Schindler's List

This movie reflection is the historical drama named “Schindler’s List” was directed by Steven Spielberg in 1993 based on the actual story and novel “Schindler’s Ark” by an Australian novelist, Thomas Keneally. This film is mainly focused on racism (Germans – Jews) and Holocaust during World War II (1939~1945) involves good and evil, dehumanization and humanism, war and people, hypocrisy, and anti-war and anti-violence. This film depicts the events in detail at that time and involves two objectives. The first one is the cult of humanism through the Schindler’s list. The second one is to help the audience to experience the Holocaust indirectly and remind inhumanity awareness. 

There are two main actors; Oskar Schindler and Amon Goeth, who represent different human nature - good and evil. Although Schindler and Amon are the members of the Nazi Party, they have totally different attitudes and behaviors on Jewish.

Although Schindler is a German business, he saved the more than thousands of lives of Polish-Jewish refugees during World War II, by employing them in his factory becomes a hero of Jewish later. For the first time, he collaborated with the heads of Nazi to use the Jews free for his factory, but he finds the conscience in mind through the Jewish accountant Issac Stern. Besides, after he saw that the slaughter of Jews by Nazi Germans, he wants to rescue the Jewish people as many as he can leads him to be a humanist. Schindler try to conciliate Amon indirectly to be a generous officer can get more fame and reputation from his soldiers and others. On the other hand, Amon is a notorious German officer, who many people randomly within the camp regardless of elderly, women, and children. However, despite all of his actions, Amon does not feel any guilty becomes to be like a demon.

Every people have different attitudes and even behaviors in a same situation. Amon has the highest position in the ghetto, so he can influence and control people by his own. Then, why Amon commits the crime and becomes evil? Firstly guessing, when people grasp an opportunity of influence or control others, many people take advantage of it in which the temptation of power or the recognized power of social situations. Secondly, dehumanization always brings to unethical problems or moral conflict. The process of the perpetrator always looks at the victim as a non-human.  If so, why ordinary people do evil or do good? Do people were born as like that from the first? Is the issue of nurture or nature? Sometimes, situational foundations determine of people’s “evil” behaviors, such as demean dehumanization, harm, destroy, or kill innocent people.

There is no specific reason why “evil” occurs, but mostly pathetic, unhappy childhood, overheated emotions, experience with hurt are the common causes. The motivation to make evil behavior is surprisingly mediocre. Most people are exposed to at least one violent or life-threatening situation during the course of their lives. For that reason, some people experience acute distress and helpless states from which they are unable to recover.

Based on the psychology of evil and heroism, why good people are sometimes transformed into perpetrators? How people become monsters or heroes in a situation and why do good people turned evil. In our real life, evil can be fostered by dehumanization, diffusion or responsibility, obedience to authority, unjust systems, group pressure, moral disengagement, and anonymity, to name a few. According to Zimbardo’s Standford Prison Experiment (1971), the prison guards abused prisoners and handled them roughly. Guards behave brutally and prisoners behave incorrigibly because of the roles they have to play. Whereas the prison guards, the prisoners experienced and showed extreme hostility, hopelessness, low self-esteem, and depression in a short time. Zimbardo’s the Stanford Prison Study demonstrated the impact that role expectations can have on behavior. As we can see the truth through this experiment, evil is a normal and common phenomenon in human’s part appears not only to psychopath, but also to ordinary people.

Milgram’s experiment (1974) related on shocking obedience to authority figures supported that the Zimbardo’s study. Milgram believed that the situational variables have a strong sway than person factors in determining obedience. “Often it is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act.” by Milgram. In the film, even Jews in the camp physical and psychological immediacy was increased, the participant’s compliance decreased.

Although many Polish-Jewish refugees who faced of suffering and death, many Holocaust survivors exhibited high resilience - the capacity to overcome the exposure to severe risk that they have experienced. This is the power of resilience (inner strength) allows us to overcome life’s huddles, such as stressful life events, mental illness, persistent negative mood, crisis, pain, fear, suffering, or death. For Jewish people, high resilience shows overcome tendencies to feel like a victims of the Nazi, and stay detached from “victim” reactions in others.

Gandhi

 “Live as if your were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” by Gandhi.

This movie reflection is the biography with eventful life of “Gandhi” (1869~1948) was directed by Steven Spielberg in 1982. Gandhi regarded as a saint of the 20^th century. He was a lawyer who became the leader of Indian nationalism and inspirations for non-violence, civil rights and freedom across the world. He led India’s independence movement against the British rule through his philosophy and belief with non-violent resistance and non-cooperative resistance.

 

On his way to South Africa as a lawyer, he experienced the unreasonable prejudice and discrimination based on skin color. After the incident, he became actively involved in organized opposition to the movement took on momentum, while other Indians quietly accepted discrimination. In Gandhi’s viewpoint, the greatest violence was the western’s industrial civilization with institutionalized for material benefits of continuing to expand the structure of exploitation and oppression without consideration any fundamental human needs of soul.

 

Gandhi was a Hindu, who received the title “Mahatma” means great soul, but he followed the way of life like a Christian. When Gandhi was born in 1869, India was a colony of the British Empire and later he led India’s independence from Britain in 1947. However, his last desire was unable to achieve the unity of Islam and Hinduism then was assassinated in January, 1948. (At that time due to religious conflict, India was divided into two countries - India and Pakistan). It was not Gandhi wanted.

 

To peaceful unity of one India, Gandhi embraced all religions simultaneously without any

prejudice pr violence, such as Hindus, Muslim and Christians. Especially, Gandhi committed

to harmony between Muslims and Hindus and claimed the necessary of the unification of

India.

Gandhi had claimed a belief of disobedience, noncooperation and nonviolent resistance. Non-violent resistant does not mean not to do it under any circumstances, but be taken as non-resistance which should be rather showing an attitude of love to surrender. Gandhi’s nonviolent and nonresistance is the symbol of action and nonverbal persuasion.

In struggling for political and independence and social reform in India, Gandhi devised and implemented numerous forms of wordless persuasion through nonviolence resistance movement. Indian’s independence made to the technique of symbolic action in human’s history. Sometimes, “Action speaks louder than words.” The movement itself of nonviolent resistance made a symbol of action and nonverbal persuasion.

 

Usually, powerful, authority, or expert people who have influence so that they generated

desirable change in the widest range of circumstances. Social influence involves the exercise

of social power by a person or a group to change the attitudes or behavior of others in a

particular direction. Persuasion is the process of consciously attempting to change a person or

a group’s attitudes and behaviors through the transmission of some messages. Persuasion and

social influence are linked together, in such a way that standards and human laws can change

depending on perceived needs and wants.

As a transformational leader, Gandhi had the ability to inspire and motivate followers. He demonstrated genuine concern for people’s needs, feelings and development. Besides, Gandhi hold positive expectation for followers, believed that people follow his demand, especially non-violent resistance. As a result, Gandhi inspired, empowered, and stimulated followers to exceeded high levels of performance, India’s long struggle for freedom.