Transcript Human Mind Through Film

Human Mind Through Film
What’s it all about?
 It’s Steven Spielberg's award- winning masterpiece.
 Based on the “docu-novel” by Thomas Keneally, an
Australian novelist.
 Shot in black and white
 We tend to have far stronger and more detailed recall
of black and white images than their equivalent in
colour.
 It’s documentary authenticity vividly re-creates a dark
frightening period during World War II, when Jews in
Nazi-occupied Krakow were first dispossessed of their
businesses and homes, and then placed in ghettos and
forced labour camps and finally resettled in
concentration camps for execution.
Steven Spielberg
Key Issues
 Survival
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Emotional
Psychological
Cultural
Sociological
 Culture
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Anti-Semitism (hatred of the Jews) played an important role in
discouraging sympathy and aid for the Jews.
 Altruism
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“An unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others.”
Webster’s Dictionary
 Change of Attitudes
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Why did he do it?
Aryanization
 In Poland, the Nazis quickly expropriated Jewish
businesses.
 Through a process terms “Aryanization,” Jewish
property was sold to “Aryans” for a considerably
reduced price.
 Jews had no right to protest.
 In this manner, Schindler located a formerly Jewishowned factory that would produce pots and pans and
later munitions.
The Holocaust
 Comes from the Greek word meaning:
 “complete destruction by burning.”
Why Did He Do It?
“I don’t know what his motives were, even though I
knew him very well. I asked him and I never got a
clear answer and the film doesn’t make it clear,
either. But I don’t give a damn. What’s important is
that he saved our lives.”
Good and Evil
 Who is good and who is evil?
 We all are.
 We all have the capacity of good and evil.
 Every nation has the potential to commit
genocide.
 Every human, despite his or her fragilities, is
capable of summoning the courage to defend
human dignity.
Oskar Schindler
He Who Saves One Life
Saves the World Entire