original German “sound.” I finally discovered a great CD from a band out of Hamburg that combined German folk music (yes, even Polka) with rock, much like the Pogues did with Irish folk music. To this day, however, no one else I know has ever heard of them.

Although it is admittedly difficult for Germany to compete with the vast U.S. entertainment machine, there are other examples in this country that range from plagiarism to downright creative laziness.

In Berlin, for example, the winning entry in an architectural competition to build up the expansive Alexanderplatz was a collection of skyscrapers obviously modeled after the famous but dated Rockefeller Center in New York. On the other hand, perhaps the homage was fitting, as many of the city’s bombastic historical buildings were also meant to mimic Paris and other European capitals in a vain attempt to establish Berlin on the world stage.

But it’s the little things that still irk me the most—like the new chain coffee houses. Now that Starbucks has experienced some success in the city, at least three other German chains have opened, each offering the same overwhelming choice of coffee drinks, each with the same brown and green color scheme, and each with the familiar circular logo—slightly altered, of course, so as not to be confused completely with the original.

Thank goodness for German board games.

Though I’ve always enjoyed playing games, even before I knew they were a national pastime here, I realize now that they are the fulfillment of my pseudo-quest for that original German entertainment form. Sure, a few obscure Monopoly clones are floating around in the Fatherland, but they are buried beneath the innovations that are churned out faster than Hollywood blockbusters. Even the name that German game designers give their creations—"Erfindungen" (inventions)—implies originality, and coming up with something that doesn’t borrow too heavily on past successes is something the designers I know take seriously.

Innovation in a sea of new releases is quite a challenge, though, and seems to be the sign of an experienced craftsman. I am often astounded how the Kramers, Klauses and Knizias consistently churn out new concepts, even while they admittedly recycle some of their older mechanisms or produce variations on a theme. I’m also a great fan of fellow American Alan Moon, although it’s not at all surprising that his games are almost always released initially by German publishers.

New designers, on the other hand, may first have to learn how to make a playable game system using familiar mechanisms from other designs, much like the young protégé in the film “Finding Forrester,” who first needed to copy the beginning lines of his teacher’s piece before he could find his own words. At least that’s been my experience. My first tries at game designing weren’t very original, and none of them were worth bringing to my gaming group for testing. They were important exercises, though, that have since allowed me to find my own “words.” Copying, I’ve found, can be a useful starting point, and it’s no wonder that classical painters and architects first learned by copying the masters of their time.

But with the copycat syndrome so openly apparent on German television and in other areas of the culture, I think it serves as a warning to game designers and publishers in the U.S. Certainly there are plenty of deserved reprints or joint publishing ventures of the best from Europe, but there just don’t seem to be as many innovations in comparison to the hundreds of new games that will be released in Essen this year by the home country. It could be tempting for U.S. companies and designers to take the easy way out, copying innovative mechanisms developed by the Germans rather than expending the effort to develop their own. This is especially true when aiming at the mass-market, where something like “simultaneous card selection” or blind bidding is still a novelty and would seem fresh and innovative to the average Wal-Mart shopper. Then again, most of them are still enthralled with just about any roll-and-move game, as long as it has the newest film license tie-in.

Globalization and the internet have the potential to kill creativity—or foster it. It’s a shame that Germany has copied so much from America that really isn’t worth the effort.  Although German board games are, at least, worth copying, let’s hope that our home-grown designers won’t fall into the same trap and take the easy way out, riding on the coattails of overseas innovators. And if they do decide to take a ride, let’s hope it’s only to learn from the “masters” until they can find their own words.

© 2007 Jeff Allers

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It pains me to admit knowing this, but “Who wants to be a millionaire”, “Super Nanny” and even “American Idol” are all licensed versions of TV shows originally developed for the UK market. Perhaps everyone is copying somebody? Posted by Steve Kearon on Oct 1, 2007 at 05:27 AM | #

Thanks, Steve--it’s kind of a relief to know that, actually. I’d be curious to find out if the American hosts/judges are mirror images of the original British ones? Posted by Jeff Allers on Oct 1, 2007 at 05:53 AM | #

Well, in Spain we have too our “Who wants to be a millionaire”, “Super Nanny” and “American Idol”. And for your knowledge, Jeff, the judges are exactly as you described. :) I’m afraid these are the unimaginative globalization rules. Posted by Javier Barón on Oct 1, 2007 at 06:14 AM | #

Although American Idol and Super Nanny USA are shown in Britain, I haven’t seen them so I can’t compare & contrast. I believe the US Super Nanny has the original Nanny (Jo Frost) but made in USA with US families and a US voice-over. If you search wikipedia for the program titles, there’s quite a bit of info. Posted by Steve Kearon on Oct 1, 2007 at 06:18 AM | #

"It used to be a kind of personal quest of mine to find a rock band that had something of an original German “sound.” I finally discovered a great CD from a band out of Hamburg that combined German folk music (yes, even Polka) with rock, much like the Pogues did with Irish folk music. To this day, however, no one else I know has ever heard of them.” What band is this?  It sounds like you’re describing Subway to Sally; they’re from Germany, but not Hamburg, and the folk element has faded from their more recent material. If you don’t mind the rock element crossing over into heavy metal territory, the German folk metal bands Morgenstern and In Extremo might be to your liking.  There’s also Saltatio Mortis, who mix medieval folk music with techno. Posted by Eric Clark on Oct 1, 2007 at 07:13 AM | #

Some good German rock bands: Kraftwerk, Can, Neu!, Faust, Blumfeld, 18th Dye, Notwist, Atari Teenage Riot. Posted by Doug Orleans on Oct 1, 2007 at 01:51 PM | #

Jeff, What a coincidence.  I just watched (and loved!) Das Leben der Anderen just this past weekend.  Because it was such a good movie, I’m sure we’ll see an Americanized version in the theatres here in the US in a couple of years. And regarding music...When I was at Essen last year, I was flipping through the channels and found some sort of German music award show, or spectacle of some kind.  I didn’t watch long enough to figure it out, but I did see a German woman, who seemed to be very popular with the crowd, sing a version of a Madonna song.  The interesting thing was that this singer’s English wasn’t very good, and it almost appeared at some points that she didn’t quite know what she was saying because it was so heavily accented.  But the crowd LOVED it.  I remember wondering if a US audience would react similarly if Madonna sang a song entirely in German. Posted by Scott Tepper on Oct 1, 2007 at 02:04 PM | #

Scott: Yeah, there are lots and lots of pop music variety shows with lip-syncing teenage bands on TV here.  Of course, there’s also similar “Schalger-Musik” programs for the older folks, filled with volk bands in Lederhosen and Dirnda’s that reminds me a bit of the Lawrence Welk shows my grandparents used to watch. Yes, Doug, being a New Wave freak in high school, I also discovered Kraftwerk. And Eric, the band’s name is Hallberg, but good luck trying to find them.  Michael at the gaming cafe tried to look for them on the internet, with no success.  Perhaps I own the only copy of their only CD? Michael also said that the unoriginality of German television has much to do with the international companies that own the stations, and can more easily produce the same shows in multiple languages, rather than developing different programs for individual markets. It’s really too bad, because Germans are incredibly creative--something that often gets overlooked because of their reputations as superior engineers. Posted by Jeff Allers on Oct 6, 2007 at 05:26 AM | #

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