4. German Television Crime Films and German Emotions Jews in Tatort

Daniel Wildmann

Tatort

Abstract

This article focuses on two German TV crime films in which Jewish characters are portrayed as “suspects” . The author provides a multifaceted analysis of the way in which viewers’ emotions interact with the events on screen (the depiction of characters, relationships, etc.) in addition to expressions of feelings by the characters. This analysis forms the basis of a wider discussion of contemporary social order in Germany, one that highlights social and cultural conceptions of Jews and Judaism in Germany and examines how feelings presented on screen can relate to the filmmakers’ understanding of historical events and their cultural and ethical consequences. Wildmann further explores how filmmakers’ (pre)conceptions are mediated on screen through a common language between the filmmakers and their viewers.

This article appears in Hebrew. Translation from English: Ruti Weinstein.