Another Schindler's List Review

My favorite character, by far, had to be Amon Goeth. The acting done by Ralph Fiennes was great. While watching the film, I got the impression that Goeth wanted to be just like Oskar Schindler, and perhaps looked at him with a touch of jealousy. My first piece of evidence comes from the scene where Schindler is telling Goeth what power really is. After their discussion, Goeth takes his advice into consideration when dealing with the Jews. This worked for a little while until his eagerness to kill finally swam to the surface again. The second piece of evidence comes from Goeth's reaction when Schindler kisses the Jewish girls at his birthday party. Goeth, secretly in some weird love/fascination daze, wanted so badly to be able to do this with his maid. Instead, his lack of courage turned into rage and violence against her. What struck me was when Goeth told Schindler that he cannot have her because he wants to take her with him to Vienna and grow old with her, knowing that he can't. It's sad that it was hard for him to see her as more than just a rat, because maybe then he wouldn't have been such a miserable human being. Overall, Amon Goeth's character kept me guessing and analyzing all the way to the end. Great job Ralph Fiennes!

Schindler's List Scene Analysis

A couple of days ago I finally picked up the movie and watched it with my mom and sister. I can honestly say that this was one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time. That is talent when you can make people feel that they are actually inside the film rather than just watching it. There are a lot of scenes that stood out to me, but I have to say that the liquidation of the ghetto is what I remember the most. When the German soldiers came to the ghetto to round up the Jews for relocation, there was complete chaos mixed with the incredible presence of fear. Packed bags were to be left behind, valuables were swallowed, and hiding places were filled. The soldiers shot anyone that they wanted to without remorse. Knowing this, the hospital staff carefully gave its patients a drink that would let them die without suffering. As it was believed to happen, the soldiers made their way up the stairs to murder all the ill who were still alive. This part had me wondering what I would want done in that situation. As a nurse, or doctor, would I have done the same thing?

During the liquidation of the ghetto, we also see that Oskar Schindler and his mistress were portrayed to be present on top of Lasota Hill. Riding horseback, Schindler watches the enormous tragedy and focuses in on a little girl in red that wanders around in the street looking for a place to hide. I found this part to be interesting because it somewhat contradicts the reading. Currently, we do not have enough evidence to say that either Schindler or his mistress were on the hill that day. In the film, Schindler looks surprised to see the soldiers terrorizing the people of the ghetto. In the reading, we discover that Schindler was in fact well informed about the liquidation and even suggested that his workers stay on factory grounds until after it was over. As for the little girl in red, used as a "Rosebud" reference, a lot of things are unclear about her too. Interestingly, a Polish woman has claimed that she was the little girl. This is a serious contradiction considering that the little girl is burned near the end of the film.

Overall, this was an extraordinary film. Now I understand why my friend's jaw dropped when I mentioned that I had never seen it. I can also see why it is still so popular after a decade and a half. Rarely has the Holocaust felt so close and real to me. I can honestly say that some of the images from this film have made their way into my brain to stay. If watching this movie can haunt me, I cannot even imagine how the real thing still haunts the survivors. Even though not all of the facts in this film seem to be true, it still remains that many claim that they owe their lives to Oskar Schindler and that is enough for me.

Thanksgiving Eve

The last day before Thanksgiving is never fun for me. It has been especially a bummer ever since I started driving. The whole day was filled with running errands to and from different cities and stores. The best part was when I stood in a 45 minute line for honey baked ham. So fun. At home, it has always been tradition to give me the worst jobs to do. Enough complaining.... it's Thanksgiving tomorrow!.....and then the cleaning portion of my week will begin. Yey.

Overdue Presentation Response....Again

In addition to a response to Dr. Bolkosky's presentation, I also wanted to talk about our visual literacy projects. This was, by far, the best assignment that we have been given in this class all semester. It was actually kind of fun coming up with a topic, finding visual evidence, and finding the perfect song to convey your point. In class, everyone's presentation was awesome. Because we don't really read each other's papers in class, we had a chance to climb into each person's head to observe their thoughts. When it came to finally writing the paper, I found that it was harder to convey the same feeling that my project did on its own . Pictures are powerful, and I didn't know if I could do them justice. As always, I have my fingers crossed.

Overdue Presentation Response

While trying to figure out what I should blog about next, I just realized that I never wrote a response to Dr. Sid Bolkosky's presentation. Epic FAIL!! Anyways, this is tragic because I really enjoyed the lecture that he gave us about the Holocaust. One of the most interesting points that he made was about the many ordinary people that were involved. When I think about the villains of the Holocaust, I automatically refer to the Nazi soldiers and the like. What Dr. Bolkosky did was take something as important as the railroad system and brake it down to give us another point of view. He talked about the conditions that the Holocaust victims had to endure being transported to the various concentration camps. He also gave me a new realization of how many people it took to make everything run smoothly. From the smallest to the most hands on, a lot of people were involved, and many were ordinary citizens. How could these occurrences have happened without the ordinary citizens, many of whom could smell the smoke, raising questions or giving any opposition? Overall, Dr. Bolkosky's lecture was very informative, and as a result, I've learned a lot from him.

Resistance... Even With The Obstacles

"Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They just don't care to express themselves as we did."

--Sophie Scholl

On February 22, 1943, three members of the White Rose resistance were put on trial. Their crime was publishing anti-Nazi Germany essays and leaflets. They also created anti-Hitler graffiti all over Munich while spreading their message to other parts of the country. During their trial, Sophie Scholl surprised everyone with the quote mentioned above. These three college students were from good families and had been a part of the Hitler youth, but they still defied the nationalism that was expected of them. I believe this quote to be completely true and I am sure that there were other stories just like this one during Nazi Germany's reign.

These few individuals were brave and gave others just like them a voice to thrive on. The question that I have for myself is whether or not I would be able to do the same. It is hard to imagine what Germans, whether they were Jewish or not, had to go through during this time period. If something as horrible as the Holocaust happened in our country today, would you be able to stand up? I think that we all would like to believe that we would resist something like this and speak for those that do not have a voice, but would we really? There are people right now, like in Darfur, who are suffering from the oppression of a government who aims to squeeze them out. How many of us have done anything about it? If something like this happened here, how many people in other countries would speak up for us? What the members of the White Rose did was not only brave, but it was also heroic. Not everyone can be so strong while staring directly into the face of death.

The Amero

So, I'm sitting in my kitchen yesterday and two of my family members start talking about something called an "amero." As nosy as I am, I listened in on their conversation and attempted to chime in myself. I know that nothing is put into place yet, but this type of currency would be something like the "euro." The United States, Canada, and Mexico would then share a common currency. Does this seem wierd to anybody else? I've never been to the UK, but I don't know how exactly this would work out. I just don't see the United States wanting to ever team up with Mexico economically. How would our taxes change? I can see the United States and Canada maybe teaming up, but to me, the United States seems to arrogant to want to share a currency with Mexico. What do you think?