Together with the journalist Patrick Torma, I am the editor of the book series Edition Popkultur, which deals with a wide variety of pop culture topics – not only in the field of film. Read more here.
So far, two volumes have been published: My book T DER SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT – VON AUFKLÄRUNG UND ANDEREN RÄUBERPISTOLEN and Patrick’s book SCOOPS, SKANDALE, SENSATIONEN – 50 JOURNALISTENFILME VON ALMOST FAMOUS BIS ZODIAC. Further volumes, including a film book by Dr. Christoph Seelinger, are in preparation.
Christian Genzel: Der Schulmädchen-Report. Von Aufklärung und anderen Räuberpistolen
What are today’s schoolgirls really up to? If Wolf C. Hartwig has his way: All kinds of unheard-of things. In 1970, the film producer started his educational series SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT, in which the world was to be taught about the truth regarding the early blossoming of sexuality in almost all varieties. It was the time of the sexual revolution, and the naked facts became one of the most successful chapters in German film history. After all, there were 13 episodes of Hartwig’s reportage, which attracted an audience of millions and allowed young actors such as Heiner Lauterbach, Jutta Speidel and Sascha Hehn to take their first steps. One learned “what parents should really know” or “what parents would like to cover up” – but in fact, the films, originally prepared for popular education, mainly offered dirty stories and lurid warnings.
The book DER SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT is a light-hearted and critical foray through this film series in all its facets. The absurd stories and their unintentional comedy are commented on with a wink of the eye, while at the same time the pseudo-documentary style and the pitfalls of their moral finger-wagging are discussed. It is an argument that is both affectionate and skeptical, with a series that says a lot about the time in which it was written, and yet reproduces it in such a distorted way. To put it in the words of one of the characters: “I actually imagined Munich to be a little different.”
The book is available as a paperback and eBook version via Amazon (https://amzn.to/3LVLJ5a).
Patrick Torma: Scoops, Skandale, Sensationen. 50 Journalistenfilme von Almost Famous bis Zodiac
“Do you know Freddy Lounds? The sleazy, vain tabloid reporter from the 2002 Thomas Harris film adaptation RED DRAGON? This journalistic arsonist who endangers the FBI’s investigations and ends up as a human torch himself? This Freddy Lounds was the first cinematic reporter character I consciously noticed. When I saw the film, I earned my first spurs as a local journalist. I knew immediately: I never want to be like Lounds. And I certainly do not want to end like him.
I didn’t realize until years later that the film still did something to me. Since my encounter with Freddy Lounds, my attention suddenly increased whenever journalists entered the movie screen in films. In order to channel my cherished whimsy, I finally launched the blog journalistenfilme.de (Journalistenfilme – So ticken Journalist*innen im Film – journalistenfilme.de) in 2015. SCOOPS, SKANDALE, SENSATIONEN is a foray through five years of journalistenfilme.de, and at the same time through a genre that is more diverse than one might think: starting with the classics like THE UNTOUCHABLES, we move on to forgotten gems and insider tips and descend into the depths of the B-movie. 50 journalist films from Almost Famous to Zodiac are waiting to be discovered.”
The book is available as a paperback and eBook version via Amazon (https://amzn.to/46HsPqK).