Download To what extend do you agree that the production features of

To what extend do you agree that the production features of a particular scene can
contribute to a film’s central idea(s)?
It is undeniable that the Oskar Schindler’s altruistic act in Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List”
underline title has educated and touched the heart of millions. Rendered with an almost black and
white style, often handheld cameras, and the melancholy Jewish choir music, the scene of the
liquidation of Ghetto in particular, highlights the coexistence of indifference and social
consciousness in humanity and contributes to the idea that ‘indifference is the greatest sin and
punishment of the Holocaust’. Lovely intro
In an attempt to “bear witness” to the Holocaust and evoke the World War Two Era with a realistic
version of life, Spielberg establishes the film primarily in a black and white documentary style. The
pure white snow stained by the dark, oozing blood of slain Jews; the gray ash, floating through the
city from the incinerated bodies; and the white faces of the dead in the streets against the murky
background during evacuation; it is through these colourless yet contrasting images in the
liquidation scene that we witness the stark difference between life and death, the indifferent
Germans and the innocent Jews.
Aim to connect your paragraphs and have a clear statement sentence alerting us to the main
content to follow Alone, aimless and strolling with almost no awareness of the brutality surrounding
her in a powerful distant shot, the little Jewish girl in a poppy red coat symbolizes Spielberg’s way
of dramatizing the humanity of each member of the huddled, grey mass of the poor Jewish people.
The significance of the use of colour here as opposed to black and white is twofold – in a stark
contrast to the dehumanized Jewish crowd, red stands out to represent hope, innocence and the
individuality that has long been indistinguishable since the liquidation of Ghetto. Evocative and
eye-catching, the glimpse of red in the midst of terrifying death suggests hope and the instinct of
making ethical choices will still prevail if one man still embodies social consciousness and the
fundamental goodness of human nature, and is capable of acknowledging their identities. To
Schindler, the girl in red not only awakens his sympathy but also represents the Jewish blood that
will be drained and annihilated had no one offers help to them. They become more than just
numbers on Nazi’s orderly list or names that “creates extra paper work”. He realizes for the first
time that it is wrong to deprive other’s lives and people are dying through no fault of their own.
Identified by colour, it is the girl’s appearance in the liquidation scene, and the juxtaposition of red
and black and white that help us recognize the difference in Schindler and the Germans, the
humanity in the Jews, and contributes to the idea of the co-existence of indifference and goodness
in humanity. Some great discussion and analysis here. Aim perhaps to include one or two more
quotes.
Ironically, just as we gradually come to an understanding that Jews are more than just numbers or
a crowd and deserves to be treated with an equitable manner, Spielberg’s framing of SS soldier
aiming at a Jewish woman who is ‘no thinner, fatter or different’ with the girl in red in a same frame,
attests something different. While humans are capable of goodness and making instinct moral
choices, in most cases, we are like the German solder, who acts upon his ‘selfish’ deed and is
more capable of being ignorant and indifferent towards others. In comparison to Schindler’s
sensational speech at the end of the film, (“I could have saved more.”), it is the close-up shot of
Goeth’s stating, “I wish this fucking night was over”, that becomes the most disturbing and
unforgivable of all.
Indifference, and even a degree of satisfaction enjoyed by the Nazis in the arbitrarily slaughter is
evident in the variations of shots and angle movements in the terrifying scene of the liquidation.
We see Goeth, attempting to deny the existence of the Jews by stating, “they never happened.
Today is history.” in a close up shot; a German soldier, arbitrarily pulled out a Jewish man and
machine gun fired him with no mercy or particular reasons in a overpowering high-angle shot; and
a German colleague, calmly playing piano in the midst of death, gunshots and all calamity in a full
shot. The juxtaposition of such indifferent attitudes with imageries of death, and gothic overtones
remarkably emphasizes the ignorant, indifferent side of humanity. Capturing the brutality, repulsion
and indifference of the Germans, the usage of handheld cameras on a deeper level, puts viewers
down with the Jews and conveys the notion that it is our failure to empathize, to remember the
costly consequences of discrimination and ignorance that has become the most inexcusable, and
the ‘greatest sin and the punishment of the Holocaust’.
The co-existence of indifference and moral consciousness is further illustrated by the mixed use of
sound during the evacuation scene. Echoes of the noise of the growling dogs, trucks and firing
gunshots are oddly blended with a peaceful, melancholy Jewish choir music when the little girl in
red appears in our sight. Alone and shielded by somewhat supernatural protection, she, as well as
the mixed music, symbolizes the existence of hope and innocence in the most desperate
situations. The connotation of a German soldier playing Bach’s music all the while ignoring the
sound of the gunshots and screams surrounding him is dramatically ironic. Civilization and the art
of music is degraded to such an extent that he simply does not pay any attention to the dreadful
event around him. Disturbing yet stereotypical, the German soldier fundamentally represents
ignorance, and “the greatest sin and punishment of the Holocaust”.
Sound, colour and cinematographic features such as angle movements and shots variations, it is
through the subtle use of these techniques that Spielberg portrays the co-existence of indifference
and social conscious in humanity. He implies that the so-called ‘inevitable’ is perhaps, merely a
pretty reason that we use to disguise our darker deeds; For as German soldiers failed to
comprehend that Jewish people too, are human beings who deserve life and the
acknowledgement of their humanity, some of us too, are still trying to “claim that it never
happened” in the present society.
This is a very very good essay. To make it even more convincing you need to make your connections beyond
the text clearer. This means you need to take your theme a explain its relevance to the ‘real world’. Could be
something you have heard, read or observed in contemporary society or it could be historical. You do
mention the holocaust but I think you need something else.