Category: Media

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Soviet Cartoons

Soviet cartoons are some of the best out there. Along with their artistic value, they’re great for keeping up your Russian! Here are a few suggestions to start with.

  1. Винни Пух is the Russian version of Winnie the Pooh. This first came out as a film in 1969, followed by two other sequels. The main characters are Winnie the Pooh and Piglet instead of Robin, and the illustrations are a little more rugged and with lots of character. The Russian is fairly simple, but Winnie’s voice can be a little hard to understand. You can find it on YouTube here.

2. Тайна третьей планеты (Secret of the Third Planet) is a science fiction animated film that came out in 1981. It is based on the children’s book Alice’s Travels, and follows the store of Alisa, who follows her father in what ends up being a detective story. The Russian is very clear and easy to hear, and the illustrations are great! This one is also available on YouTube here.

3. Бременские Музыканты (Bremen Town Musicians) is a 1969 animated film based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. It follows the story of a donkey, a dog, a cat, a rooster, and their master Troubadour, and is known for its lively soundtrack and rock n’ roll songs. The Russian is fairly easy to follow as well! It is on YouTube as well, right here.

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Media Recommendation: German Music (part II)

So, you listened to everything I recommended in my last post, and you’re looking for a bit more (or you hated it all). Here are a few more suggestions, ranging from hip-hop to Indie social commentary. Follow along with the lyrics, or just sit back and catch up on some contemporary German culture!

Fiva – “Das Beste ist noch nicht vorbei” 

One of Germany’s only female rappers, Fiva speaks very clearly, so it’s a great song for beginners. Lyrics are here.

 

Bausa: “Was du Liebe nennst” 

This song was huge last year, and it’s catchy enough that you’ll see why. Bausa has become Germany’s Drake…meaning that all of his songs sound the same. Check out the lyrics here.

 

Von Wegen Lisbeth – “Meine Kneipe”

Catchy Indie music, reminiscent of OK Go. What more is there to say? Find the lyrics here.

 

Seeed – “Augenbling”

Seeed is one of Germany’s best-known bands. A mixture of hip-hop, reggae, and dancehall beats, their music is definitely one-of-a-kind. Check out the lyrics here, and watch out for the English section.

 

OK Kid – “Gute Menschen”

Another soft-rock/Indie group, but this time with social commentary about bourgeois German desire to be “good people.” Check out the lyrics here.

 

 

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Media Recommendation: German Music

Learning German and getting tired of Mozart, Rammstein and “99 Luftballoons”? Here are a few bands (covering a few different genres) that are a little newer.

AnnenMayKantereit – “Barfuß am Klavier” 

A slow ballad, “Barefoot at the Piano” features some beautiful lyrics. As YouTube commenter Ryan King once said, “I’d never thought of German as a particularly beautiful language… that is until now.”

 

Cro – “Traum”

If you’ve been to Germany, you’ve probably heard this one. Cro, a German rapper/artist is known for his secrecy (he always wears a panda mask). This one’s a bit faster, but it’s catchy, and the lyrics aren’t too complicated.

 

Namika ft. Black M  – “Je ne parle pas français.”

Most of this song is in German, with some French thrown in there when Black M raps. It’s slow, simple German, and repeats a lot. Find the lyrics here.

 

Olli Schulz – “Dann schlägt dein Herz” (Live) [Start at 2:33 for the song, or from the beginning to hear his introduction]

Olli Schulz, one of my personal favorites, is an indie-rocker with a great sense of humor. Here are the lyrics, and you can find the non-live version here.

 

Ready for a challenge? Then try:

Yung Hurn – “Ok cool” 

Basically the Austrian equivalent of Trap. You’ll probably need the lyrics for this one.

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Media Recommendation: “Кухня” (“Kitchen”)

Кухня is a Russian sitcom that came out in 2012, and consists of 6 seasons and 120 episodes. It follows the story of the main character, Maxim Lavrov, and his quest to become a chef in one of Moscow’s best restaurants “Claude Monet.” Maxim, along with the rest of the restaurant’s workers, are constantly finding themselves in humorous situations.

The conversation is fairly slow and simple, so the show is good for intermediate and advanced speakers to practice their listening. It’s also good for beginners, as a lot of kitchen and food vocabulary comes up.

The show can be found for free on YouTube. You can also purchase a subtitled version on Amazon, but I’d encourage you to save the money and practice your Russian.

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Some Russian Music Recommendations

Music is a great way to learn a language, as the speaking is usually clear and easy to keep up with. Here are just a few options to start with!

Vladimir Vysotsky is one of the most famous Russian musicians from the 1960s and 70s. His songs are about life in the Soviet-Union, and have a distinct gritty style to them. His music can be found on YouTube, and you can start with “Спасите Наши Души” (“Save Our Souls.”)

Alla Pugacheva is a beloved pop icon. Among many songs that can be found on YouTube, she is also featured in the famous movie Ирония судбы (The Irony of Fate). She has a more recent music video that you can find here, which stars her and Russian comedian and singer Maksim Galkin.

One of my personal favorites is a contemporary band called “Серебряная свадьба,” “Silver Wedding.” Their style is a little more folksy, and the photo above is from their song about Alexander Pushkin’s death, which you can find here.

“Грибы,” “Mushrooms,” is one of the most popular new groups. They’re actually Ukrainian, but they rap in Russian. Their songs are somewhat parody, somewhat serious, but very entertaining. The language is a little bit harder to understand, but the songs are still catchy even if you don’t get everything! You can start with their most popular song “Тает лед” (“Ice melts”).

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Media Recommendation: Babylon Berlin (2017-)

 

Babylon Berlin (2017-) is a German crime series created by Tom Tykwer. The show is set in 1920s Berlin in the Weimar Republic, and deals with the intersecting criminal activities of that age.

Babylon Berlin is a must-watch for anyone interested in learning German. It is the most expensive non-American TV series ever made, and features beautiful cinematography. It’s also a good way to learn more about Berlin culture, since the series is very well-researched.

The first two seasons of the show are streamable on Netflix, and have good English and German subtitles. The language is fairly difficult to follow, mostly due to the Berlin accent that some of the characters use, but most of the story can be followed in context.

Check out the trailer here:

And check out this short interview in German with Liv Lisa Fries, who plays the principal female role, Charlotte Ritter:

 

 

 

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Movie Recommendation: Стиляги

Стиляги [2008] (Stilyagi, translated as Hipsters) is a movie musical set in Moscow in the mid 1950s. Its story follows a boy named Mels as he transitions from fitting in with the grey and black dress of Soviet youth, to that of the colorful stilyagi.

The stilyagi were Russians who thought Americans wore bright, outlandish clothing, and wanted to replicate this form of expression that was oppressed during Soviet times. Along with the plot, the movie also shows the negative view Soviet society had of this subculture, and how the stilyagi would have to dress up and listen to jazz in secret.

You can find the full movie on YouTube here. The Russian isn’t too fast or complicated, but there are subtitles if you find yourself not being able to keep up.

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Deutsche Welle App

The Deutsche Welle App is an excellent place to start if you’re looking for a German grammar review, or to improve your German skills on the go.

Start with an “Einstufungstest” (placement test) to figure out which level you’re in. Deutsche Welle features A1, A2, and B1 exercises, that is, from beginner to intermediate. Each placement test features 30 questions. 

The “Übungen” (exercises) in the placement test can also be found in the “Alle Kurse” (all courses) section. These are divided into levels, beginner through intermediate, and contain exercises focusing on grammatical concepts.

The Deutsche Welle App also features an overview of grammar, including verbs, adjective endings, and cases. These short summaries are similar to what you’d find in a German 100 or 200-level textbook, and are divided into bite-sized pieces.

The grammar review section (Grammatikübersicht) gives clear, short descriptions of the grammatical concepts. Although they aren’t as thorough as college textbooks, they are useful for reviewing.

Have fun learning!

 

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Media Recommendation: “Sommers Weltliteratur to go”

“Sommers Weltliteratur to go” (Sommer’s World Literature to go) is a German YouTube channel made by Michael Somme, and originally presented by Reclam (those little yellow books every German student knows and loves). Each episode summarises a literary work, from the German classics like Faust and Parzival to modern literature like Der Hobbit and Harry Potter.

The fun twist is that Sommer presents these works in vignette form, using Playmobil figures…

The episodes are fairly short, normally between 6 and 12 minutes, and are a great way to brush up on your knowledge of German literature (and other classics), while also practicing your listening skills.

The language in the episodes isn’t too complicated, but it is sometimes spoken a little fast. I’d recommend starting with some books you’re already familiar with. Start with something like Der Herr der Ringe (The Lord of the Rings) or Der große Gatsby (The Great Gatsby) before moving on to Goethe, Brecht, and Kafka!

 

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Russian Film Database: Mosfilm

 Мосфильм (Mosfilm, https://www.mosfilm.ru/main.php)

Mosfilm is one of the largest and oldest film studios in Europe. The studio was established in 1923, and by the end of the Soviet Union had produced over 3,000 films. They’ve put many of them up on this website, including works by Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, or even adaptations of books you might read in literature classes, like Anna Karenina or War and Peace. Aside from the large variety of types of films, they also have pictures of old posters, sets, costumes, and cars that you can sort through. This website is great if you want to watch films of varying topic or Russian-language difficulty, and also good for learning about Soviet culture and Russian film culture.