Movie Review

Movie critic Roger Ebert goes into detail about how The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is more than just about the Holocaust but also about all that happens to the young eight year old boy of a Nazi soldier. When this family moves to the country near a concentration camp, Bruno, the young eight year old boy of a Nazi soldier, becomes curious of the “farm” behind their house.  Because the family gives him an evasive answer, Bruno decides to find out for himself.  He discovers that this “farm” was definitely not a farm at all.  Even though he doesn’t necessarily know what a concentration camp is, he discovers that these people in the striped pajamas are not farmers. This is when Bruno meets Shmuel, which ultimately leads to Bruno’s death. Roger Ebert makes a very good point because Bruno plays a big role in this movie based on where he ends up in the end.  Even though The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a historical film based on the events in the Holocaust and the way the concentration camps worked, the events that Bruno witnessed were just as important.  The movie portrays Bruno as a naive little boy that has no idea what is really going on in the world around him and this concept basically explains most of the young people throughout this time period. Not just during the Holocaust but with most of the important historical events, adults like to censor the young from seeing the true impact of of the events that are going on around them.  Because of this, many children get curious and want to find out the answers to their own questions for themselves.  This is exactly how Bruno ended up dead at the end of the movie.  He got curious and wasn’t given answers so he went to look for answers on his own and found himself in the concentration camp being burned with the Jews being held there.

"Are You My Butterfly?"

The play M. Butterfly is based upon the play Madame Butterfly.  In the play M. Butterfly Rene Gillimard asks Song "are you my butterfly?"  After Rene is told that he is being promoted because of how confident he has grown to be, he instantly rushes to Song.  He asks her many times "are you my butterfly?" He is obsessed with the play Madame Butterfly that he had seen Song perform.  The Butterfly is the Asian girl who is madly in love with an American Westerner that she would rather die for than live without.  Rene wants Song to be so devoted and in love with him that she will give everything for him.  He wants to feel as though he is in complete power over her.  He brings up Butterfly because that is how they first connected.  She played the Butterfly character in the opera which made him want to seek her attention and be obsessed with her.  If Song does become his Butterfly than that means that she will become so blinded by her devotion to him that she will become someone that she won't recognize.

Can you guess where I'm lying?

At the age of 19 years old, I was able to go to school to get my broker’s license to become an insurance agent and work for an insurance company.  On my first day of working at an insurance company, I was extremely nervous.  My first customer was an 80 year old woman who happened to be the sweetest person I have ever met.  As I was inputting all of her information onto my computer, a young girl of about the age of 12 years old, came into the office yelling at me.  She accused me of abandoning her and called me her mother.  I tried to calm her down until she tried to hit me. My boss instantly jumped up to help me but she tried to attack him as well. As I called the cops, she ran out of the office and we never saw her again.

Not only do I work as an insurance agent, I also work at an elementary school. At this school, I tutor first grade and coach the elementary school’s drill/dance team. Their favorite type of dance is hip hop but they also enjoy when I give them routines that include drill.  At one of our performances, I had one of my third grade girls sit out, because she looked pale and sick as if she were having a panic attack.  Her mother came up to me and complained because her daughter wasn’t going to be able to perform. We then brought the conversation to the principal because it was getting out of hand.  The principal agreed to letting the student perform if the mother insisted and had the mother sign a waiver just in case.  As the performance began I noticed she was a little off and dancing slowly.  Midway into the performance, the student collapsed on the stage. As this happened, the mother came up to me and said “this is all your fault, you shouldn’t have let her perform.”

On my days off of work, I like to visit family. Most of my family live in the Imperial Valley but some do live in different states of our country and even out of the country as well. I have family that live in Mexico and family that lives in Germany.  The furthest place I’ve ever travelled to is Texas where my sister lives. I’ve driven over there and I’ve also gone on plane. I am terrified of planes so I prefer to actually drive over there.  Even though it is a long drive, I don’t travel alone.  My sixteen year old brother lives with me so he goes wherever I go.  He enjoys the trips just as much as I do.

The Tortilla Curtain

The title of the book I have chosen is The Tortilla Curtain written by T.C. Boyle.  I first read this book in my English 110 class. Professor Jay Lewenstein teaches at Imperial Valley College in the English department, and assigned this book to us for the semester.  I would read this book everywhere I went: at school, at home, at work, and sometimes even when I was coaching my drill team. The book was about two immigrants trying to survive and find their way in the United States.  It was a daily life struggle for this couple because they would come across many obstacles that the everyday person wouldn’t have to go through.  On the other hand there is this typical American couple who lived the American dream, whose lives would cross paths frequently with the lives of the immigrants.  I remember it because of the author’s style of writing. He would write in english but would also include spanish for dramatic effect which was quite interesting.  It would bring the writing to life and would help grasp my attention. My favorite part of the book was towards the ending when one of the immigrants gave birth to her baby in a little shack.  Her husband, the other immigrant, helped her deliver the baby and let her rest after the delivery was over.  He then built a shack out of stolen pallets and stole food from a nearby garden in someone else’s yard.  In the book the immigrant states that he is no thief but when it came down to his wife and daughter he would do anything for them.  He then prayed and promised to god that he would return or repay everything that he has stolen to the rightful owner.  I would recommend this book to just about anyone because it opens your eyes to the everyday struggle of immigrants who are just trying to make a better living for not only themselves but also for their children or loved ones.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Visual Analysis

My historical movie analysis is on “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.” I chose this poster of the movie because of both of the images of the boys.  When you first look at the poster you see the big image of the two boys back to back. Instantly you can tell there is a difference between the two. One of the boys has no hair and is wearing pajamas whereas the other is wearing a clean collared shirt with his hair nicely combed.  When looking at the poster a little closer you can see that there is a second image of the two boys  sitting on opposite sides of a barbed wire fence.  Sitting face to face as if the fence isn’t there but unable to play with the ball that is placed right beside them.  In the image there is also a quote that says “Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us.” This is a powerful quote

because it demonstrates a sense of imagery based on the fence in the poster.

The creator of this poster aims towards your sense of compassion and sorrow.  By viewing the two boys sitting by the fence you get the feel as though these boys want to enjoy their time together but simply can’t because they are from two different worlds.  The creator’s message from the poster is that even though they are from two different worlds it doesn’t necessarily mean that all hope for them is gone.  There is still hope for these boys to be able to enjoy each others company.

The intended audience may be for young adults or even adults in general. This film educational and demonstrates all of the difficulties that Jews went through during this time period.  It also demonstrates the side of a German family. This film brings out both sides of the the concentration camps.

The visual element that grabs my attention the most is the barbed wire fence. When I first saw the image I could see by the way the artist portrayed the fence in the poster that  it just as much importance as the  young boys do.

The persuasive strategy being used would be pathos.  The imagery aims towards your feelings in compassion and sorrow.  The creator of the poster wanted the audience to see the poster and feel compassionate for the young boys, especially the boy in the striped pajamas.

The words “Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us,” of the advertisement emphasize the picture based on the fence.  As mentioned above these words are powerful because of its imagery that it portrays with the fence but also the sense of compassion with the word “hope.”