ZDF Magazin Royale: Böhmermanns settles accounts with German inner cities

“ZDF Magazin Royale”
“Empty, cold and dead”: Böhmermann mercilessly settles accounts with German inner cities

In the new issue of “ZDF Magazine Royale” Jan Böhmermann goes to the heart of German cities

© Magazine Royale / ZDF

The inner city is dying, one reads again and again. And blame the internet. However, Jan Böhmermann and the “ZDF Magazin Royale” suspect something else behind it.

It’s a swan song that you hear again and again: that the inner cities are dying is not only reported again and again, you can also observe it yourself. Jan Böhmermann and his team have also dedicated a program to the topic on “ZDF Magazin Royale”. However, he does not want to accept the usual explanation that online shopping is causing the shopping malls to die out. The cities themselves are to blame, is his harsh verdict.

Because, according to Böhmermann, the fact that Germans only shop online is only a small part of the problem. A much larger one: all inner cities look the same today. To make his point clear, he shows a series of photos from the shopping streets of Hagen, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. “German inner cities are so beautiful and distinctive,” he says happily – only to then reveal that they are actually completely different cities. Or maybe it was completely different? “In any case, I don’t know,” teases the moderator.

The argumentative trick runs through the show as a running gag. Whenever he names a city, Böhmermann shows another one instead. This works so well that only very attentive viewers noticed that not all of the city photos are from Germany. Or did you know that the famous Times Square is located in Freiberg am Neckar?

misanthropic downtown

The fact that inner cities can be misanthropic is not only due to concrete and glass, which cause greater heat in summer. In many inner cities, the administrations are even taking targeted action against certain groups of people, research by “Magazine Royale” shows: With special tweeters that are only heard by younger people, young people are to be prevented from hanging out in the inner city. “Strolling is not mobile loafing. Strolling is mobile lounging with consumption options!”

And the rest of the city planning is not doing well either. Green spaces are the exception, the city is characterized by streets. And: With numerous dark underpasses, it is often more of a reason for women to feel uncomfortable. The lack of accessibility for people who are dependent on a wheelchair or parents with prams is also a problem. “The inner city is as shitty as it is because it was planned a long, long time ago by men who drive to work by car,” Böhmermann summarizes harshly.


Jan Böhmermann celebrates the 167th and final edition of the special interest show.

“Lying down is worse than lounging”

The issue of homelessness also plays a role. Unfortunately, only clicky YouTubers and the security forces take care of them, Böhmermann complains. In the design of the city, those affected are only considered negatively: Böhmermann argues with metal spikes that prevent sitting on subway air shafts and specially designed park benches on which one cannot lie. “Lying down is even worse than lounging,” he summarizes the measure described as “defensive architecture”.

“The homeless are to blame for the fact that the city center is dying and customers are staying away,” he talks himself into a supposed rage. “And people with disabilities. And women. And young people. And people who don’t want to shop,” he summarizes again. Just not the inner cities themselves. “They’re so attractive.”

However, one of the most beautiful moments of the show is when Böhmermann makes fun of his own show – of all things, by giving himself a prize. In joint research with “Times” and “Zeit Online”, “Magazine Royale” claims to have discovered something incredible: “The first of January 2022 was a year ago,” explains the moderator with a serious expression. To then accept the award for the “unveiling” to the cheers of the audience. “Satire and investigative journalism, that’s exactly why it’s important that it exists,” he begins a mock acceptance speech. And then, grinning broadly, to come back to the ever-delayed end of accessibility. There are more important things.

Source:ZDF Magazine Royale

source site-8