shindlers list essy

‘Shindler’s List’ is a film by Spielberg which goes into detail about the terrifying death of the Jews in the Holocaust. I’m going to analyse the scene The ‘Liquidation of the ghetto’ which is very effective in the behaviour of the Jews by the Nazis because it represents how dreadful and shocking that day really was.
One of the ways in which Spielberg effectively reveals the situation is by showing Shindler and Goeth as opposites. When we first see them they are both shaving. Spielberg uses this scene to show how Shindler and Goeths characters are different. The scene cuts to Schindler shaving his face. It then cuts to a parallel shot of Goeth shaving. The shot continues to go back and forth between the two men. Spielberg does this to demonstrate their different state of minds. You can see this because when Shindler is shaving he hums but when Goeth is shaving he is silent, we also see this by the way they shave, when Shindler shaves he does it rough as if nothing’s wrong but Goeth does it gently because he knows what’s up. The camera is used to show the comparison between both men which suggest they are getting ready for something (Goeth to kill all the Jews and for Shindler to start saving the Jews) this shows that Shindler is oblivious of what is going to happen; he believes that it is just another day. However Goeths distress while shaving shows that he knows today is not any other day, today is a horrifying day which will become known history.
Goeth however is presented as being the most evil of the Nazi party. He is malicious, cold, and likes to kill. On occasion he shoots Jews from his balcony at random. His speech ‘Today is history. Today will be remembered…Today is history and you are part of it… the Jews came. They trundled their belongings into the city. They settled. They took hold… For six centuries there has been a Jewish Krakow. By this evening those six centuries will be a rumour…Today is history’. The speech creates a threatening and sinister mood. His repetition of ‘Today is history’ shows that he is realizing that today is a very serious day and it shows that he is trying to make soldiers believe that they are a part of some extraordinary event and they are going to be heroes by killing all the Jews. Also throughout the scene the Nazis are focused with the Jews. Goeth is speaking negatively about them but we don’t see them this way. When we see the Jews we are shown that what he is saying about the Jews is not true. We see the Jews looking lovingly at each other and we see them sitting around a table eating breakfast like a normal and happy family. When we see the Jews they are half in light and half in shadow which represents how what we see links to what will happen later.

The girl in the red jacket is used very effectively. She is important because she symbolizes the innocence of the Jews. Later when Shindler and his wife are out riding they pull up to a ledge that overlooks the ghetto which makes him look like he has power. The camera provides a close up of his wife’s unaware look before panning to an expression of repulsion on Schindler's face which creates an atmosphere between him and the audience. When Shindler spots the girl in the red jacket it is a long shot for him to her and then goes to a pan shot which is showing that it is Shindlers eyes watching the little girl. To Shindler the girl and her red jacket signifies the innocence of the Jews being slaughtered. At the start the coat is red and she is being ignored which makes the audience think that the red jacket is protecting her but when it dulls down to black it turns back to people thinking there is no hope. Spielberg makes it that he sees her from a high atop a hill as if he is engrossed by her.

Sound effects are used carefully trough out the scene to emphasize the impressions we are given by the visual images. Much of the soundtrack consists of a diegetic sound from dogs barking to Nazis yelling to car engines running. Spielberg also uses a contrapuntal sound to show more emotion with the sound of children singing. The effect of this is emotional because we hear a happy song but what we are seeing is something awful. Later on in this scene a Jew who hid in the piano decides to get out and steps of the piano which creates a sound bridge of him standing on it to the speed of the piano playing by the Nazi which has the effect of how fast the guns are shooting and how the soldiers find it easy to kill all the Jews.

Overall this section of this film is very emotional because it shows how disturbing and distressing this day was for the Jews. It makes the audience feel very angry and upset that someone would murder people because of their religion and makes us realize that is still happen today.