The reason I’m starting with Das Sound Machine (among others Birgitte Hort Sørensen) is that I’m German – don’t know if you knew this but now you do. Of course, we already have a German reference in the first movie with Beca (Anna Kendrick) saying that Vader is German for father and Jesse (Skylar Astin) saying that it’s no wonder she doesn’t like fun things if she knows German. It seems that Kay Cannon has something to say there – whatever it is – but it’s kinda fun to watch in a German context and also with other German viewers (as I actually watched Pitch Perfect 2 for the first time at the movies in the dubbed German version – before going home and looking for it online so I could watch it in English).
While it’s mostly good fun, there was a part of it that made everyone at the theater flinch (it was actually like you could feel everyone flinch, every time this came up). It’s the name and its grammatical wrongness. Das Sound Machine is completely bullshit German – of course, it’s not even German but even the part that is is wrong. Yes, the article. If you translate the complete name it would mean Geräuschmaschine – the article would refer to Maschine and Maschine in German is female. The female article is Die (think Dee, not die). So, for Germans to hear DAS Sound Machine is actually painful.
Yeah, I know, it’s a tiny thing and something we’ve gotten over by the end of the movie but the first few times are really grating. Of course, if they had actually wanted to make it grammatically correct, they would’ve done it. Even if Kay Cannon hadn’t known that it was incorrect, I’m sure someone would have told her at some point and they could have fixed it, after all in Flula Borg they had at least one German native speaker on set. But let’s face it, the visual alone would have confused English speakers. Die Sound Machine – y’all would have wondered why they wish themselves to die and explaining it would have taken too much time. There’s also the fact that Das sounds way more German aggressive and is what’s actually needed for this group. Now you know, though, that it’s wrong German.
Besides this, there are a couple of fun things about this group. Like Pieter (Flula Borg) overexplaining things. Germans tend to do this, I catch myself at it sometimes. While I’m fluid in English, I always feel like I’m explaining myself clumsily, especially when I’m not sure about an expression. This leads to using more words, explaining around something – like Pieter does with his ‘Heated Mess.’ It’s hilarious. I actually think that the interactions between Das Sound Machine and the Bellas (but especially Beca) make up some of the funniest moments in the movie.
Speaking of Beca. Yes, her complete meltdown over this group is just gold. I’m not exactly sure where the attraction comes in. Given, Komissar (Birgitte Hort Sørensen) is gorgeous but the group as a whole seems to push some buttons in Beca. Many fans (me included) would like to see this as a confirmation for Beca’s bisexuality, though a better case could be made that it’s actually queer-baiting, unfortunately. It’s a comical diversion, not really something that Beca is allowed to explore. The attraction could also be explained as a sort of yearning in Beca to have a group that’s synchonized and disciplined,
It’s the military demeanor of Das Sound Machine that I would peg as least likely to appear in a German group. And it’s not because Germans don’t like order, I think we do. The thing is that we’re painfully aware of our history and the implication of this group is almost offensively reminiscent of Nazi Germany. The black attire, the uniformness, the colors of the final show – if we did something like that, people would call us out on it, always. So, in a way, Das Sound Machine is just another stereotype, another sort of ‘look, they’re Germans, and they behave like Nazis, that’s so funny.’ The only saving grace here is that they’re a great acapella group.
I’m not saying that as a German I’m offended by this representation – we deserve our place as villains in history and if we’d get offended every time we’re being shown as Nazis in films, we’d be offended all the time. It’s more that this image is outdated, that you wouldn’t find a German group that would so blatantly disrespect the victims of the Holocaust – other than Neo-Nazis. This is exactly why the imagery of Nazi symbols outside a historic context (like textbooks and museums) is forbidden in Germany because they’re painful reminders to the victims.
I didn’t intend to have this sound like a lecture. I guess I didn’t realize all the implications of Das Sound Machine before I started writing about them. I’m aware this is meant to be satirical but if you look at the final performance of Das Sound Machine, the images of Nazi soldiers marching in front of Adolf Hitler are kind of blatant.
The intent here is, of course, to show the difference between Das Sound Machine and the Bellas. While the Troublemakers in the first movies were very similar to how the Bellas are at the beginning of this movie, Das Sound Machine shows again how sameness can be a draw of success in a competition. But the Bellas are best when they show their individualism – maybe by performing an original song at the finale.
Anyway, if you can disregard Das Sound Machine reminding you of a very dark time in history, you might enjoy the competition between them and the Bellas. The musical elements of this movie are really good. The Riff-Off is hilarious and if you’re watching the performance of Das Sound Machine at the car show, you might get the appeal of this group apart from the historic implication.
As a side note at the end – Beca was wrong in the first movie, father in German is Vater, not Vader. Vader is Dutch, though, so it’s close.
Corikane - Diggin' Deeper 