Analysis Of The Film 'Boy In The Striped Pajamas'

Almost fifty years after WWII, director Steven Spielberg creates the award winning film Schindler's List. Following the true story of Oskar Schindler, a Czech who joined the Nazi party to secure a fortune as a factory owner, has a change of heart after seeing Jews being persecuted. Schindler goes from exploiting Jews to saving over one thousand Jews by the end of the war. Schindler’s List is recognized as one of the most historically accurate Holocaust films, even so, there still can be problems with the film. "As a natural consequence of this process, the memory of the Holocaust has taken on specific American forms." (Dochartaigh) It is important to create films of historical events to shed light on tragedies, however, these films must be
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, directed by Mark Herman, is the story of a young boy named Bruno, who is apart of a wealthy German family. Bruno's father is a SS officer and they live right off a concentration camp. Bruno befriends a young prisoner, Shmuel, behind the prison fence. The boys are the same age, however, as their friendship develops, Bruno realizes how different his life is from Shmuel's. When Bruno is told he is moving, he goes back to the fence to say goodbye to Shmuel. This time Bruno brings a shovel, so he can experience the other side of the fence before he has to leave. Coincidently, the prison camp officers corral the prisoners to be taken to the gas chambers. Bruno, wearing the striped uniform, is mistakenly shuffled in with the crowd headed to their death. Neither boy knows what is happening until they are locked inside the chamber. The lights go off and the boys meet their fate. Being a fictional film, critiques can only go so far. This does not mean that fictional films cannot be held to the same standards. I would argue that the recurring Holocaust films created with the signature, American, happy-ending only creates more trivialization of this tragedy. While The Boy in the Striped Pajamas does not have a normal happy ending, it ends with Bruno being seen as a
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas tells a fictional story. However, it is telling a fictional story about a true historical event. Unfortunately, this film includes inaccurate and implausible information. There seems to be a cloud of oblivion over everyone's head. It seems doubtful that Bruno does not know there is a prison camp next to him, especially after his friendship with Shmuel develops. The idea of a friendship being created on opposite sides of the fence is also implausible. In reality, there would be extremely high security guarding the entire camp, making it impossible for Bruno to sneak in as