“The Lives of Others” – a powerful look back at life in East Germany

Life in the former East Germany, the country inappropriately named the German Democratic Republic, was a nightmare.

One reason was the secret police, the Stasi – the Ministry for State Security.

The Lives of Others explores the horror faced by celebrities and everyday East Germans.

Das Leben der Anderen, the film’s original German title, won the 2007 Academy Award for best foreign language film and scores of additional awards and nominations.

The film, set in 1984 ... gulp! ... is bleak, frightening and unforgettable.

Highly recommended.

Read more about The Lives of Others at Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia and Amazon.

And here’s a copy of The New York Times’ original review of Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Social media alert: preventing parody and satire accounts

You can save your organization, clients and brands painful headaches on Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites. Lock up potential parody and satire account names – @YourNameHereGlobalPR and others – ASAP. Or suffer the fate of those taking their lumps at @BPGlobalPR, @CitgoGlobalPR, @ShellGlobalPR, @FakeBPGlobalPR, @FakeAPStylebook et al.