The Boy in The Striped Pajamas

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was one of the most powerful, jaw-dropping movies that iv'e seen in a very long time. This film follows an innocent boy named Bruno who has a Nazi father. The family once located in Berlin moves to the country which is host to a nearby concentration camp. Bruno and the family have little knowledge of the horrors that are taking place in their backyard. Bruno, curious about "the farm" that can be seen from his bedroom window, attempts to escape their gated off house and venture into a world that couldn't be more different than his own. Bruno finds a boy the same age as him and eventually becomes good friends with him. He begins to learn that his friend, Leon can't escape his gated off area quite as easily. So the two of them have a plan to clone Bruno as a Jewish boy. Leon's dad is missing so Bruno decides to climb under the fence to help his friend, little to his knowledge what is past the fence is nothing short of a living hell.

Bruno is such an interesting character, he is completely conflicted on what is right, what is wrong and who is good and who is bad. He looks up to his dad and wants to believe that whatever he is doing is right, however his new friend gives him different ideas. His mother is livid at Bruno's Nazi father for the thousands of people he is mercilessly killing. There is also Bruno's sister who has been completely brainwashed by the Nazi ideals that have been engraved in  their heads by their teacher, father and all of the Nazi solders that are constantly at the house. Bruno ends up helping his friend, still without knowing what he was actually getting himself into. Unfortunately the only way Bruno's father understands how many people he put through misery, torture and murder he has to lose a son in the process. The film set out to make you feel a certain way about what was happening during this time, and it did not fail.

Jesus Camp star 5 years later

As promised, here is a link to a video where you can see Levi, from Jesus Camp five years after the film was made.  He is just as intense as ever - check it out.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Response

No matter how many times you watch The Boy in the Striped Pajamas it will move you every time. The amount of emotions that I went through when watching that movie is incredible. However, after watching all these propaganda pieces over the last semester, this one seems to tie it all together. The perspectives have changed in everything we have watched, and now we see the story from a young boy named Bruno.  As much as you want to love Bruno, you can't stand that his father is a brutal Nazi soldier running a concentration camp. 
As we see Bruno is forced to leave his best friends because his family is moving, and it is all very relatable. That's what makes it hit home. Innocent Bruno moves into his new house and is desperate for friendship and adventure. Right in his new backyard he thinks he sees a farm, and is very confused why people working in the farm are all wearing striped pajamas. Eventually he learns that those people are Jews, and though his teacher and sister and pretty much everyone in his life are pressing how terrible Jews are, he can't find it in himself to hate Jewish people. He is secretly forming a friendship with them, from having them right in his backyard. Friendship is so important to Bruno, that he does what he can to feed Shmuel and help him. It is difficult for him to understand the conditions that Shmuel is experiencing. He offers help to Shmuel to find his father, and ends up getting caught in the brutality that his own father is creating. Unfortunately his father's karma is that he loses his own son.  
The worst part about this situation is how accurately it depicted the conditions of the concentration camps. It gets me extremely emotional to be reminded that my own ancestors and direct blood relatives were treated with such hate and brutality by the Nazis in World War 2.  What disgusts me is that even children were brought into this. Shmuel is just an innocent young boy who is being penalized for being brought up a certain way. Bruno is being forced a prejudice on a boy he just wants as a friend. I finally see it from both perspectives. Bruno is just as innocent as Shmuel, they are just being raised in totally different ways. Crazy to wrap my head around all of this, but I am glad we watched this in class because it really does tie everything together perfectly. 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

This was the second time I viewed The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and it was still just as powerful. The plot strings the viewer along until suddenly a character named Bruno whom you've grown very attached to meets an early end all thanks to his Nazi father. The whole film we want Ralf, Bruno's father, who is a high up Nazi solider and responsible for the murder of many jews to pay for his crimes. The viewer begs for Ralf to get a taste of his own medicine. However, it isn't until the very last scene of the film we realize this payback is the death of his own son. We are so angry little Bruno had to lose his life to make his father aware of the pain he was causing others. In the end Ralf experiences loss just as all the others had that he was having murdered.

It's interesting to track the plot through the deterioration of the mother. When Ralf announces he has gotten a promotion and the family will move the mother is overjoyed. The viewer sees that the mother understands Ralf's position but it isn't until later we realize the mother was unaware of the whole situation. She holds the family together and stands by her husbands side for the first half of the film. The true tipping point in her demeanor is when she realizes what burns in the tower at the concentration camp. From that point on she completely disagrees with the children living in this home. She begins to question everything Ralf says instead of happily standing by his side. Throughout the film she slowly realizes the horror that is happening around her and begins to resist a little at a time. The mother's put together demeanor diminishes as she understands the severity of the situation which is a good representation of how people in the camp are being treated. I liked this transformation as it showed the war had an affect on most people.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Response

I waited a week to write this response because I would have been too emotional right after watching the film. Even though this was a scripted piece it was brutally honest about concentration camps and WWII. Where most documentaries show the surface of what happened in concentration camps, this film made it a more personal experience. What bothered me the most about this film was the fact that children were involved. Even though I knew children were kept in concentration camps, it was never something I thought about at great length. This is likely because it adds to the morbidity of what happened during that time in history. To see a concentration camp through the eyes of a child is very difficult. The innocence that Bruno had was consistent throughout the film. Even when he was being told how horrible Jews were, he was confused about how that could be true. It was easy to see that this was the first time he had experienced hate and prejudice.
For me the end of the film was the most difficult part to watch. I felt this way not only because of the sickening situation, but because Bruno died as a child while Shmule had been forced into a sham version of adulthood. To recognize that difference between the two characters was sad. Bruno died believing there was good in he world while Shmule had been through so much, there was no way for him to have that comfort. They were both children, but only one of them had the gift of ignorance. I hope I never have to watch this film again. It showed the reality of the situation, but that doesn't make it easier to watch.

Black Fish Response

This documentary was much easier to believe than some of the other films I've seen this semester. I focused on the interviews trying to see if any of the testimony sounded rehearsed or insincere. None of the trainers or other witnesses came across that way. I found it interesting that Seaworld refused to be interviewed for this film. It certainly didn't help them support the idea that Seaworld is an ethical and safe establishment. It just makes Seaworld seem guilty. 

I appreciated that there wasn't a narrator for this film. When something is narrated it makes the documentary feel less objective. As if the filmmakers are trying to carefully frame the content. I had heard horror stories about Seaworld and similar theme parks before, but this was the first time I was provided context. After seeing the film I think there is an excellent argument for not keeping orcas and other sea creatures in captivity. Even the animal trainers felt that the treatment of the animals was unfair and harmful. It isn't possible to keep the whales in an environment that mimics a natural way of living. Based on this fact alone the whales should be released. Their social habits and roaming lifestyles are completely inhibited. When the whales have no other way to communicate their unhappiness, it is no wonder that they have a habit of attacking people. Even those who mean them no harm. This film was interesting and in my opinion the most unbiased documentary that has been shown this semester. I would like to hear Seaworld's opinions on the matter. Just so any bias that was in the film could be balanced out.

Prisoner of Paradise

I really enjoyed the film Prisoner of Paradise. I've always had an interest in the Holocaust and the innate will power humans have to survive in life threatening situations. This film examined both of these ideas in regard to Kurt Gerron's life. Gerron was a jewish actor and director who found himself at Theresienstadt concentration camp amidst WWII. Nazi's approached Gerron and requested he make a film about how wonderful the camp was to convince the outside world that the jews were being treated freely. Gerron accepted for he realized that as long as the Nazi's needed him he would not be killed.

Gerron produced a film that went above and beyond Nazi expectations, so far above and beyond he betrayed his fellow jews. I understand that Gerron did this to survive each and every day but in the end it wasn't worth it for him. He was killed at Auschwitz one day before the gas chambers were closed. Gerron betrayed his people and helped his murderers at the same time. His will to survive let down the people he cared about and made no difference in the end. To me that was the saddest part about this film. He wanted so badly to create once more and stay alive one more day he forgot to think about the diminishing lives of those around him.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Although I have read the book and seen the film before, I still cried in class when this movie was shown- even if I tried playing it off as not. That itself is a testament to the power of the filmmaking. The story is unique in the sense that you are seeing from the perspective of the German youth, not all aware of the consequences of his decisions (or his fathers). The story as a whole though is nothing new- we know about the horror of the Holocaust. So why do we care so much about these characters in a way that I never felt for Garron?
I believe this is because we are experiencing this along-side the characters, instead of being told how they felt, lived and were perceived. Also, the characters came to life in this film through the little things they did, their private gestures as they are called. You can understand them more through these quirks and therefore create a closer connection.
Overall, this film still holds a place in my respected movies page after each revisiting.

The boy in the Striped Pajamas


This film was one of the more tear jerking films we have viewed this semester. This was a film that I had seen prior to our viewing last week. This being said it is extremely difficult to watch even when you know what is coming at the end. After watching this film for the second time I now understand why the ending is so devastating. Of course the ending is gruesome in general but I believe while watching the beginning of the film you really get invested with the characters. I thought this film also gave a great depiction of what it was like for a Jew in this time era. I thought that the relationship between the father and the mother was interesting. The father seemed like he wasn't fully honest with his wife and showed the extreme dedication that German soldiers had for hitter and his beliefs.

Prisoner of Paradise

After viewing this film I came away with mixed reviews. This film truly defined our propaganda section of the class that we have been covering . It was shocking to see how propaganda can but used to create an impression on a particular topic. This type of propaganda completely changed the view of Germany in the war. I thought it was very disappointing the way the film ended. Kurt Gerron did everything that he could to keep his loved ones and himself alive. It was shocking to me to find out that Kurt needed up on one of the last trains that ended up being sent to the gas chambers. Gerron entertained the people inside these prison camps and was one of the small bright lights in this dark time. It was truly incredible to see the amount of people that were being put onto the trains that were being sent to the gas chambers and other camps. This film also helped me see how much of a talented man Gerron. He seemed to have the unique ability to perform any role in the film business. This ranged from playing a number of different acting roles and also being a major contributor behind the camera as well.

Prisoners in Paradise

‘Prisoners in Paradise’ was a heartbreaking film in many ways. This was a film which showed that camp Theresienstadt was not a horrible place for the Jews to live. The famous German actor and director Kurt Geron was forced to live in this camp and create a propaganda film which was meant to be seen by neutral countries. After he had finished creating the film, Geron and a fellow pianist were sent on a train to Auschwitz. When they got there Geron was sent into the gas chambers and killed. The next day the chambers were shut off for good. This film surely showed the good and bad sides of the Holocaust. In my opinion it seemed that the main intention of the film was to show how the camps were not bad places to be, while it actually showed the cruelty of the SS. This film was interesting to watch and gave me knowledge on a camp I haven’t heard of and on Geron. I had heard of Geron but have never been taught about his life. Overall I think this film was a good choice for class.

 -Hayley Johnson