Nations on screen: live broadcasting of Bastille Day and Reunification Day

Abstract

By conceiving of mass media as an active part of the celebration of the National Day, this article invites a discussion of the cultural approach to political history regarding symbolic politics and its relationship to mass media. The French and German National Days selected here illustrate two extreme types of national celebration in European comparison: Bastille Day, the French National Day since 1880, is generally accepted to be the archetype of national celebration; conversely Reunification Day, the German National Day only since 1990, represents a very different type of celebration, standing as it does at the end of a long period of fundamental change within the political order. Although differing drastically in their tradition, symbolism and organisation, a comparison of their respective television coverage facilitates a systematic analysis of the impact of television on both the French and German annually repeated rituals. Comparing how the respective coverage underpins the different modes of temporality which generally characterise the National Day not only allows for a discussion of the interdependence of media and politics in contemporary societies. It also highlights differing conceptions of the French and German national celebration, but also reveals important similarities.

Keywords:

• national celebrations
• symbolic politics
• mass-media
• New Political History
• comparison
• memory
• France
• Germany

Notes

 1. For an overview: Frevert and Haupt, Neue Politikgeschichte; Mergel “Überlegungen zu einer Kulturgeschichte der Politik”; Stollberg-Rilinger, Kulturgeschichte der Politik; critique: Rödder, “Klios neue Kleider.”

 2. An example is Edelman, The Symbolic Uses of Politics.

 3. Frevert, “Neue Politikgeschichte,” 20.

 4. See Hobsbawm, “Introduction. Inventing traditions”; Smith, National Identity, 3.

 5. Mergel, “Überlegungen zu einer Kulturgeschichte der Politik,” 6.

 6. Soeffner and Tänzler, “Figurative Politik,” 25.

 7. Sarcinelli and Tenscher, “Politflimmern und sonst nichts?,” 304.

 8. Frevert, “Neue Politikgeschichte,” 19–20.

 9. Brosius, “Politikvermittlung,” 296.

10. Quandt, “Geschichte,” 10.

11. Weisbrod, “Medien.”

12. For example Reichel, “Schwarz–Rot–Gold,” 8.

13. Ory, “République,” 445.

14. Sanson, “14-Juillet,” 72.

15. Ihl, “fête,” 32.

16. Ory, “Chronique,” 459.

17. Nora, “ère,” 984–85.

18. Garcia, Le Bicentenaire, 304.

19. Wood, “Memory,” 142.

20. Nora, “ère,” 1009.

21. Carrier, “Traces,” 439. For Nora's discussion of mass media see Nora, “retour.”

22. Wood, “Memory,” 146.

23. Crivello-Bocca, L'écran citoyen, 29.

24. Crivello-Bocca, L'écran citoyen, 139.

25. Défilé 1994, France 2, 10:15:32:10 and défilé 1998 France 2, 10:30:13:05.

26. Dayan and Katz, Media-Events, 83.

27. Sanson, “14 Juillet,” 151–2.

28. For example Mitchell, “Nationalfeiertage,” 400.

29. Défilé, TF1, 14. 07. 1991, 7:01:22:36. For the analysis of how French mass media constructed and propagated a “militarist consensus” before and during the Gulf War see Hecker, “presse.”

30. Association des gens d'images & l'établissement cinématographique et photographique des armées, “D'un 14 juillet à l'autre.”

31. Langewiesche, “Staatsbildung und Nationsbildung in Deutschland,” 62. On the history of German national symbols see Reichel, “Schwarz–Rot–Gold,” Geisler, “Shadow,” Schellack, “Nationalfeiertage.”

32. For example Hellmann, Wolf & Schmidt, “Außenpolitik,” 33–5; Lehmann, Vereinigung.

33. Habermas, “Staatsbürgerschaft,” 633–4.

34. Früh et al., Ostdeutschland, 333.

35. Langewiesche, “Nationalismus” and Kaelble, Vergleich, 76.

36. François/Siegrist/Vogel, “Nation,” 25.

37. Stekl, “Gedenktage,” 91.

38. See Morgner, “Zeitlichkeiten globaler Medienereignisse,” who enquires as to the temporality of global media events.

39. Dakhlia, “La presse de programmes”, 122.

40. Telerama n° 2478, July 9, 1997, 71.

41. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, October 1, 2000.

42. Tagesspiegel, October 3, 1993.

43. For a detailed discussion see Reichel, “Politik,” 310–23.

44. Lindenberg, “guerres,” 79.

45. Nora, “République,” 654.

46. Sanson, “14 juillet,” 36.

47. Namer, “commémoration,” 89–113.

48. It departed from the Porte Maillot instead of the Arc de Triomphe.

49. La revue des 14 juillet défilé, France 2, July 14, 2000, 9: 28: 48.

50. Le défilé a 120 ans, France 2, July 14, 2000, 8:48:09:32.

51. Interview with François Mitterrand, “L'Allemagne et nous,” Express July 14, 1994.

52. For example Journal télévisé, 12. 07. 1994, France 2, Mugette Jacquin, 20: 04: 56: 84 and L'Humanité, 13. 07. 1994.

53. Eurocorps 14 juillet, TF1, June 1, 1994, 20:34:36:75. All translations in this paper are the author's own.

54. Roland Koch, President of the Bundesrat and Prime Minister of Hesse, Bulletin der Bundesregierung, no, 62, 633–5, October 3, 1999.

55. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 15: 00.

56. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 22: 40.

57. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 19: 44.

58. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 25: 16.

59. Interview with one of the artists, Peter Heppner, Berliner Zeitung, January 1, 2005.

60. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 46: 48.

61. Festakt zum Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2006, ARD, 12: 10: 00.

62. Edmund Stoiber, President of the Bundesrat and Prime Minister of Bavaria, Bulletin der Bundesregierung, no. 78, 829–31, October 3, 1996.

63. Johannes Rau, President of the Bundesrat and Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bulletin der Bundesregierung, no. 77, 753–60, October 3, 1995.

64. Tag der Deutschen Einheit, October 3, 2005, ZDF, 12: 50: 15.

65. Elgenius, “National Days,” 363.

66. Le Figaro, July 14, 2001.

67. Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 211.

68. Nora, “Retour,” 215.

69. Le Figaro, July 14, 2001.

70. La revue des 14 juillet, France 2, July 14, 2000, 09: 49: 36.

71. Die Welt, October 4, 1991, 11.

72. Bösch and Frei, “Die Ambivalenz der Medialisierung.”

73. Accounting for around 10% of the viewers' market is not insignificant at all, given that in 2006, for example, the most viewed broadcast reached 14 million viewers, or 25% of the potential audience. All information obtained from Stefan Geese, Medienforschung, Programmdirektion Erstes Deutsches Fernsehen.

74. Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 196.

75. François, Siegrist and Vogel, “Die Nation,” 26.

76. Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 79.

77. Le Monde, July 16, 1997.

78. Résumé défilé 14 juillet, TF1, July 14, 2001, 20: 05: 31.

79. Dayan and Katz, Media Events, 197.

80. Dörner, “Von der ‘Krönungsmesse’ zur ‘Götterdämmerung’,” 323.