West Germans love American movies. Since the end of World War II, the ten top money-making films each year in the Federal Republic have been American, a taste reflected in part by what Germans are seeing these days on their state-controlled television.
Serials are immensely popular. Family sagas abound on German television. Diese Drombuschs, a drama built around the daily problems of the Drombusch family., draws millions of viewers. So does The Legacy of the Guldenberg Family, a saga about the splendor and difficulties of an old aristocratic family living near Hamburg. Schwarzwaldklinik (Black forest clinic), a doctors-and-patients potboiler, is German television's variant of St. Elsewhere. Following the American model of Love Boat, there is even a Traumsschiff (Dream boat). Dynasty (known as Denver-Clan in Germany) and Dallas are great favorites of German intellectuals. (As some German yuppies say, "I hate everything about America, but don't call me at eight," the hour when Denver comes on television).
Until relatively recently in West Germany, there was only one semi-official television network, considered as being "independent," although in practice it was hardly that. Just two years ago private broadcasting stations were authorized, radically changing the viewing fare of the German public. Germans spending any time in the United States envied American television because political content in dramatic and documentary fare seemed muted compared to what they were accustomed at home.
The constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany is federal, which means that a "cultural phenomenon" such as television comes under the competence of the Lander (state). A broadcasting organization and a television station were instituted for each of the ten federal states. A consortium formed of the broadcasting stations is known as the ARD (Consortium of Broadcasting Stations of Germany). In actual practice, there are only nine ARD stations, as the British had set up a joint system for three northern states.
The independence of these nine stations was spelled out by the law regulating the houses of public interest. Yet, this independence was subject to certain restraints. Two administrative councils, composed of members selected from political parties, trade unions, churches, universities, sports and youth organizations proportional to their respective strengths, watched over the independence of each station. Even the personnel had to be hired in accordance with this ratio.
If the director of the station was a Social Democrat, then the program chief had to be a member of the Christian Union, the editor in chief possibly a Liberal, his associates, Social Democrats, Christian party members, and so forth. This pattern was repeated in every division down to the doormen. As a result, the term "independent" became meaningless.
This assigning of positions by party affiliation inevitably produced a predictable political slant to news commentary, not to mention cultural programs. At any given movement, a story of general interest was often subordinated to the needs of the government, the opposition, or the trade unions to make a statement. News programs were, and still are, presented in an extremely solemn fashion to avoid offending the many members of the administrative
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