Franziska van der Heide on Chiana, Soap Operas and Pippi Longstocking (No, Really!)

By: Karen Frost

Translations by @MusicWorld432

Why don’t we hear about lesbian storylines on German TV?

Unlike the US, UK and Spain, Germany isn’t particularly well known in the international queer female community for its lesbian representation on TV. Although it was an early leader on the continent, exporting to viewers around the globe lesbian couples such as Jemma (Jenny and Emma, “Hand aufs Herz”), Jasanni (Jasmin and Anni, “Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten”), Carla and Stella, and, to a lesser extent, Marbecca (Marlene and Rebecca, “Verbotene Liebe”), since the mid-2010s, queer female couples on German TV shows haven’t gained the same visibility among international viewers. Put bluntly, the world’s lesbians aren’t watching them. Why not? The erosion of international popularity of queer female characters in the last five years isn’t for lack of content. Compared to its international peers, Germany has the seventh highest number of shows to ever include lesbian and bisexual female characters (its 28 shows are just barely edged out by Spain). In fact, 17 German shows have had regular queer female characters in the last four years. Germany has plenty of queer female characters, so why haven’t international viewers seen them?

Theory 1: German shows aren’t targeting promotion toward queer female audiences.

Two potential explanations immediately stand out. The first is the possibility that queer storylines in Germany aren’t being promoted to actively invite queer viewers. In the US, UK, and Spain, for example, many shows have used social media and the official show website to champion and promote their lesbian pairings. Shows like “Wynonna Earp” in the US and “Acacias 38” in Spain, to name just two, have used Twitter extensively to rally queer fans and encourage both domestic and international viewership. These efforts paid off in the form of extremely high viewership numbers and international visibility. Queer women from places as far away as Brazil, the Philippines, South Africa, and Poland know these shows and their characters. German shows, on the other hand, may not engage in similar public relations efforts with queer fans, thereby losing these potential fans and limiting the size of the audience.

Theory 2: There aren’t enough German translators to enable storylines to spread.

The second potential explanation has to do with the language barrier. As I noted in an article about fandom ecosystems, fandoms for lesbian TV pairings can’t grow internationally without the presence of translators in the fandom. Some English and Spanish-language storylines are translated into nine or more languages, opening the storyline up to millions of viewers who don’t speak the language in which the storyline is aired (translation into English, Spanish, and Chinese alone would reach approximately half the world’s population). Given German is less geographically common, storylines in German are likely to have far fewer translators, making it harder for the stories to spread. In the case of the currently airing pairing of Chiara and Ina (“Chiana”) on the German soap opera “Alles was zählt,” there appears to be only a single translator, who is providing German-English translations (shout out to @MusicWorld432). Without translations into additional languages, the pairing’s ability to spread will be limited to German and English-speaking audiences.

At WhatAboutDat, we believe the Anglo bias in reporting on queer female storylines does a disservice to content coming from the rest of the world. Therefore, in an effort to give the Chiana storyline a lift among international viewers, we talked with Franziska van der Heide, who plays Ina Ziegler, about “Alles was zählt,” Chiana, and life in Germany. Here’s what she had to say.

1) For people who haven’t watched “Alles was zählt,” what is it about and who are Ina and Chiara?

Alles was zählt ist eine Daily Soap auf RTL. Sie spielt in einem fiktiven Essener Stadtbezirk. Im Mittelpunkt der Serienhandlung steht die Familie Steinkamp, die das Zentrum „Steinkamp Sport und Wellness“ leiten. Der Focus des Steinkamp Zentrums liegt beim Eiskunstlauf. In der Nähe des Zentrums steht die Imbissbude Pommes Schranke. Außerdem existiert die Kneipe No. 7 , das Prunkwerk und das St. Vincent Krankenhaus. Ina Ziegler, mein Charakter, ist eine bodenständige Köchin, die mit ihrer kleinen Schwester nach Essen gezogen ist, um dort einen Neuanfang zu machen. Ina arbeitet mittlerweile in der Pommes Schranke und hat diese mit kreativen Street-Food-Styles revolutioniert. Chiara ist eine begabte und leidenschaftliche Eisläuferin, die alle Energie in Ihre Kariere steckt.

“Alles was zählt” (“All that matters”) is a daily soap on RTL. It is in a fictional city district in Essen. The main focus is on the Steinkamp family, who run the "Steinkamp Sport and Wellness" center. The focus of the Steinkamp Center is figure skating. The food truck “Pommes Schranke” is next to the center. There is also the pub No. 7, the Prunkwerk and the St. Vincent Hospital. Ina Ziegler, my character, is a modest cook who moved to Essen with her little sister to make a fresh start. Ina now works in the food truck and she revolutionized it with creative street food styles. Chiara is a talented and passionate ice skater who puts all her energy into her career.

2) When Ina meets Chiara in the bar and they drink, it seems Ina may be attracted to Chiara. Has Ina liked Chiara from the start?

Auch wenn Chiara an dem Abend ziemlich derangiert wirkt, hat Ina ein gutes Gespür dafür, dass hinter Chiara’s scheinbar oberflächlichen Fassade mehr steckt.

Even though Chiara looks quite deranged that evening, Ina has a good sense that there is more to Chiara’s seemingly superficial facade.

3) Chiara wouldn’t seem to be Ina’s type. She hasn’t dated a woman before and, more importantly, she doesn’t know how to be anything but selfish. What does Ina see in her?

Auf den ersten Blick war Chiara nicht Inas Typ. Natürlich fand sie Chiara attraktiv, aber mit zu viel „Bling Bling“. Und wie in der Frage erläutert, ist Chiara bis dato heterosexuell. Ina hat in der Vergangenheit negative Erfahrungen mit heterosexuellen Frauen gemacht. Nichts desto trotz sieht Ina in ihr etwas, was Chiara immer zu verbergen versucht: eine junge talentierte und ehrgeizige Frau, die auf der Suche nach echter Liebe ist. Deshalb ist Ina einerseits vorsichtig und will sich nicht verlieben. Anderseits entwickelt sie eine große Empathie und Mitgefühl für Chiara und fühlt sich zu ihr hingezogen. Dass daraus eine tiefere, auch sexuelle Liebe wird, das wussten beide nicht. Liebe kann man eben nicht erklären.

At first glance, Chiara wasn't Ina's type. Of course she thought Chiara was attractive, but with too much "bling bling." And as explained in the question, Chiara has been heterosexual to that point. Ina has had negative experiences with heterosexual women in the past. Nevertheless, Ina sees in her something that Chiara always tries to hide: a young, talented and ambitious woman who is looking for real love. That's why Ina is careful and doesn't want to fall in love. On the other hand, she develops a great empathy and compassion for Chiara and is attracted to her. Neither of them knew that this would lead to a deeper, sexual love. You can't explain love.

4) One of the first lesbian happy endings in the world came from “Verbotene Liebe” (Carla von Lahnstein and Stella Mann in 2010). This is particularly unusual because soap operas are the genre least likely to give their characters happy endings. In recent years, there’s been a global push for more LGBT happy endings since fewer than 10% of lesbian couples on TV worldwide have gotten happy endings, and almost 30% of queer female characters have been killed. What are the odds “Chiana” (Chiara and Ina) can have a happy ending if the fans press for it?

Also ich würde ein Happy End super toll finden, aber da lasse auch ich mich überraschen. Schließlich wird die Geschichte von unseren Autoren geschrieben.

Also: Es bleibt spannend.

Well I would find a happy ending really great, but I also let myself be surprised. At the end of the day, the story is written by our authors. So: it remains exciting.

5) Regardless of the country where they air, lesbian TV couples attract fans from around the world. Unfortunately, it’s harder for German couples to be noticed than English or Spanish-speaking couples because there are fewer German speakers. In fact, the last lesbian German couple to become famous among English speakers was from “Hand aufs Herz” in 2011. Have you gotten messages from non-German-speaking fans?

Die meisten Zuschriften waren bisher tatsächlich aus dem deutschsprachigen Raum. Aber es gab auch welche von außerhalb. Zum Beispiel aus Mexico. Das hat mich total überrascht und gefreut.

So far, most messages have actually come from the German-speaking countries. But there were also some from the outside. For example from Mexico. That totally surprised me and it made me happy.

6) Of the 25 German shows with female LGBT characters, ten have been soap operas. In America, the opposite is true: soap operas have almost totally excluded LGBT storylines. Why are they appearing so often in this genre in Germany?

Also ich finde, das Format Soap ist auch eine Art Spiegel der Gesellschaft, in dem sich der Zuschauer auf verschiedenen Ebenen identifizieren kann. Und da eben alle Formen der Sexualität zu unserer Gesellschaft gehören, sollte man die auch in der Soap wieder finden.

Well I think the soap format is kind of mirror of the society, in which the viewer can identify on different levels. And since all forms of sexuality belong to our society, you should also be able to find them in the soap.

7) Unlike in other countries, in Germany, actor resumes are kept on a publicly accessible website. Ever since I read yours, I’ve been trying to think of a role that would make use of your kickboxing, fencing, shooting, and yoga skills. The answer is clearly a superhero movie. What do you think? Is that a role you would want to play?

Superheldin klingt sehr cool. Ha.Ha. Ich mag die Rollen der toughen Frauen schon sehr gern. Für mich ist aber auch eine Jeanne D`arc eine Superheldin. Frauen, die die Welt verändern find ich schon spannend. :)

Superheroine sounds very cool. Haha. I like the roles of tough women a lot. For me, a Joan of Arc is also a superhero. I find women who change the world exciting. :)

8) Speaking of which, what would be an idea role for you?

Siehe Frage davor ;)

See previous question. ;)

9) Your social media is full of Berlin pride. What is it like being a working actress there?

Ach stolz kann ich gar nicht so genau sagen. Ich habe eine spezielle Beziehung zu Berlin, weil mir die Stadt so viel ermöglicht hat. Und Berlin ist auch einfach ein Gefühl. Es ist toll dort zu leben und sie gibt mir viel Inspiration. Als Schauspielerin arbeite ich eigentlich ortsunabhängig. Aktuell wohne und arbeite ich in Köln, weil wir hier „Alles was zählt“ produzieren.

Oh I can’t really say proud. I have a special relationship to Berlin because the city made so much possible for me. And Berlin is also just a feeling. It's great to live there and it gives me a lot of inspiration. As an actress, I actually work anywhere. I currently live and work in Cologne because we produce “Alles was zählt” here. 

10) What is a German movie everyone should see?

Da gibt es Zwei die ich besonders mag: Sonnenallee von Leander Hausmann und Phoenix von Christian Petzold. Zwei Filme, die mich auf ganz unterschiedlichen Eben gepackt haben. Aber schaut selbst. :)

There are two that I especially like: “Sonnenallee” by Leander Hausmann and “Phoenix” by Christian Petzold. Two films that grabbed my attention on so many different levels. But look for yourself. :)

11) What is the most beautiful story you think has ever been told?

Ganz ehrlich: Pippi Langstrumpf!

Honestly: Pippi Longstocking!

(*WhatAboutDat comment: Pippi Longstocking is the main character in a series of Swedish children’s books from the mid-1940s. Pippi is sort of the female Peter Pan, but rather than being able to fly, she has super strength.)

12) Last question: What is something everyone should know about you?

Puh: Vielleicht, dass ich eher ein Generalistin, als ein Spezialistin bin.

Phew. Maybe that I'm a generalist rather than a specialist.