The Treatment Of The Holocaust Essay, Research Paper

The Treatment of the Holocaust in Films

Films concerning the holocaust used comedy and aesthetics in order to exhibit social problems and send an antifascist message. In response to Germany s inhumane actions during the World Wars, the German Nazi party was satirized in several films. Often, these films focus on the effects of current organizational and socio-political structures on the working man and exaggerate the control of the Dictator. In times of war, people may benefit from the humor in these films, as they can distract them from their hardships. Additionally, this type of film allows the filmmaker to express the side of the story that the government ignores. The Great Dictator, To Be or Not To Be, and Seven Beauties, contain aesthetic elements that can affect the emotions of the viewer.

The Great Dictator was written and directed by Charlie Chaplin in 1940. From the start of the film, the socio-political satire begins with the following text: “This is a story of a period between two world wars — an interim in which Insanity cut loose, Liberty took a nose dive, and Humanity was kicked around somewhat”. When he wrote the screenplay for this film, Chaplin had no idea what kind of atrocities would be committed by the Nazis; therefore, the issue of the Holocaust was not treated quite as sensitively as it would be in years to come.

The most memorable scene depicts Adenoid Hynkel (Chaplin), kicking a balloon-like globe around his office gently and beautifully; after a few minutes of lovely musical accompaniment, Hynkel (a characterization of Hitler) pops the globe and is left with nothing but ripped plastic. Chaplin also plays the role of a little Jewish barber who gets sent to a concentration camp. The camp is not representative of what we now know had been going on; the concentration camp was actually portrayed to be nothing more than crammed, poverty-stricken, living.

The similar physique of Hynkel and the Barber makes one wonder why Hitler would have killed people so similar to himself. Hynkel and Hitler both preached for the domination of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed humans, however, neither of them were blonde or blue-eyed. The barber sneaks out with former Nazi Captain Schultz; the barber and Hynkel resemble each other so closely that upon reaching the village of Pretzelburg, the little jewish barber is recognized as Hynkel (also little). The crowd guides the barber to a podium, from where Hynkel is supposed to speak to an enormous, seemingly endless, crowd of people. The barber improvises and speaks from his own humanitarian point of view. His speech is a socio-political statement pertaining to the disastrous situations of the times, and is responded to by quite some applause. This speech is at the end of the film and includes the following excerpt:

“We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want . . . more than machinery, we need humanity . . . you are not cattle . . . soldiers, do not fight for slavery, fight for liberty . . . do away with national barriers . . . hate and intolerance.”

As Chaplin s roles in The Great Dictator show, characterization played a big role in the expression of the negative political implications in these films. Hitler s power and authority displayed with sarcasm and comedy. Chaplin s performance as Hynkel was remarkable and extremely powerful; his powerfully fierce voice was authoritarian, visually as well as audibly. When Hynkel gives speeches, his voice causes even the microhones to back away. Hynkel instructs his followers as to when to applaud, giving hand signals to cut the clapping. In one scene, he pours water in his ear and it shoots out of his mouth, to imply Hitler s ignorance and brainlessness. The Bacterian leader Napoloni (representing the Italian leader, Mussollini) was portrayed to be a big eater, macho and somewhat of a ham. Hynkel deceives him by promising not to invade Osterlich (Austria), while he plans to move in as soon as the Bacterian troops recede. Characterization was also a key element in Seven Beauties, written and directed by Lina Wertmuller in 1976.

Giancarlo Giannini was Wertmuller s star underdog. Wertmuller casted him in several films, in which he plays similar characters. In each role, he is ultimately controlled by political systems, as well as his own and others sexual drives. Unable to challenge a parasitic system, he capitulates and adjusts to its social requirements. ( Stromgren, 294) In Seven Beauties, Pasqualino Frafuso (Giannini) is an Italian soldier who leaves his soon-to-be defeated ground troops. He says to a fellow soldier, “I kill for Mussollini, for no reason”; this expresses the fascist militarism and nationalism required of Mussollini s Italian supporters. Throughout the movie, Pasqualino is forced to contradict his moral conscience in order to survive.

Pasqualino goes from jail, to an asylum, to war, and then to a concentration camp. In the concentration camp, Pasqualino watches the Nazis execute prisoners while playing waltz music; this equates the ruthless murders to a form of entertainment. Fearing his own murderous destiny, Pasqualino wonders why “even the Jews, who are supposed to be so smart” can not do anything about the situation. He is permitted to survive if he chooses six innocent prisoners to be executed and does sexual favors for the commandant of a German concentration camp. The commandant is played by Shirley Stoler (This woman is, undoubtedly, one of the most disgusting people I have ever seen, and in this movie, I saw her half-naked. Uhgg!). The character that Stoler plays adds an aesthetic value to one theme of this film, which is the degradation of Nazis. The manly, obese woman refers to the “subhuman Italians”, which exhibits the racist attitudes of the Nazis. The city of Naples is portrayed to be full of poverty and struggle leading to prostitution and crime. Pasqualino goes to jail for the murder of a pimp, named Tottonno. Pasqualino s sister turns out to be a prostitute, so he kills Tottonno. A young girl in the beginning of the film adored Pasqualino, who gave her supportive advice on life; when he is finally set free years later, she, like his own sister, has also become a prostitute. The dark, dreary sets along with the extremely scornful, displeasing mood of the film cause the viewer to feel significantly better about their own life. Pasqualino refers to his dedication to defending his honor throughout the early part of the film; throughout the film, however, he chooses to give up his honor for the chance to survive. The dark, sarcastic humor of Seven Beauties is very different from the fast-paced, witty, almost bright comedy of To Be or Not To Be.

To Be or Not To Be was directed by Ernst Lubitsch, in 1942. An all-star cast, including Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, graced the stage with their shining faces in the midst of such a tragic war. This gleeful performance created a pleasant mood for the anti-Nazi film. The plot is interesting; a group of polish theatre actors are faced with the opportunity to save Poland, by preventing Professor Siletsky from delivering espionage paperwork to the Nazis. The authority Hitler s dictatorship possessed was exaggerated in this film. In one scene, Bronski, posing as the Fuhrer, commands two German soldiers to jump from a plane with no parachute; they plunge to their death, while the Polish Actors fly away free.

Carole Lombard s character, who played the seductress in To Be or Not To Be, did an excellent job of poking fun at the Nazis hunger for women. She was able to manipulate the actions of the Tomanian generals, and also adds a visually beautiful (aesthetic) character to a dull situation. Her humor and her compelling style are methods of lightening the moods of the war-time viewer. What made Maria Tura seem so authentic was probably Lombard s personal attachment to the war. In 1941, Lombard returned home to Indiana for a war bond rally, which were often promoted by stars during these times. On her way back to California, Carole s plane went down outside of Las Vegas; at the age of thirty three, Carole Lombard died before the release of her last film, To Be or Not To Be.

All of the films imply that sexual temptation can be more effective than one s own personal agenda. In Seven Beauties, sexual pressure was portrayed in the form of manizing, rather than womanizing. In the other two films, woman are the target of the power-tripping leaders.

In all of these films, political systems are obviously challenged. The plot of To Be or Not To Be was extremely amusing and interesting as it provides a humorous, fast-paced enactment of such a devastating situation. The Great Dictator was a direct mockery of the current political situation. Seven Beauties was a statement for the working class Italian, and a message against a demoralizing Fascist society.

Bibliography

Greenfield, K. R. “U.S. Army in World War Two”

Chronology 1941-1945,

Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History Department of the Army, 1960.

Messenger, C. “The Chronological Atlas of World War Two”

New York, NY: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989.

Stromgren, R. L. “Light and Shadows”

A History of Motion Pictures third edition,

Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1975.