Boy in the Striped Pajamas

The film, “Boy in the Striped Pajamas” solidified the semester long conversation regarding propaganda. It was not a documentary like the majority of films we have viewed this semester. However, it took all the concepts of the propaganda documentaries and presented them in a heartbreaking, relatable example.

The story focused on a young boy growing up in Nazi Germany with a father in the military. He is forced to move from Berlin to the country and unknowingly lives next to a concentration camp. By the filmmakers focusing on the young child it gives a different narrative to the story that is rarely discussed. It is telling the story from the point of view of a young boy who has no option but to listen to his father and mother and who is visibly lost by the events happening. This method of focusing on the boy evokes more empathy in the viewer because it is apparent how innocent he is and how little he knows of the events happening. If the focus was on the father or the mother, the film would not be as effective because they are older characters who understand what is happening and are making a conscious decision to support the Nazis.

By following the story of the boy through total innocents to beginning to understand the events happening, the viewers grow with him and become attached to him. This is why the ending is as effective as it is because it strikes in the blind spot taking an approach the viewers are not expecting or can’t believe will actually happen.

It is also important to point out the themes that allow everyone to connect to the story. Some of those are friendship, innocents and human nature, things everyone has experienced at one point and can relate to within Bruno’s story.