What is your name and who are you?
My name is Jessica Tamsin Kennedy White, I am an Art Education Facilitator, Researcher, Writer,
Cultural Producer, Curator
What was your role in the project?
I was a researcher, writer and interviewer specifically on women who lived during the DDR and their perspective on it. This ranged from women who were middle aged in the DDR with children, but also women who were teenagers or even little children when the wall came down.
What do you think to this project and why do you think this project is unique?
I think this project is very important because we came across many of
the people that we interviewed or spoke to that there was only bias
information or archive about the DDR. Much of it was about the deaths or the Stasi.
There were not many perspectives on how people lived, what was their
role, what challenges or benefits they had as women, such as childcare.
For instance women could easily work and study with children, this is
difficult to achieve in today's contemporary society. Women often feel
burnt out if they have children as well as fulfilling demanding work.
Furthermore there were women who were children and teenagers in the DDR
who had toys and things that were durable, whereas today these things
are less durable under late capitalism. Time with families and couples
were valued, whereas today, our worlds have become increasingly
atomised, fragmented and isolated-sometimes. I am not saying that DDR
was all rosy and I don`t think the interviewees were saying this
either, but I do think that they are many good things that we can take
from "The Experiment" without just discarding it to the trash heap.
This documentary is very important so that we can learn from mistakes of
the past, but also see what work and see how we can incorporate them
into our current circumstances
What can people get from viewing the movie?
Many people who watched the trailer said that they were excited by the
way it was put together and the multiple of perspectives it has. I
think people will find an unbiased view that incorporates drama and
documentary. There is a definite narrative that gives the viewers
drama, but there are also real life interviews that are were conducted
both with thorough research but also with spontaneous questioning. This
dynamic, has given interviews that are both well thought-out but also
surprising.
The movie combines historical document with drama and present day idiosyncrasies that are present in life in Berlin.
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