Archive for July, 2008

‘Why Germans never bought into the celebrity culture’

Miscellaneous: July 22nd, 2008 by JS

Some say Germany lacks a celebrity culture of the kind that exists in the United States – an egalitarian world-view and a dose of intellectual snobbery means that the cult of fame has never taken off here in the same way. All to the good, you might think, if you’ve been dismayed by the trials of the ‘famous for being famous’ Hiltons, Lohans and Richies of this world. But the founding editor of German Vanity Fair, Ulf Poschardt, tells the New York Times that a dose of celebrity is just what Germany needs:

I think we need to create our own independent sense of glamour, not self-consciously, but because we should stop this superegalitarianism and be more open to difference. I don’t mean we should have pomp, but the state here has the power to make everyone the same. It’s a democratic ideal, but it was also a fascist idea.

Poschardt is quoted in an article by Michael Kimmelman profiling a show of papparazzi pics at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin. Kimmelman makes the point that Newton, whose photos of models pretending to be celebs being photographed by paps are featured in the exhibition, had a less angsty attitude to celebrity than most Germans, “but then, he spent most of his life in places like Los Angeles and Monaco, not Germany.”

Keeping tabs on Berlin’s burning cars

Berlin, Media: July 15th, 2008 by KA

In mid-June The Local wrote about how Berlin police chief Dieter Glietsch has sparked a storm of criticism by warning the owners of fancy cars not to park overnight in the city’s Kreuzberg district after a rash of auto arson.

Now we’ve discovered a website that chronicles the left-wing anarchist attacks on evil yuppie scum and their decadent rides. The site features a Google map of incidents reported by Berlin police and keeps a tally of attacks by date, automaker, and address.

Mercedes Benz seems to be the top choice for Berlin’s anarchists out to heat things up lately – though the last victim of the cause, torched just this Sunday, was an ordinary Peugot.

The site organizers claim they don’t wish to glorify the attacks, and simply want to provide a service for concerned citizens after experiencing a car burning in their Kreuzberg neighborhood.