{"id":13801,"date":"2024-09-20T23:23:43","date_gmt":"2024-09-20T21:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/?p=13801"},"modified":"2025-01-19T12:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-19T11:18:07","slug":"from-berlin-with-humor-polishing-a-capitals-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/svjmedia.nl\/internationaljournalism\/13801\/from-berlin-with-humor-polishing-a-capitals-image\/","title":{"rendered":"From Berlin with humor: Polishing a Capital\u2019s image"},"content":{"rendered":"

When walking through Cologne in West-Germany, you might catch sight of a billboard poster with the following text: “We have everything, but no bucks.” In the corner of the poster is a peculiar sight: a bear representing the coat of arms of Berlin. What is this animal doing so far away from its hometown?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Polishing Berlin<\/strong>
\n<\/b>The posters found in Cologne are part of a larger national campaign<\/a> funded by the Senate of Berlin. The campaign consists of roughly 1,500 posters, with the majority displayed in Berlin itself. It aims to showcase the Berlin identity in a rather unconventional way, using ironic quotes to joke about the capital city. “Our image campaign aims to counter clich\u00e9s and preconceptions about Berlin while strengthening solidarity within our city”, says Senate of Berlin spokesperson Christine Richter.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Poster

New poster in Berlin\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Foto: Clara Himmel<\/p><\/div>\n

These ironic quotes can be found on billboards hundreds of kilometers away from the capital city. In the south, you might see \u201cReal Swabians are moving\u201d in Stuttgart, or \u201cHere, the Bavarians are taking off their lederhosen\u201d in Munich. Further west, a reference to the symbol of the soccer club FC K\u00f6ln can be found on posters in Cologne: \u201cWe have everything, but no bucks.\u201d All of this is an effort to polish the image of Berlin, which is often subject to criticism in other parts of the country.<\/span><\/p>\n

Capital Divide<\/strong>
\n<\/b>“Internationally, Berlin has magnetic appeal,” says spokesperson Richter, “In Germany, awareness of the many challenges our growing city faces lead to more critical views of Berlin”. This poor image of Berlin outside of the capital city is part of a broader trend in Europe, where the divide between capitals and other regions is growing. According to an article from the Centre for European Reform<\/a>, this is mostly due to economic and cultural differences. The economic aspect relates to the greater economical growth in urban areas, particularly in capital cities.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of the relationship between Berlin and the rest of Germany, the cultural aspects of the divide are explored in a video by Germany\u2019s international broadcaster Deutsche Welle<\/a>. Among ‘the nine reasons why Berlin isn\u2019t very German at all’ are the perception that Berlin tends to be seen as disorganised compared to other parts in Germany. According to the video, the city is also negatively perceived due to the large amounts of tourism. Positive differences are also presented, such as the relatively cheap rent and the city\u2019s strong appeal to creatives and entrepreneurs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Poor but Sexy<\/strong>
\n<\/b>In a mockumentary<\/a> that is part of the same campaign, two young Berliners visit the smaller town of Berlinchen to see if they can change the image of Berlin. They find out that this task is not as easy as it seems. \u201cThe idea of the campaign is not necessarily to fix these problems,\u201d says the spokesperson for the Senate of Berlin, \u201cwe just want to see if we can get other parts of Germany to be less critical of Berlin.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Deutsche Welle video refers to Berlin as \u201cpoor but sexy,\u201d which perfectly exemplifies the duality of this divide. The campaign uses this duality to its advantage, making it the focal point of its ironic message. This is best showcased in the mockumentary in Berlinchen. “The two protagonists can’t free themselves from Berlin’s pull. They try to recreate typical Berlin places in the countryside,” says spokesperson Richter, “but in the end Berlin is only Berlin in Berlin”.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When walking through Cologne in West-Germany, you might catch sight of a billboard poster with the following text: “We have everything, but no bucks.” In the corner of the poster is a peculiar sight: a bear representing the coat of arms of Berlin. What is this animal doing so far away from its hometown? Polishing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1644,"featured_media":13806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cbj","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Berlin with humor: Polishing a Capital\u2019s image - International Journalism<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Berlin with humor: Polishing a Capital\u2019s image - International Journalism\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When walking through Cologne in West-Germany, you might catch sight of a billboard poster with the following text: “We have everything, but no bucks.” In the corner of the poster is a peculiar sight: a bear representing the coat of arms of Berlin. 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