Now that the baseball bat years have by no means been dealt with, the public discourse is addressing this issue. Documentaries are being made and reports about East Germany are being published. This reporting thematises what for many years received no attention. Right-wing extremist youths, left-wing politicised youths. It paints a stylised picture.
This conceals realities that make fewer headlines but are essential for growing up in the East German hinterland. Continuities of the invisibility of youthful life are perpetuated. Youthful life that is included in discourses is utilised in such a way that it tells a good story, with clear moral classifications, with clear feelings and roles. Action-packed short reports.
ARE THE KIDS ALRIGHT? A performance about growing up in East Germany in the last 10 years. About growing up in places that are structurally made invisible, in places that don't have much to offer and at the same time are shaped by young people. About growing up between being lost, being funny, between fascists and radical left-wing politicisation, between living in control and breaking out.
About growing up without clear feelings and roles. About fluctuations and ambivalences. About approaching the much-discussed now, in which its protagonists often have no voice of their own.