The False Promise of Advancement

Overview

Origin sticks like shit to your shoe! That's what Marlen Hobrack says, who grew up as a working-class child in Bautzen. But the promise of the old Federal Republic was that you can become anything if you just try hard enough. But that no longer applies. So is class in Germany fixed from birth? Have we long been living in a country in which origin and family background are more important for future prospects than individual performance and commitment? In Germany, it takes six generations to rise from poverty to the middle class, in Denmark only two generations. Those affected reflect on their life stories, the burden of their social origins, the wrong and right turning points for social advancement, as classified by social researchers. They talk of pride and shame, of financial hardship and wealth, of origin and future, of growing up and moving up in this Germany with its entrenched selection mechanisms for social advancement.

Details

Status

Released

Release date

January 22, 2025

Original language

German

Spoken languages

German

Countries

Germany

Production

MDR,Hoferichter & Jacobs

Cast

Marlen Hobrack,Scott Wempe,Natalya Nepomnyashcha,Jörg Theobald,Stephanie zu Guttenberg,Cawa Younosi,Martyna Linartas,Marcel Helbig,Michael Hartmann,Ciani-Sophia Höderand 6 more

Director

Dirk Schneider,Ariane Riecker

Writer

Dirk Schneider,Ariane Riecker

Producer

Michael Schönherr

Cinematography

Thomas Keffel,Lars Langer,Daniel Liepke

Budget

Not recorded

Revenue

Not recorded

IMDb

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