Marlene Dietrich's death was duly reported in the American press, as
were the events surrounding her burial in Berlin. My impression of the
press coverage is that it followed the usual pattern of journalistic
obituary. I detected no allusions to anything other than her official
biography, although the San Francisco Chronicle (I think) carried a
picture of her wearing a suit and tie.
 
In the news report of the burial in Berlin, I saw no explanation of who
was protesting, nor why, although it was implied that the Berlin Mayor's
Office was inexplicably afflicted with a lack of civil courage.
 
I ran Blue Angel for my class on the day of the funeral. The students
were transfixed with Dietrich's Lola-Lola, although several students
suggested that it clarified some aspects of academic life.
 
-Henry Breitrose
 Stanford