Thursday, May 17, 2012

PERIOD 3 - BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

Please share your thoughts about the film.


22 comments:

Veda Awasthi said...

This movie was one of the most powerful movies for me that we watched during the course. I though it was interesting how easily Bruno's sister believed what the German tutor was teaching her like when the Jewish man was beaten up by a soldier and she told Bruno that the man deserved it. I think Bruno's interaction with the Jewish characters in the movie portrays the innocence of Bruno and exemplifies how unhumane all the Nazi soldiers were. When Bruno denies his friendship with the Jewish boy in front of the soldier I thought it demonstrated the fear that people had in speaking up against the Nazis even if they didn't agree with them. Also when Bruno's father told Bruno that the "farmers" weren't even people I was shocked at how they treated Jewish people like animals and it really dehumanized the Nazis for me because it showed how they had no guilt for what they were doing to innocent people.

Jodie Shrier said...

This movie took my breath away. When Bruno set out for the last time to go see Shmo, I just assumed he was going to help Shmo get out, or that once he was in, Bruno was going to go through the everyday life of what the Jews had gone threw in the camps. Never once did it pop into my mind that in the end Bruno would end up gassed to death. This movie for me made me think of so many things. One thing that came to my mind is the strength of friendship between Bruno and Shmo. Bruno had no idea what he was getting himself into once he crossed the fence, from his dad, he expected a happy place where people enjoy being. Which in the end, Bruno never learned. All in all, to think that in a way Bruno's father killed his own son is absolutely horrifying. What hurts me the most is to see how impacted he was by Bruno have entered the camp, but yet, hes fine allowing thousands of Jews there. When I was younger I was asked tow atch this movie with my family but had said no, but now having seen it Im glad I had said no. At the age that I was, I would not have been able to understand what was truley going on in the movie.

Mary Schmitt said...

This movie was the most powerful to me that we've watched so far. It was horrible to see how the germans, especially Bruno's father and his men, treated the Jews. They were like lower than dirt, not even human they said. They were completely cruel and merciless to Shmo and the Jewish ex-doctor. It was also interesting how easily his sister believed what the tutur was saying. It was so depressing when they both died, but I thought that it was like karma to the dad for being such a horrible, evil person. What goes around comes around, and because he helped the slaughter of millions of Jews, he lost his son to his own twisted system.

Vanessa Clemons said...

This movie opened my mind to a whole new level of hatred. It was appalling to me that the father would continue to do the work that he does after seeing his wife's and son's reactions. To me, the Nazis were the cruelest leaders ever to have lived. This film leaves a really powerful impression. It shows a new side to the Nazis where they go against their own families. One of the father's soldiers went against his own father, who didn't believe in what the Nazis did. It amazed me how easy it was for them to follow Hitler instead of their families. Also the ending of this movie, when the two boys die, left a really significant weight on me. This movie was really hard to watch because the boys were so innocent. Because this was just a microcosm of what happened during that time, it really shows how truly evil the Nazis were to have killed millions of innocent people.

Olivia Tortolini said...

This film was extremely touching. Throughout the entire movie I knew somehow that the storyline was going to turn, and a tragic ending was going to happen. When Bruno went into the gas chamber with Shmo and the dad finally realized what was going on, it was sort of a bitter sweet moment for me. In one way I was glad that the father finally realized what he was doing was so wrong, and got to feel how all of the Jews have been feeling for all this time. Yet at the same time I felt so horrible because Bruno was such an innocent little boy and never did anything wrong, and his life was spared. This movie made me feel very upset once it was over.

Connor Whamond said...

This movie movie was by far the most powerful that we have seen in this course. When Bruno went to go see Shmuel for the last time I was thinking that either he was going to go dig him out or he was going to go live like Shmuel had been living when he was there so far. Then when he got in the camp I had never thought that there was a chance that he would have got gassed. Also when he got gassed I was thinking to myself I wonder if the father would have thought about quoting from the nazi's after having a loved one his gassed?

Rachel Siegal said...

One of the biggest things the movie left with me was how the Nazis had desensitized themselves to the Jewish people actually being people. I wonder, if when the father found out that Bruno had been gassed, if even then he could start to relate to the Jewish families that had been torn apart, and the pain of losing a child. It was such a contrasting scene- the dad goes from talking about 'how many hundreds of Jews they can exterminate in the next week' to realizing that his son is now one of those hundreds. It was also very touching for me when Bruno started digging the hole, and when the boys were giggling about how big the pajamas were on both of them. It shows the strength of the human spirit, and a child's spirit, even in the worst possible conditions. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is one of those movies where every time you see it, you wish over and over that it would end a different way. But the sad ending is part of the reason why the movie sticks with you. It tries to show the truth of what happened, instead of dressing it up and making it end happily.

Shaina Lariviere said...

going into watching the movie, i automatically thought that i knew the ending. The boy in the stripped pajamas was going to be killed and he would have only been impacted by loosing a friend. I was wrong. Through the whole movie i watched the friendship form, both not understanding what happening, there surroundings. Only to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both of those boys were murdered. I couldn't believe what i was seeing. I was struck with shock and aw as i started to cry in class. That movie affected me. Not only empatheticaly because i have younger siblings and to loose a family member in that kind of manner. i can't belive that was the ending. right now thinking about it im getting pissed of.

Matt Demers said...

This movie was extremely powerful. It showed the bond of two kids that were complete opposites. One being a Jew and the other being the son of a German SS officer. I was very surprised my the ending. I thought the Jewish boy was going to crawl under the fence and escape. It showed how the death of the boy made his father realize what they were doing and how wrong it was.

Tim Jerome said...

This was the most powerful movie yet. I am still shocked by that ending. I have hated how the Germans treat the Jews like they are pieces of garbage. You wouldn't like it if anyone else treated you like that, so don't do that to anyone else. I thought it was just said how Bruno's older sister was already hypnotized into the Nazi mentality, hanging up posters of Hitler in her room. Bruno was such a smart young kid who unfortunately had to live in a Nazi infested home. When Shmo was in the house cleaning the glasses, Bruno should have said that he gave Shmo the food. There's no harm in that. If Bruno wanted to give him the food that's his life choice to make. I was shocked to see that Bruno was willing to just go into the camp. Granted, he never knew that people were killed there. He wanted to be with Shmo and ultimately he got what he wanted. It's ironic how his mother was upset when she saw his clothes on the ground outside of the fence. It was Bruno's father's own twisted system that killed his son. It was Bruno's way of saying that you should value someone for who they actually are, not by their religion.

I agree with Mary on how what goes around comes around.

Ryan Crowe said...

The movie was at the least, difficult to watch. I had trouble watching Bruno's innocence and simple youth be so nieeve (Can't Spell). I was hoping they would try to escape or something, but Bruno walked into the gash chambers with Shmo and died. It was terrible, sad, did not make my day.

Max Pabon-Young said...

This movie impacted my psyche immensely. a very heartwarming yet devastating film. I had heard it was going to be saddening but not like that. I had a feeling Bruno was either going to be dead or his friend but I never expected them both to die via gas chambers. I would recommend it to anyone. I'm also glad that I had the opportunity to watch this film. The only complaint I had was not watching it in one day with the split in the film i lost the sense of attachment that I felt when his friend was beat by the Nazi guard.

Julie spiegel said...

This movie left a very huge impression on me.i got to see how the war effected kids. Bruno seemed so innocent and he almost didn't understand that anyone could hurt people for the reason they did. I thought it was awful how Germans try to teach their children that Jews are bad people and mean people at such a young age.... So they can justify that murdering Jews is ok. I reccomend that everyone sees this movie.

Colleen mulcahy said...

I really like the boy in the striped pajamas. I've seen it a couple times and everytime I see it it still makes an impression. I think this is a really powerful film and i'm glad that I had the chance to see it in context with this class.

Jeremy Lurier said...

This film was the most moving movie I have ever seen. At the end I felt an overwhelming mixture of emotions. I wanted to believe that Bruno's death was due to his father's bad karma. But then again, nobody deserves this type of death and therefore I was left sitting in my chair speechless.

Jacob Silverman said...

I have seen this film before but never the less it still got to me. After the film I heard some people saying, wow I never realized how aweful it was until I had a personal connection to it. Well in all honesty that pissed me off. I have had a personal connection to this and even if people aren't Jewish they should be able to understand the hurt and agony that is caused by the sistimatic killing of an entire people

Greg Alves said...

I think that this movie was so sad and incredibly powerful. Usually we have been watching movies and documentaries that dont have a personal connection. With this movie we became connected to Bruno and that made it so much harder to swallow the sadness of him dying.

Sadie Smith said...

This was the second time I had watched this movie. I think tht watching it this time made much more of an impact due to the fact that I have gained so much more knowledge about what was actually happening during world war ll. Even though it was my second time watching, it affected me just as much and made me feel sick to see that the nazis were such heartless and disgusting people.

Kim Woodcock said...

After watching this movie, I realized how unfair it was to all the young children who were blindsided by what was happening at this time. Seeing Bruno, a very young boy walk himself to his own death was terrifying. On a personal level, having one of my good family friends die at age 7 made this movie even more real for me. A lot of these kids never get to experience any of the great parts of life, which is heartbreaking to think about. I couldn't even bring myself to watch the ending as it was just too upsetting for me

Michael Fahey said...

This movie was very breath taking and very difficult to watch. I had been in class to watch the beginning and the end. So the only few parts I did see were brutal to watch. Bruno was such an innocent child who just wanted to help. Not being aware of what actually was happening, he had died and didn't even see it coming. It shows that friendship can go along way even if it doesn't seem like the right thing to do. I can definetly say that Brunos father understood what it was like to lose family. Losing a son to your own countrys evil ways is horrible. It's just to sad to even process in my head

Juliette Lloyd said...

This movie was so good and influential. I had seen the movie before and it was just as sad the second time watching it. The Jewish boy on the other side was very cute, which made the whole situation more tragic. Their forbidden friendship was so sad. The way that the sister was influenced by the teachings of the teacher was very disturbing. She threw away her dolls and completely embraced the Nazi way. The way that these ideas can influence anyone is terrible. The moment that really sticks in my mind is when the two boys joined hands at the end. The moment was so sad because the audience knew what was going to happen, but the kids didn't. The way that Bruno asked questions was so innocent. He didn't know about the evil that was going on in the camp. He just assumed that his friend was in camp and having fun. Whenever he asked about the numbers that the jewish boy had to wear, it tugged at my heart. This movie was so depressing because it was from a child's point of view. This movie just made the horrible treatment that the Jewish people had to go through during this time that much more real.

Ben Mugi said...

This movie was extremely, sad espicaily towards the end. Bruno was a just a little boy who was curious like any other eight year old. Bruno was happy to make new friend, and after finding out he was a jew,that didint change his friendship with him. After finding out that Shmuel's father died, he only thought of to help him find Shmuels father. The two little boys are brought into the gas chamber and gassed to death. Bruno's parents are heartbroken that and it makes me wonder how their relationship is affected by the death of their son.