AMERICANS IN BERLIN 2003: ANGIE REED
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About This Video
Americans in Berlin 2003: Angie Reed. An American musician and artist in the Berlin expatriate community. Part of the documentary series Van started filming on September 11, 2003. The interviews are character studies and cultural snapshots at once.
Transcript
oh my God in 2003 I lived in Berlin as part of Tom Sax's nsis installation at
the Deutsche Guggenheim I was 28 years old and I had a social life there and through friends I met a bunch of
Americans who were living in Berlin at the time this was 2 years after September 11th 2001 and I began filming
these interviews on September 11th 2003 so um when did you move to Berlin
and why it was 1995 July the end of July or something
and I moved because of love and also night life and also art
schools and music and Liberty that the big city has to offer where did you move from
Italy from Northern Italy where are you from originally I I'm originally from the states well I was born in the States
but I've only lived there the first four years of my life and then uh see my mom was Italian I was born in the states I
lived there the first few years of my life as I mentioned and then moved to the azors and then the Germany and then
the Italy and now I've been living in Berlin since
85 I think yeah did I say 8 '90s 995 what Dre you to Berlin as opposed to like Hamburg something I wouldn't have gone to Hamburg would it didn't strike my attention yeah what about Berlin I always wanted to come to
Berlin because I live having lived in uh Germany as a kid and then starting to listen listen to punk music that was
like wow I guess Berlin's the place to go or the closest place to go I may have would have also liked to have gone to
New York or LA or San Francisco but that was I don't know Berlin calling came
first and what do you do here I do music and art and
I fart around a lot I actually do this show it's called the Barbara Brock House secretary show
and there I dress up as a secretary and I have this rhyming monologue it's in English and there a lot of word games and it's pretty chees it's like a 50s
style secretary rap show but I show slides of my drawings and they depict my Daydreams at work and it's also a
concert and I got out just uh This Record called uh here I can show you this is
just by chance that I have this my thing here so this is the back side of it which looks pretty
good I'm trying to get this cover off cuz I don't know where they put the stickers in and then check out the front
side you can see the full secretary suit that's yeah thank you you I have been using it a lot to sit on lately so any other questions yeah we got a
bunch of questions for so um so where in the states where you from St Louis oh
wow yeah and how how old are you I know you said I I'm
30 oh didn't have to give that away 30 I was 21 or 22 just turned 22 I
think and um was there anything you miss about home now that you're
here yeah I don't know I can't really call it home but when I'm there I noticed that
it that it does feel like it's my somehow that it's the the land I was born and if there's anything to that I
think there's some and somehow it just feels right like like I the smell in the
air is yeah makes me kind of feel at home in a way but culturally like living
in the states I can't really say because I don't know where I came from the only idea that I really had of
American culture was pretty much you know fast food and drivethru which I know it's not just that cuz like when I was in New Orleans or New York they had
more of a different swing than where I'm from in Missouri where you know you if you get
caught walking on the street alone you know if you're not in a car people look at you like you're crazy you know or
there's no such sitting outside drinking a cappuccino at 3:00 in the afternoon or something like that all right I'm going to a little
closer so we can that I don't want to die so why don't you live in the states
anymore well I don't want to die what what are some of your favorite
things about Berlin that I don't have to get up every
morning and slave away at a job to pay my rent and I like of course yeah the tempo
here the all the things that there are to do the spaces for artists and uh I'm
sure there are many more things but you know those are the what do you think the easiest ones kids to move here what do I think of
American kids that move here out with the American kids here actually I do have American friends I don't know if they're kids anymore I mean they're
probably no more kids than I am but I think that they made a great decision to come over because then they see
something you know anybody that moves to another place broadens their Horizons and I think no matter where you go it's
a good decision just to kick your ass out of your old habitat you know well okay do how do you feel since
you've been a do you consider yourself more your I guess you said that right how do you feel like the general
reaction to you being American is you know like just because of the whole politics you feel
like responsibilities to America or whatever America well actually since I've been living in Europe all my life I've always
been confronted with uh a lot of anti-American people no matter where I went so I'm really used to it uh and uh
and maybe some of it I can understand to not all of it because I don't like closed-mindedness no matter where I go
and there's a lot of closed mindedness on both sides you know but uh is in today's situation with America I think
that a lot of criticism is just but you can't criticize of course the people on on whole but yeah I mean I do feel it
but I don't really feel it here because I mean come on we're living in in a big city in Berlin but if if I was to stand
out as a as a like um the the maybe the typical American
Tourist or what is that but you know I guess everyone has their own picture what that is then yeah I maybe get to
feel some bad vibes I don't know what kinds of things do you hear when people talk about you know like maybe a for
col um well actually depends on whom I speak to I mean depends on whom I speak to because look if I I'm half Italian if I go to Italy then uh there are a lot of
uh let's say the women in my family that they're they they really
uh are pretty pro-american because they they have this idea of the states as the this you know especially the saviors
after the second world war and the Americans always being the nice and fun guys and so they have all these positive
aspects and then here of course then uh there's I confront people that think it's just absolutely shitty what's going
on there and politically I think that was the question right more or less yeah but I mean I'm not happy at all about
the the government in the states I think it sucks with bush so
you again would I yeah yeah maybe I mean not now I mean CU not because the states
but because I'm doing well here but I would I would go to the states for and check it out yeah I don't know if I'd
live there if I have the stuff to to live there cuz I think you have to be maybe this is just a Prejudice but I think you have to be pretty tough to live there and I've always grown up in
Europe I think maybe like there are a lot of different things you have to cope with in the states that people have it
much easier here in some way so I don't know but I would definitely go for for a short period of time not now but maybe
in a couple years or so what's your music like it's it's uh it's kind of odd it's uh it's definitely had it
definitely has rock and roll roots or old old school uh rap and and it's electronic
but it's I also have a country song and a garage song but it's kind of on the on the side of things it's kind of
too slow to be to be fast and too fast to be slow you have to listen to it and it's electronic music can we rip can we
like um I have a laptop can we burn like whatever can we like get some music yeah sure yeah yeah if you offer me uh beer
or something or something to drink I'll give you the CD that I got my you do after this I'm going to get a beer from you or a glass of wine or something I
give want to do that couple beers yeah okay what all right do you have any
questions I think it was nice getting like the European American point of view like the thing about being tough or
something I think that that's really an under kind of valued thing about the people don't realize like it's
pretty brutal Society yeah I know I can tell like there you don't want to really around with uh that's why I can
imagine why there's a lot because a lot of people Europeans I know they have a problem with the with the American superficiality or they say that
Americans are always trying to sell you something in one way or like they always have the answer or anything yeah it's true but I mean there I mean there's a
lot of things that I find positive about this you know but also I can also understand it it's because there's a lot
of things we just don't really want to mess around with you know they're tougher in the sense of uh or also maybe
even more sensitive in some ways you know yeah do you think America do you think there's like you know chance for
change like you know there's something positive that can happen right now or do you think it's pretty negative like everyone is PR negative on
I never believe that it's too negative or anything I think that I mean why should one look at it too negative you know I mean that doesn't help I
mean it's good to be critical yeah and it's okay I mean but you know I I sure there's a lot of I mean there's a lot of
open-minded Americans are that common you know everybody has a a shotgun you know of course there's a lot of fear and
that which installs okay watch Michael Mo Movies and we all done that but uh or or the news or all this I
think there's a lot of that really makes people's mind sick but on the whole you know there's always chance for
for just uh like education or to just being open-minded or people that come over here and then learn what it's like
you know not to to be afraid to walk alone on the street at night I mean I don't want to generalize it maybe there are a lot of
parts where you can but the opinion that that I have or the experience that I have in the states is that you don't really have too much freedom to do that
you don't have much freedom to smoke anywhere or to or to drink alcohol I mean that's all taboo but actually if people were allowed to do that more I
don't think that that uh there would be such crass differences to what's normal and then those that flip out or something I don't know you know what I'm
saying yeah there was a bit more Toler you know bit more tolerance not so many no no I think people would be people
responsibility inting children somebody said we were talking to someone today and they said that like
if you let people smoke pot like it just calms them down you know why not that's what we
need I think yeah but also I remember like when I I I'm not like a big pot smoker cuz I can't it just like makes me
too slow I'm already slow enough but um uh but like when I remember when I was young I think I'm going out on a I
shouldn't be going there maybe but I remember when I was younger like the just the thought of smoking marijuana it was seemed to be something so peaceful
it seemed to be something like something sweet to do as a matter of fact most of the people I know that do it are incredibly you
know uh sweet people I'm not saying anything with this this just this said some total
but I was just think I was just thinking now like what what was it even though I hadn't done it what would have turned me on to doing it was kind of like the
thing of you need something and it feels like you always like you're missing something and that's just you know it's better than looking for it maybe other ways
People Referenced
Angie Reed, Tom Sachs, Barbara Brockhaus
Films & Media Referenced
- Barbara Brockhaus performance/show referenced