Lesson 12 - Schindler's List

Q: What do the shows "Gandhi" from last week and "Schindler's List" from this week have in common? 

A : Ben Kingsley! 

 

Above: Ben Kingsley in "Gandhi" as an Indian, vs. Ben Kingsley in  Schindler's List as a Jew. Cool eh? 

All fun-facts aside, "Schindler's List" (1993) is about Oscar Schindler, a German who through his factory, saved many Polish-Jews by putting them to work. Initially though, Schindler's intention was to make a fortune out of them, but in the end, he realizes the gravity of what his actions could do - save the people! With Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley) as his administrator, many Jews were saved (through falsified documents too =s ). Schindler was kind to them, to the extent of allowing them to even celebrate the Sabbath. At that point his factory did not produce even one working shell, as he bribed officials and sold shells from other companies to keep his workers alive. Towards the end of the war however, he runs out of money and just as he came to that realization, the war ends. He is then a "criminal" and has to flee the Red Army as he is a member of the Nazi. The Jews however, give him a letter that explains he is not a criminal to them, and a ring with the words " " engraved on it. Schindler is deeply moved to tears, and wishes that he saved more of the Jews instead of wasting his wealth on material things.

The part that struck me the most about this movie was the role of Amon Goeth, the SS officer. It bewildered me how the man could be so emotionless and just kill, as if it were a sport, a hobby, something to just fill his free time! It pained me to see how another person was just reduced to nothing more than an animal in his eyes. Throughout the show he shot many women, and elderly, which brought to my mind the concept of double minorities. Firstly the people he shot were Jews, and secondly to add to that, they had other characteristics of a minority such as being of a (perceived) gender of lower status, and an age of lower power. As we see from Zimbardo's prison experiment, the notion that one posses power over another does in-fact spur one on to act even in ways that are inhumane!

In sum, the movie portrayed the scenarios very well, and was good in terms of depicting the torture and the cruel journey that the Nazis put the Jews through. However, I did cringe often at the cruelty of it all!




Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwfIf1WMhgc
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108052/

Lesson 11 - Gandhi

Mahatma ~ Great Soul

Bapu  ~ Father 

These two words I have learned from watching Gandhi (1982), a movie based on the life of Mahatma Gandhi, the great soul.

The movie was a biography of the story of Gandhi and how he championed rights for the Indians but in a non-violent manner. The movie was somewhat representative of the life of Gandhi. A few significant moments in the show were the times where Gandhi lead the people through a peace protest, how he refused to eat until the fighting stopped between Hindus and Muslims, how he strives to unite both religions and how he was finally assassinated, a scene that really came as a shock to me.

What I really admire about Mahatma Gandhi is his perseverance. In the midst of hostility and violence amongst the Hindus and Muslims, Gandhi does not react with violence and harsh words, rather, he proves a point. He chose to go on a hunger strike, saying he would not eat until the fighting stopped. I really cannot comprehend why he would "hurt" himself in hopes that others would stop fighting as this matter is far out of his locus of control. However, I suppose he had made enough of an impact already and there were enough people supporting him and thus the fighting was stopped, but after quite some time.

It was interesting to see how the different in-groups and out-groups were formed and how strongly they were united with each other. For example, all it took was one person to attack a person from another group, and immediately the groups started attacking one another, scattered as they were.

It never ceases to amaze me how Gandhi was able to exert such a strong influence to the people so much so they followed him, worshiped him and obeyed him just like that. It puzzles me though that Gandhi would go through extremes to prove how strong he was, (ie: sleep with naked girls just to show that he could control himself- well that was not in the show). I personally think that point did not need to be taken to such an extreme.

All in all, I thought the show was okay. I'm quite neutral on this movie =)
For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083987/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha9MPLGo2YI

Lesson 10 - Departures

Death.

The last season in life on this side of earth.

The only experience that one would never be able to share with anyone else, for obvious reasons.

Departures (2008) is a Japanese film that tells the story of Daigo Kobayashi, a good-looking young man who was a cellist in a Tokyo based orchestra. To his dismay, the orchestra is suddenly disbanded, leaving Daigo feeling lost and jobless. He moves back to his hometown with his wife Mika where they start anew. His efforts to find a job paid off when he found an advertisement for "Departures" in the newspaper. Thinking the offer was too good to be true, he went to what he thought was a travel company for an interview. To his dismay, he found out that it was a casketing company, and the advertisement was supposed to read " The Departed". The movie then shares with us Daigo's journey back in his home town, which teaches him a lot about family, hope and life.

We all come from diverse cultures, and have our own rituals and procedures to mourn our loss. "Departures" shows us how death is portrayed in Japan and how different individuals respond to it.  The Japanese have an eye for detail, a need for perfection and a strive for beauty. Japanese in general show that they are a bit particular in everything they do. Everything they do is precise and not messy. Many a time in the show, the family of the deceased would provide a picture to Sasaki and Daigo who were preparing the bodies, and expect the corpse to look exactly like the person in the picture. This, Sasaki and eventually Daigo handled with much gentleness and skill. The act of preparing the body was always done with perfection especially in terms of appearance. 

Above: Daigo being shown how to prepare a body 

by his new boss, Sasaki

What was interesting is the writer's choice to use a change in career to demonstrate his point; from a musician, Daigo became a casketing agent. The irony lies in the differences of these two jobs; a musician being one of status and class, a casketing agent associated with having to humbly take orders from family members of the dead and only associated with death. However, the similarities lie in that both require precise attention to detail, style and beauty. Both roles are artistic in nature; making something beautiful. 

Above: Daigo was sent for cello lessons as a child.

What struck me a lot was the way Diago's wife was so submissive to him throughout the show and gave in to her husband so many times, despite him not telling her about certain things. The way she loved him and cared for him and just followed his decisions is something that is rarely seen nowadays. It was good, however, that the directors allowed a point where she did not wish to give in to her husband. It showed that she did have an opinion and was not just submitting blindly.

Above: Daigo and his lovely submissive wife, Mika

who finally puts her foot down when she hears about the 

job he was doing. 

Throughout the show we also see a progression - the people who are dying are closer and closer in relation to the protagonist, Daigo. When he mourns for those close to him, and subsequently becomes the one who prepares his father's body, we see that the process of preparation of the body and the casketing serves some psychological needs in response to the death. Also, the concept of death was often followed by a portrayal of life, which serves as reminders to us about mortality, and the appreciation of life, something we often overlook.


All in all, the show gets a thumbs up in my books. Definitely a show worth watching as it will challenge your views of death and life, maybe lead to a night full of introspection!


For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1069238/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBp4Mi53Tmc