The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

I first watched this film as a naive eight grader in 2012.

Now, over five years later, I watch the film again with a new set of lens.

The first time I watched attentively, captured in a knot of dramatic irony, as I knew of the fate that awaited Bruno through reading the novel beforehand.  I sank into my seat, absorbing the cinematic and literally elements, reading the story as a tragic incident, an isolated episode from the Nazi point of view.

I failed to see the larger social/political implications that the movie had.  Perhaps I feel differently in light of the recent extreme political discord and tension, but I do feel that the messages that this film communicates about propaganda and resistance to tyrannic power remains importantly timeless.

To me, a line that sticks out comes from Gretel trying to console Bruno, while also informing him about his father's, Hitler's, and Germany's decisions/actions.  She tells Bruno that they're just, "trying to make the country great again".  This line is infamously associated with political campaigns over the last two centuries, most recently headlining Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.  This line has received harsh criticism over its insinuation of moving the U.S in the wrong direction of equality, and in the direction of white, and more specifically, white male power.  The negative connotation of the Trump campaign's usage should not be shocking considering its near complete copying of this phrase.

However, despite an individual's journey to make the country "great again", his supporting cast includes followers who may be not so blind after all.

We see a wide spectrum of "followers" that includes Father, Mother, Gretel, and Bruno.  Father seems to be in accordance with all of the actions put forth by the Nazi party, but we slowly watch him develop from a soldier and into a father, eventually giving way to Mother's wishes of moving the children away from such awful actions.  Even a character like Gretel, a girl who is trying to grow up too fast physically and socially, halts her loyalty at the end of the film once she begins to see the darker side of the country's actions.

My point is to not become a revolutionary and stand up against all institutions, but to open one's eyes and understand the rules that define it, before following it blindly.