Real Is Not Real Enough

Unpacking the Real is season two of Real is Not Real Enough. Here we introduce you to a range of guests who help us 'unpack' and the ideas that emerge from season one's podcast audio diary Real is Not Real Enough. If you’re ready to wonder longer and question further, join us for Unpacking the Real. Podcast cover design by Karen Ho

In this inaugural episode of Unpacking The Real we meet Dr Anna Pollmann. Anna is a researcher at the Research Institute for Social Cohesion at Konstanz University, where she is co-editor of the volume Key Concepts of Social Cohesion: A Critical Vocabulary. https://www.fgz-risc.de/das-forschungsinstitut/personen/details/anna-pollmann Anna is a cultural historian of the 19th and 20th centuries. Her first book "Fragments from the End Times" is based on the work of Günther Anders and reflects her broader interest in the transformation of historical consciousness from modernity to postmodernity.  In our conversation Anna refers to the diary chapter we have called Real is Not Real Enough by the more direct German translation: the Corpse Washer of History. In the original it is Der Leichenwäscher der Geschichte. The Günther Anders archive is housed in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek and located in the Wiener Hofburg right above the Spanische Hofreitschule. https://www.onb.ac.at/ Anna also refers, more specifically, to the Austrian Literature Archive in Vienna https://www.onb.ac.at/en/library/departments/literature/about-the-literary-archive Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

In this episode of Unpacking The Real we meet Tracey Cameron and Dr Consuelo Martinez Reyes. Tracey is a Gamilaraay person and Lecturer in Gamilaraay Language and Indigenous History at The University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/tracey-cameron.html Consuelo is a Lecturer in Spanish and Latin American Studies at Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/consuelo-martinez-reyes Consuelo and Tracey each bring different perspectives to the text and audio of Real is Not Real Enough. Together in conversation, and with excerpts from the audio diary, we consider how Gunther Anders’ Hollywood reflections help us open up questions of translation, authenticity, cultural ownership and belonging. If you would like to read as well as listen, you can find the English language translation of Real is Not Real Enough here: https://modernismmodernity.org/articles/washing-the-corpses-trans You might notice that the title of the text is the initial translation from the German, Washing the Corpses of History: The Hollywood Costume Palace, a 1941 Exile Diary by Günther Anders. If you would like to read the original German you can find it here: https://www.chbeck.de/anders-tagebuecher-gedichte/product/12036/ Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

This time on Unpacking The Real we unpack the sound and look of Real is not Real Enough with the people who helped us bring Günther Anders’ Hollywood diary to life. To do that, we’re introducing you to Swiss/German actor Edgar Eckert and cartoonist, illustrator and fine artist Eric Löbbecke. Edgar is an accomplished stage and screen actor in Germany and Switzerland and you can find out more about him here: https://www.deutschestheater.de/en/ensemble/ensemble-and-guests/edgar_eckert/ Have a look at samples of Edgar’s performance work via these links: Produktionstrailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKKAJj-Bwug   "Wolken.Heim." (Trailer) | Deutsches Theater Berlin, Kammerspiele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCeVVnhhkN4   "Medea. Stimmen" – Deutsches Theater Berlin, Kammerspiele https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69avGZ9O7Gg   DER SPIELER am Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus (Gustaf TV) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-7xgu1-gts   Väter und Söhne Deutsches Theater Berlin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5EkaFIz86A   Eric Löbbecke is an award-winning artist and the person who designed our podcast art. Most recently, Eric has been working on a range of experimental techniques and after over 30 years in the field, seeks to push the boundaries of the forms he works in. Treat yourself to a look at Eric’s amazing work via his web page: https://www.ericlobbecke.com/ Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

If you’ve ever watched a historical Hollywood movie, this episode is for you. In fact, there’s so much to discuss that this is the first part of a double episode. Here, we unpack notions of truth and the distortions that the filmmaking industry thrives on. This conversation includes several voices but features Claudia Sandberg and Bernd Bösel. You can find out more about our guests and also us (Chris, Ben and Helen) via the links below. Claudia Sandberg, scholar and filmmaker from the University of Melbourne: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/750238-claudia-sandberg and https://unimelb.academia.edu/ClaudiaSandberg?from_navbar=true Bernd Bösel, philosopher and media scholar from the University of Potsdam: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/medienwissenschaft/professur-fuer-medientheorie-medienwissenschaft/mitarbeiter/dr-bernd-boesel and https://uni-potsdam.academia.edu/BerndB%C3%B6sel Chris Muller, scholar in media theory and Cultural Studies from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/chris-muller Ben Nickl, Pop Culture and humour studies scholar from the University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/benjamin-nickl.html Helen Wolfenden, spoken word audio scholar and practitioner from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/helen-wolfenden Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

As promised, this is the second of a two-part discussion featuring Claudia Sandberg and Bernd Bösel. In our previous episode – Romans, Hitler, Hollywood – we focused on heritage cinema and notions of truth. Here, we consider questions of authenticity, exile, shame and the connection between humour and pain. The work of Kerstin Putz, literary scholar and curator of exhibitions at the Literature Museum of the Austrian National Library in Vienna, is mentioned. You can find out more about Kerstin’s work here: https://www.chbeck.de/autor/?authorId=441556719 You can find out more about us via the links below. Claudia Sandberg, scholar and filmmaker from the University of Melbourne: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/750238-claudia-sandberg and https://unimelb.academia.edu/ClaudiaSandberg?from_navbar=true Bernd Bösel, philosopher and media scholar from the University of Potsdam: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/medienwissenschaft/professur-fuer-medientheorie-medienwissenschaft/mitarbeiter/dr-bernd-boesel and https://uni-potsdam.academia.edu/BerndB%C3%B6sel Chris Muller, scholar in media theory and Cultural Studies from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/chris-muller Ben Nickl, Pop Culture and humour studies scholar from the University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/benjamin-nickl.html Helen Wolfenden, spoken word audio scholar and practitioner from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/helen-wolfenden Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

Inspired by Anders' comparisons of the Hollywood Costume Factory and museums, this bonus episode features two experts in history and museum studies who help Ben and Chris 'unpack the real'.  You can find out more about us via the links below. Avril Alba, scholar and expert in Jewish and Holocaust museums from the University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/avril-alba.html  Alina Kozlovski, scholar and expert in Roman history and archaeology with extensive experience working in museums in the UK, USA and Australia from the University of New England: https://www.une.edu.au/staff-profiles/hass/alina-kozlovski  Bernd Bösel, philosopher and media scholar from the University of Potsdam: https://www.uni-potsdam.de/de/medienwissenschaft/professur-fuer-medientheorie-medienwissenschaft/mitarbeiter/dr-bernd-boesel and https://uni-potsdam.academia.edu/BerndB%C3%B6sel Chris Muller, scholar in media theory and Cultural Studies from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/chris-muller Ben Nickl, Pop Culture and humour studies scholar from the University of Sydney: https://www.sydney.edu.au/arts/about/our-people/academic-staff/benjamin-nickl.html Helen Wolfenden, spoken word audio scholar and practitioner from Macquarie University: https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/persons/helen-wolfenden Find out more about Real is not Real Enough here: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html

Welcome to Real is not Real Enough. Subscribe for an audio experience based on the remarkable Californian diary of Günther Anders, who was forced to flee Berlin in 1933, and finally arrived in Los Angeles, after many stops that he is hardly able to retrace. Join us as we spend 12 days exploring the Hollywood Costume Palace in 1941, and learn the truth about Hollywood and exile, as seen through his eyes.    Remember to subscribe!

“A strange kind of place – this Palace.”

“It’s a question of prestige.”

“It's like... like... Cheesecake!”

“with a patch of sewn-on snow.”

“In Hollywood, the Berezina snow will never melt.”

“The past must have seemed like a kingdom of make-believe.”

“What poor, unfortunate items!”

“Sic transit gloria mundi.”

“How childish to believe that fake is fake.”

“The past is becoming all the rage.”

“And who knows the world? You? Or them?”

Listen to all the whole diary!    Remember to subscribe for Season 2 - Unpacking the Real - the Companion Podcast!   Brought to you by Chris Müller, Benjamin Nickl, Helen Wolfenden. Performed by Edgar Eckert. Sound design by Jacob Craig. Visuals Eric Löbbecke. Trailer narration by Veronica Faust. Find out more: https://www.goethe.de/ins/au/en/kul/lok/gap.html