Speilberg uses multiple components of filmmaking in order to make this scene unforgettable. The obvious one is that Speilberg places specific color in a black and white movie. He makes a little girls jacket red while everything else is in black and white, which makes her stand out. Speilberg may have chosen to do this specifically in this scene in order to show a turning point for Schindler. The expression on Schindler's face seems worried and scared for the little girl in the red jacket. He watches her scurry through the crowd while many people around her are being murdered. The way he looks are her makes it seem like Schindler is hoping she gets to a safe place and does not get killed in the action. Speilberg clearly wants us to recognize the little girl and Schindler's feelings about her as well, as he cuts from Schindler's face to the girl multiple times throughout the scene. Schindler's wife also asks to leave, showing how both him and his wife seem horrified by the action going on. Although, when his wife asks to leave, he does not flinch until he sees the little girl get inside and avoid being murdered. This further represents how Schindler really cares about this little girl in the red jacket. Also throughout this scene is the use of sound and music. As Schindler watches the little girl, there is extrinsic music playing, which is of little kids singing something in hebrew. Speilberg including little kids singing in this scene further signifies the idea that Schindler cares more about children. Also throughout the scene is the sound of all the chaos going on, such as gun shots and screams coming from the people. The layering sounds are affective in the way that is portrays an extremely busy scene going on, but Schindler does not take his eyes off the little girl in the red jacket, representing his feelings for her.
Speilberg uses many components of filmmaking to make meaning in this scene. As the shot focuses mainly on the girl walking in a red dress, the shot then turns to a closeup of Shindler's face. As we see his facial expressions as he watches everything that is happening below, we see fear and sympathy. Although we are never told that he is watching this little girl, we are able to assume that he is because our eyes are instantly drawn towards the little bit of color in the scene. Additionally, having the sound of children's voices singing causes more emotion because we sympathize even more with this young, innocent girl who is trying to find her way out of this situation. Unlike Shindler who is able to come and go as he pleases at the request of his wife, this little girl is unable to escape no matter what she tries to do.
This scene depicts Schindler's increasing horror with the Nazis' disregard for human life. Spielberg films Schindler on a hill looking down at the liquidation of the Krakow, implying Schindler resides on higher moral ground than his fellow party members. The scene is entirely in black and white except for a small girl wearing a red coat, whom we see walking along the street. The girl's coat gives her a unique identity. The Nazis do not see the Jews as individuals whose lives mean something, but rather as masses of animals. Schindler, though, does not buy into this dehumanization and sees the girl like he sees every human, Jewish or otherwise--as someone whose life means something. Her red coat and her youth give us hope. Despite the overlapping audio that combines the sounds of screams and shots with eerily calm music and suggests the unfortunate normalcy of such mass killings, the young girl allows us to be the slightest bit optimistic. But as she climbs the stairs--the bars of the railing entrapping her--and climbs under the bed, her coat changes back to black and white, ridding the viewer of the hope he had just a few seconds earlier. It becomes clear that Schindler must do something to fight injustice. He must leave the safety of his hill and join the Jews in their fight to be recognized as what they are: humans.
In this scene, Spielberg establishes the juxtaposition between Schindler’s indulgent lifestyle of mistresses and horseback riding, with the violence and murder of the evacuation of the Ghettos. Schindler has the luxury of being physically above the massive destruction; Spielberg gives him this vantage point so that he has the opportunity to witness the horror of the evacuation and therefore change his perspective about the Nazi party. Although the movie is almost entirely in black and white, Spielberg uses the faded-red of the coat of a young girl in order to highlight the gravity of the fact that even the youngest of children are victims of this massacre. The red of the coat helps the audience keep track of the girl, and Spielberg intermittently cuts back to Schindler’s expression of concern and disgust, in order to indicate that he too is following the girl with his eyes. Just like many germans of the time, Schindler’s mistress sees the atrocity and wants desperately to leave and have no part of it, while Schindler’s eyes still fixate on the child. Spielberg captures this closeup of Schindler’s expression in order to imply that unlike his mistress, Schindler will not ignore what is happening from this point on. Additionally, Spielberg uses the non-diegetic children’s hebrew music in order to contrast the horror of the evacuation of the Ghetto, and the innocent voices of the children whose lives and culture are at stake. Also, the music provides the audience with a haunting reminder that the Jewish culture that is at risk of being so completely and brutally purged. Spielberg reminds the audience that an entire culture is at stake, and there is a desperate need for Schindler’s action.
There are many different components of film Speilberg uses in this scene in order to convey its important message on innocence. The first component is the use of sound and music playing in the background. We hear a choir of children singing and it is paired with the scene of people getting forced out of there homes, and violence occurring. We also can hear the sound of gunshots and noises, which is a different sound to mix with that of the children singing. The sound component helps get across idea of how many innocent people, especially children, lost their lives during the Holocaust. Another use of film component that makes this scene so special is the coloring. The red jacket stands out and the young girl is what Schindler, and the audience, is focused on throughout the scene. The red is used to emphasize the little girl and draw everyones attention to her. The little girl is supposed to represent innocence, and the reality of the Holocaust. It evokes an emotional response from not only the audience, but Schindler as well. It opens his eyes and helps with his transformation into a better man. Spielberg uses both of these components in order to further get across the horrors and cruelty that occurred during the Holocaust. They are essential in the film in order to create an emotional response from the audience.
Spielberg uses visual motifs to convey to illuminate Schindler’s position as a hero in the film, and separate him from the Nazi Party.. Up until this point, Schindler has seen the Jews as a cog within his enamel factory. They are cheap labor, and although he does see them as human beings, he is benefitting from their misfortune. Schindler watches the factory from above in his office, in a position of authority and superiority. But during the liquidation of the ghetto, this position becomes less authoritarian, and more divine. Schindler is not one among his fallow Nazi Party members nor overseeing his Jewish employees. He must internalize the violence as an individual, and make decisions based on his own moral code rather than Party propaganda or business practices. Spielberg uses Schindler’s isolation and height to convey that while Schindler retains his power and authority, he has gained new self-awareness. Furthermore, Spielberg uses the red jacket to emphasize that Schindler still sees the Jews as people. Even as the rest of society is able to accept the dehumanization of the Jews, Schindler cannot. At the end of the film, Schindler goes through the objects in his possession, valuing them as individuals he could have saved. This stark contrast between the Nazis, who see the Jews as inhuman and valueless, with Schindler’s sensitivity and respect is introduced in this scene with the color of the little girl’s jacket. The jacket allows the viewer to hone in on the little girl automatically because of the contrast to the rest of the scene. Spielberg wants the viewer to follow the girl, just as Schindler does. Even among the violence and chaos of the liquidation, Schindler focuses on the individual, following the little girl and only leaving once she is out of sight. Spielberg wants the viewer to retain this same value of the individual, instead of becoming desensitized to the violence like the Nazis. Spielberg uses Schindler’s position above the ghetto and the color of the girl’s jacket to emphasize Schindler will not compromise his morals like the rest of his society, and thus establishes his heroism.
Spielberg films this scene with Schindler on a hill looking down on the evacuation of the ghettos. It is clear that he has a different perspective both morally and physically and from the Nazi officers who are evacuating. Physically he has a different perspective because he is watching from above, he is seeing the extent of the destruction all at once. In contrast to each individual officer who is only experiencing the destruction that they perform. Spielberg shows that Schindler is morally above the other Nazi officers by having the one little girl be shown in color in the scene. Spielberg filmed the movie in black and white besides this little girl who had a red coat. The Nazis did not see the Jews as human let alone as individuals. But using this film technique expresses how Schindler did see them as individuals. He did not see this little girl as just another body, he saw her as a person, an innocent child. Because Schindler was able to see her individuality, so were we as viewers because we then followed the girl as she went into hiding under a bed. We also see her dead body later in the film, still in the red coat. Although this is a heartbreaking end, Schindler notices the girls body even when it's dead which shows that the Jews that did not survive still held their individuality.
In this poignant scene, Spielberg uses a tiny bit of color in a black-and-white movie in order to draw attention to a little girl making her way through the slaughter in the Ghetto. The little girl's red dress causes her to stand out more than any other component of the scene. This usage of color has two major effects. First, it forces the viewer to realize the depth of the atrocities the Nazis are committing, as this girl who can't be older than five is forced to witness the murders of countless people. Also when Schindler later sees the body of this girl in the death pits, the terror of the Nazi's actions hits home for Schindler.
The color of the girl's dress is also used to remind Schindler (and the viewer) that the Nazi's victims are people rather than just persecuted objects. Though Jews have been killed throughout the movie, Schindler is able to distance himself from the murders because he is not personally connected to them. It isn't until he meets the workers in his factory and realizes the safety his factory provides that he begins to actively thwart the Nazis. In this scene, however, Schindler and the viewer is forced to recognize this little girl not just as one of a countless number of victims, but as an individual. This realization is what makes the scene so powerful, because as hard as it may be to imagine the deaths of almost an entire religious group, it is even harder to comprehend the systematic murder of 6 million separate individuals.
This scene is really a defining moment in the film in terms of the audience's emotional connection to Schindler. This is one of the first signs of Schindler's kind-heartedness and empathy towards the Jews. He saw each of the Jews as people, not just targets for mass murder. Throughout the film, Spielberg attempts to make the audience really feel the emotions that the characters in the movie felt, whether it be the Jews or Schindler himself. In this scene, Spielberg portray's Schindler's ability to see each of the Jews as their own individual people, in particular this young girl in the red jacket. The colored jacket that stands out amongst the black and white around her depicts her individuality, which we see Schindler recognizing. It's also used as a method of distinction, as we see this girl's dead body later, while still wearing the red jacket. This is another attempt from Spielberg to get the audience to feel the remorse that Schindler felt, almost as if we knew or had a personal connection to that girl.
As a Christian, or non-Jew, Schindler is able to watch the entire genocide from above without taking part. That being said, by watching, this is a turning point for Schindler in the film. He finally realizes exactly what the Nazi's are doing, and sees it for himself. By experiencing the death, he resolves for the first time to directly do something about it. Furthermore, this is the first time he and the viewers see the girl in the red coat. Against the black and white of the film, we know she is important. A tiny little girl is effected so awfully by the Holocaust, and it really brings into perspective the extent of the genocide for the viewer and for Schindler. The music, melancholy and sung in Hebrew, breaks the heart of the viewer as they watch an entire people be exterminated. The viewer develops an emotional bond to the film, and its outcome. People running around and panicking while the girl in red walks calmly symbolizes that there is nothing to be done, the Jews cannot escape their fate at the hands of the Nazi regime. Schindler is above it all, yet he can still make the decision to do good and save people, and he does. This is the first point in the film where we see emotion from Schindler, and the viewer in seeing this can create an emotional connection with him as well.
The most startling technique Spielberg uses in this scene is the introduction of the color red, in the young girls jacket, to his almost entirely black and white film. The scene flips between shots of Schindler, high above the Warsaw Ghetto, majestically looking down from atop his horse, to the girl in red wandering through the chaotic streets. This scene symbolizes the beginning of transformation of Schindler's character from ambitious business man who seeks to take advantage of an opportune situation to compassionate fellow human, who sees the a grave injustice unfolding. Although, at this point, he is shot above the Jews, looking down, he notices, for the first time, that they are individual people, not numbers, not vermin, worthy of respect and equality. He can identify one girl and see her as separate from the masses. The music played throughout this scene is sung by children, and sounds as if it is a prayer, communicating to the viewer not only the individuality of these people, as Schindler notices, but the cruelty of the events by juxtaposing the visual with innocent and peaceful sounding music.
Spielberg uses music and color in order to add meaning to this scene. First, the film is in black and white, this artistic choice makes the film seem more realistic, as if the audience was watching footage from the 1940’s. I believe the director made this choice because of its effectiveness in bringing the audience back in time and immersing them in the tragedy. The only color in the film is of the coat of a young girl that Schindler sees a couple of times in the film. The director uses the red coat to draw attention to the fact that not only adults, but also young children were affected by this cruelty and violence. Not only does this evoke the emotion of sympathy and shock towards the Nazi’s actions, but it also gives the viewer a consistent symbol to track throughout the film. Spielberg also uses music to highlight the innocence of all the people being killed. Throughout the scene, the viewer can hear a song sung by children. This song sounds so childlike and innocent that it indicates to the viewer the innocence of the people being brutally killed on screen.
In this scene Spielberg uses schindler's positioning on a hill above the geto to emphasises the transition of his emotions throughout the film. His view of the liquidation can be seems as him being distant from the horror and violence. He is far enough away to say to himself he had nothing to do with what occurred in the ghetto, but he was also a bystander. His position could also symbolise how he feels he is above the acts of the Natizes. The whole scene, up until the end, is shot from a bird's eye view, or more specifically from Schindler's perspective. This is a transformative point in the film because it shows the shift of Schindler's emotions, and how he is beginning to feel responsible for saving these peoples lives. The girl in the red coat symbolises the millions of innocent lives that were terminated because of the holocaust. She seems to be the only individual in the scene, because all the other people blend together with the black and white filming. Here, Spielberg is attempting to get the audience to understand that dispate the magnitude of the deaths during the holocaust and world war two, each person who died was an individual, more than just a body in a pile of other bodies.
The scene highlights the horror of what the Nazis did in several ways. The scene cuts back and forth between between the little girl in the red dress and the facial expressions of schindler. As the little girl is walking around the ghetto, people are getting shot left and right. The girl in the red highlights the innocence of the Jews in this situation. With schindler looking down at the scene from the top of a hill, it symbolizes his transformation from being a businessman to being the moral hero from the situation. His facial expressions highlight how he realizes the brutality of what is going on in the ghetto. Unlike the Nazis, Schindler realizes that the Jews are real people. Even though he is on top of a hill, which could symbolize that he is above the Jews and has more power than them, this exemplifies how moral of a person he is. He is involved with the Nazis, yet he still is still a good enough person to be a hero in this situation.
The shot we get of Schindler is a close-up so we can see his reaction to the horror on the town below. Previously greedy and uncaring for others, he shows a look of pain and horror on the scene below. As it appears to be from his point of view in this scene, the little girl stands out to him as her red coat is the only color in the entire scene. While on his horse he follows the girls movements fearing for her life as others are being shot around her. Here he shows emotion towards the Jews, something he thought he'd never feel. Yet, her red coat suggests his epiphany that Jews are real people and he can finally become more than a bystander in this war. As he looks down at her he comes to a realization that what is happening is horrible and he has the chance to do something.
This scene shows the turning point in Schindler where he decides to protect his workers as much as possible. Spielberg uses the girl in red to draw attention to the atrocities the Nazis are committing. Like the red dress draws Schindler's attention to the crimes of the Nazis, the dress also draws the viewer to those same crimes. Until this moment, the Nazis are killing unnamed Jews. But now, not only are the killing someone that has become a character, but also a child. Her story makes all the killings done seem even more real. Since she is the only color in any of the shots, the viewer's eye is drawn to her, and as a result, the viewer follows her like Schindler does. Spielberg also decides to put Schindler on a hill overlooking the Ghetto. This symbolizes that he is standing on a sort of moral high ground. He has realized that what the Nazis are doing is wrong, and although he won't write the list until much later, he begins doing this that cost him money to save his workers, rather than exploiting them for work.
In one of the few instances in the film Spielberg incorporates color into this turning point for Oskar Schindler. He looks down as the Nazis liquify the Krakow ghetto and sees a small jewish girl in a pink coat wandering through the mass shootings and general mahem and violence. Schinlder sits high above the carnage, however, and has the option to stay outside of the conflict but he elects to join and save as many Jews as he can. As Spielberg follows the little girl we see her run up a flight of stairs with iron bars, symbolizing entrapment, and hide under a bed. The subsequent scene of the SS murdering hiding Jews implies the outcome of the little girl's struggle. This heart wrenching and shockingly somber scene marks one of the major shifts in the tone of the film as Schindler's charming persona looses its drunken glow and he must change to adapt to his environment and the changing point of view of the audience.
Speilberg uses multiple components of filmmaking in order to make this scene unforgettable. The obvious one is that Speilberg places specific color in a black and white movie. He makes a little girls jacket red while everything else is in black and white, which makes her stand out. Speilberg may have chosen to do this specifically in this scene in order to show a turning point for Schindler. The expression on Schindler's face seems worried and scared for the little girl in the red jacket. He watches her scurry through the crowd while many people around her are being murdered. The way he looks are her makes it seem like Schindler is hoping she gets to a safe place and does not get killed in the action. Speilberg clearly wants us to recognize the little girl and Schindler's feelings about her as well, as he cuts from Schindler's face to the girl multiple times throughout the scene. Schindler's wife also asks to leave, showing how both him and his wife seem horrified by the action going on. Although, when his wife asks to leave, he does not flinch until he sees the little girl get inside and avoid being murdered. This further represents how Schindler really cares about this little girl in the red jacket.
ReplyDeleteAlso throughout this scene is the use of sound and music. As Schindler watches the little girl, there is extrinsic music playing, which is of little kids singing something in hebrew. Speilberg including little kids singing in this scene further signifies the idea that Schindler cares more about children. Also throughout the scene is the sound of all the chaos going on, such as gun shots and screams coming from the people. The layering sounds are affective in the way that is portrays an extremely busy scene going on, but Schindler does not take his eyes off the little girl in the red jacket, representing his feelings for her.
Speilberg uses many components of filmmaking to make meaning in this scene. As the shot focuses mainly on the girl walking in a red dress, the shot then turns to a closeup of Shindler's face. As we see his facial expressions as he watches everything that is happening below, we see fear and sympathy. Although we are never told that he is watching this little girl, we are able to assume that he is because our eyes are instantly drawn towards the little bit of color in the scene. Additionally, having the sound of children's voices singing causes more emotion because we sympathize even more with this young, innocent girl who is trying to find her way out of this situation. Unlike Shindler who is able to come and go as he pleases at the request of his wife, this little girl is unable to escape no matter what she tries to do.
ReplyDeleteThis scene depicts Schindler's increasing horror with the Nazis' disregard for human life. Spielberg films Schindler on a hill looking down at the liquidation of the Krakow, implying Schindler resides on higher moral ground than his fellow party members. The scene is entirely in black and white except for a small girl wearing a red coat, whom we see walking along the street. The girl's coat gives her a unique identity. The Nazis do not see the Jews as individuals whose lives mean something, but rather as masses of animals. Schindler, though, does not buy into this dehumanization and sees the girl like he sees every human, Jewish or otherwise--as someone whose life means something. Her red coat and her youth give us hope. Despite the overlapping audio that combines the sounds of screams and shots with eerily calm music and suggests the unfortunate normalcy of such mass killings, the young girl allows us to be the slightest bit optimistic. But as she climbs the stairs--the bars of the railing entrapping her--and climbs under the bed, her coat changes back to black and white, ridding the viewer of the hope he had just a few seconds earlier. It becomes clear that Schindler must do something to fight injustice. He must leave the safety of his hill and join the Jews in their fight to be recognized as what they are: humans.
ReplyDeleteIn this scene, Spielberg establishes the juxtaposition between Schindler’s indulgent lifestyle of mistresses and horseback riding, with the violence and murder of the evacuation of the Ghettos. Schindler has the luxury of being physically above the massive destruction; Spielberg gives him this vantage point so that he has the opportunity to witness the horror of the evacuation and therefore change his perspective about the Nazi party. Although the movie is almost entirely in black and white, Spielberg uses the faded-red of the coat of a young girl in order to highlight the gravity of the fact that even the youngest of children are victims of this massacre. The red of the coat helps the audience keep track of the girl, and Spielberg intermittently cuts back to Schindler’s expression of concern and disgust, in order to indicate that he too is following the girl with his eyes. Just like many germans of the time, Schindler’s mistress sees the atrocity and wants desperately to leave and have no part of it, while Schindler’s eyes still fixate on the child. Spielberg captures this closeup of Schindler’s expression in order to imply that unlike his mistress, Schindler will not ignore what is happening from this point on. Additionally, Spielberg uses the non-diegetic children’s hebrew music in order to contrast the horror of the evacuation of the Ghetto, and the innocent voices of the children whose lives and culture are at stake. Also, the music provides the audience with a haunting reminder that the Jewish culture that is at risk of being so completely and brutally purged. Spielberg reminds the audience that an entire culture is at stake, and there is a desperate need for Schindler’s action.
ReplyDeleteThere are many different components of film Speilberg uses in this scene in order to convey its important message on innocence. The first component is the use of sound and music playing in the background. We hear a choir of children singing and it is paired with the scene of people getting forced out of there homes, and violence occurring. We also can hear the sound of gunshots and noises, which is a different sound to mix with that of the children singing. The sound component helps get across idea of how many innocent people, especially children, lost their lives during the Holocaust.
ReplyDeleteAnother use of film component that makes this scene so special is the coloring. The red jacket stands out and the young girl is what Schindler, and the audience, is focused on throughout the scene. The red is used to emphasize the little girl and draw everyones attention to her. The little girl is supposed to represent innocence, and the reality of the Holocaust. It evokes an emotional response from not only the audience, but Schindler as well. It opens his eyes and helps with his transformation into a better man. Spielberg uses both of these components in order to further get across the horrors and cruelty that occurred during the Holocaust. They are essential in the film in order to create an emotional response from the audience.
Spielberg uses visual motifs to convey to illuminate Schindler’s position as a hero in the film, and separate him from the Nazi Party.. Up until this point, Schindler has seen the Jews as a cog within his enamel factory. They are cheap labor, and although he does see them as human beings, he is benefitting from their misfortune. Schindler watches the factory from above in his office, in a position of authority and superiority. But during the liquidation of the ghetto, this position becomes less authoritarian, and more divine. Schindler is not one among his fallow Nazi Party members nor overseeing his Jewish employees. He must internalize the violence as an individual, and make decisions based on his own moral code rather than Party propaganda or business practices. Spielberg uses Schindler’s isolation and height to convey that while Schindler retains his power and authority, he has gained new self-awareness.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Spielberg uses the red jacket to emphasize that Schindler still sees the Jews as people. Even as the rest of society is able to accept the dehumanization of the Jews, Schindler cannot. At the end of the film, Schindler goes through the objects in his possession, valuing them as individuals he could have saved. This stark contrast between the Nazis, who see the Jews as inhuman and valueless, with Schindler’s sensitivity and respect is introduced in this scene with the color of the little girl’s jacket. The jacket allows the viewer to hone in on the little girl automatically because of the contrast to the rest of the scene. Spielberg wants the viewer to follow the girl, just as Schindler does. Even among the violence and chaos of the liquidation, Schindler focuses on the individual, following the little girl and only leaving once she is out of sight. Spielberg wants the viewer to retain this same value of the individual, instead of becoming desensitized to the violence like the Nazis. Spielberg uses Schindler’s position above the ghetto and the color of the girl’s jacket to emphasize Schindler will not compromise his morals like the rest of his society, and thus establishes his heroism.
Spielberg films this scene with Schindler on a hill looking down on the evacuation of the ghettos. It is clear that he has a different perspective both morally and physically and from the Nazi officers who are evacuating. Physically he has a different perspective because he is watching from above, he is seeing the extent of the destruction all at once. In contrast to each individual officer who is only experiencing the destruction that they perform. Spielberg shows that Schindler is morally above the other Nazi officers by having the one little girl be shown in color in the scene. Spielberg filmed the movie in black and white besides this little girl who had a red coat. The Nazis did not see the Jews as human let alone as individuals. But using this film technique expresses how Schindler did see them as individuals. He did not see this little girl as just another body, he saw her as a person, an innocent child. Because Schindler was able to see her individuality, so were we as viewers because we then followed the girl as she went into hiding under a bed. We also see her dead body later in the film, still in the red coat. Although this is a heartbreaking end, Schindler notices the girls body even when it's dead which shows that the Jews that did not survive still held their individuality.
ReplyDeleteIn this poignant scene, Spielberg uses a tiny bit of color in a black-and-white movie in order to draw attention to a little girl making her way through the slaughter in the Ghetto. The little girl's red dress causes her to stand out more than any other component of the scene. This usage of color has two major effects. First, it forces the viewer to realize the depth of the atrocities the Nazis are committing, as this girl who can't be older than five is forced to witness the murders of countless people. Also when Schindler later sees the body of this girl in the death pits, the terror of the Nazi's actions hits home for Schindler.
ReplyDeleteThe color of the girl's dress is also used to remind Schindler (and the viewer) that the Nazi's victims are people rather than just persecuted objects. Though Jews have been killed throughout the movie, Schindler is able to distance himself from the murders because he is not personally connected to them. It isn't until he meets the workers in his factory and realizes the safety his factory provides that he begins to actively thwart the Nazis. In this scene, however, Schindler and the viewer is forced to recognize this little girl not just as one of a countless number of victims, but as an individual. This realization is what makes the scene so powerful, because as hard as it may be to imagine the deaths of almost an entire religious group, it is even harder to comprehend the systematic murder of 6 million separate individuals.
This scene is really a defining moment in the film in terms of the audience's emotional connection to Schindler. This is one of the first signs of Schindler's kind-heartedness and empathy towards the Jews. He saw each of the Jews as people, not just targets for mass murder. Throughout the film, Spielberg attempts to make the audience really feel the emotions that the characters in the movie felt, whether it be the Jews or Schindler himself. In this scene, Spielberg portray's Schindler's ability to see each of the Jews as their own individual people, in particular this young girl in the red jacket. The colored jacket that stands out amongst the black and white around her depicts her individuality, which we see Schindler recognizing. It's also used as a method of distinction, as we see this girl's dead body later, while still wearing the red jacket. This is another attempt from Spielberg to get the audience to feel the remorse that Schindler felt, almost as if we knew or had a personal connection to that girl.
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian, or non-Jew, Schindler is able to watch the entire genocide from above without taking part. That being said, by watching, this is a turning point for Schindler in the film. He finally realizes exactly what the Nazi's are doing, and sees it for himself. By experiencing the death, he resolves for the first time to directly do something about it. Furthermore, this is the first time he and the viewers see the girl in the red coat. Against the black and white of the film, we know she is important. A tiny little girl is effected so awfully by the Holocaust, and it really brings into perspective the extent of the genocide for the viewer and for Schindler. The music, melancholy and sung in Hebrew, breaks the heart of the viewer as they watch an entire people be exterminated. The viewer develops an emotional bond to the film, and its outcome. People running around and panicking while the girl in red walks calmly symbolizes that there is nothing to be done, the Jews cannot escape their fate at the hands of the Nazi regime. Schindler is above it all, yet he can still make the decision to do good and save people, and he does. This is the first point in the film where we see emotion from Schindler, and the viewer in seeing this can create an emotional connection with him as well.
ReplyDeleteThe most startling technique Spielberg uses in this scene is the introduction of the color red, in the young girls jacket, to his almost entirely black and white film. The scene flips between shots of Schindler, high above the Warsaw Ghetto, majestically looking down from atop his horse, to the girl in red wandering through the chaotic streets. This scene symbolizes the beginning of transformation of Schindler's character from ambitious business man who seeks to take advantage of an opportune situation to compassionate fellow human, who sees the a grave injustice unfolding. Although, at this point, he is shot above the Jews, looking down, he notices, for the first time, that they are individual people, not numbers, not vermin, worthy of respect and equality. He can identify one girl and see her as separate from the masses. The music played throughout this scene is sung by children, and sounds as if it is a prayer, communicating to the viewer not only the individuality of these people, as Schindler notices, but the cruelty of the events by juxtaposing the visual with innocent and peaceful sounding music.
ReplyDeleteSpielberg uses music and color in order to add meaning to this scene. First, the film is in black and white, this artistic choice makes the film seem more realistic, as if the audience was watching footage from the 1940’s. I believe the director made this choice because of its effectiveness in bringing the audience back in time and immersing them in the tragedy. The only color in the film is of the coat of a young girl that Schindler sees a couple of times in the film. The director uses the red coat to draw attention to the fact that not only adults, but also young children were affected by this cruelty and violence. Not only does this evoke the emotion of sympathy and shock towards the Nazi’s actions, but it also gives the viewer a consistent symbol to track throughout the film. Spielberg also uses music to highlight the innocence of all the people being killed. Throughout the scene, the viewer can hear a song sung by children. This song sounds so childlike and innocent that it indicates to the viewer the innocence of the people being brutally killed on screen.
ReplyDeleteIn this scene Spielberg uses schindler's positioning on a hill above the geto to emphasises the transition of his emotions throughout the film. His view of the liquidation can be seems as him being distant from the horror and violence. He is far enough away to say to himself he had nothing to do with what occurred in the ghetto, but he was also a bystander. His position could also symbolise how he feels he is above the acts of the Natizes. The whole scene, up until the end, is shot from a bird's eye view, or more specifically from Schindler's perspective. This is a transformative point in the film because it shows the shift of Schindler's emotions, and how he is beginning to feel responsible for saving these peoples lives. The girl in the red coat symbolises the millions of innocent lives that were terminated because of the holocaust. She seems to be the only individual in the scene, because all the other people blend together with the black and white filming. Here, Spielberg is attempting to get the audience to understand that dispate the magnitude of the deaths during the holocaust and world war two, each person who died was an individual, more than just a body in a pile of other bodies.
ReplyDeleteThe scene highlights the horror of what the Nazis did in several ways. The scene cuts back and forth between between the little girl in the red dress and the facial expressions of schindler. As the little girl is walking around the ghetto, people are getting shot left and right. The girl in the red highlights the innocence of the Jews in this situation. With schindler looking down at the scene from the top of a hill, it symbolizes his transformation from being a businessman to being the moral hero from the situation. His facial expressions highlight how he realizes the brutality of what is going on in the ghetto. Unlike the Nazis, Schindler realizes that the Jews are real people. Even though he is on top of a hill, which could symbolize that he is above the Jews and has more power than them, this exemplifies how moral of a person he is. He is involved with the Nazis, yet he still is still a good enough person to be a hero in this situation.
ReplyDeleteThe shot we get of Schindler is a close-up so we can see his reaction to the horror on the town below. Previously greedy and uncaring for others, he shows a look of pain and horror on the scene below. As it appears to be from his point of view in this scene, the little girl stands out to him as her red coat is the only color in the entire scene. While on his horse he follows the girls movements fearing for her life as others are being shot around her. Here he shows emotion towards the Jews, something he thought he'd never feel. Yet, her red coat suggests his epiphany that Jews are real people and he can finally become more than a bystander in this war. As he looks down at her he comes to a realization that what is happening is horrible and he has the chance to do something.
ReplyDeleteThis scene shows the turning point in Schindler where he decides to protect his workers as much as possible. Spielberg uses the girl in red to draw attention to the atrocities the Nazis are committing. Like the red dress draws Schindler's attention to the crimes of the Nazis, the dress also draws the viewer to those same crimes. Until this moment, the Nazis are killing unnamed Jews. But now, not only are the killing someone that has become a character, but also a child. Her story makes all the killings done seem even more real. Since she is the only color in any of the shots, the viewer's eye is drawn to her, and as a result, the viewer follows her like Schindler does. Spielberg also decides to put Schindler on a hill overlooking the Ghetto. This symbolizes that he is standing on a sort of moral high ground. He has realized that what the Nazis are doing is wrong, and although he won't write the list until much later, he begins doing this that cost him money to save his workers, rather than exploiting them for work.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the few instances in the film Spielberg incorporates color into this turning point for Oskar Schindler. He looks down as the Nazis liquify the Krakow ghetto and sees a small jewish girl in a pink coat wandering through the mass shootings and general mahem and violence. Schinlder sits high above the carnage, however, and has the option to stay outside of the conflict but he elects to join and save as many Jews as he can. As Spielberg follows the little girl we see her run up a flight of stairs with iron bars, symbolizing entrapment, and hide under a bed. The subsequent scene of the SS murdering hiding Jews implies the outcome of the little girl's struggle. This heart wrenching and shockingly somber scene marks one of the major shifts in the tone of the film as Schindler's charming persona looses its drunken glow and he must change to adapt to his environment and the changing point of view of the audience.
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