Samantha Ouimette Composition II Professor Fred Wright April 24th, 2011 A Person in the Strictest Sense: The Difference

That Difference Makes in Schindlers List Circling his Jewish servant girl like a vulture would its prey, the concentration camp commandant pauses and quietly reflects on his situation, stating, You know, maybe what's wrong isn't it's not us it's this This one line muttered by Amon Goeth to Helen Hirsch can accurately summarize the entire theme of Schindlers List, a movie that fully displays the injustices of the Holocaust all while imparting a human element that anyone can relate to. The scene in which the aforementioned line was spoken is in itself an abbreviation of the movies premise, as it conveys the thought that people have been taught to dislike those who are different from themselves despite how they may really feel about them as human beings. In this scene, the film elements of mise en scene, editing, and images are all utilized to show Geoths brutal attempt to work out his love/hate feelings for Hirsch. To begin with, the use of mise en scene in the scene portraying the climax of Amon Goeth and Helen Hirschs relationship helps to sharply convey just how different the two of them are. The setting is in the servant girls basement quarters, the place where she is forced to live, which is noticeably a very dark and very lonely place; however, the commandant lives a luxurious life in comfortable accommodations, and can hardly imagine what it would be like to

dwell in such awful conditions. In addition, their costume is very different. Amon is dressed very proper, looking as if he had just walked out of a meeting with his fellow Nazis rather than going to meet some lowly servant; in contrast, Helens only means to hide her nakedness is a thin slip that does little to hide the contours of her body or her incredible vulnerability. In this way, the audience is shown one of the major problems Goeth faces as he tries to figure out his emotions for Hirsch: how he possibly love someone who is so completely opposite from him in race, creed, and stature. Next, the film element of editing is utilized in this scene to further show differences; however, these differences are no longer simply between Amon and Helen, but rather their relationship and the relationship and lives of others throughout the concentration camp. Continuity editing plays a huge factor in this scene, because the intensity of it all is only that much more amplified because of how objects are related in a logical sequence. As Goeth begins to get closer and closer to Helen in a medium shot, the audience watches as his hand begins to linger down her body and caress her breast; immediately after, another character removed from the scene is shown being serenaded by a singer as her hand caress his face, implying to the viewers that these events are happening simultaneously. The scene then switches back to Amon and Helen, with the former deciding not to go in for that final kiss and instead turning his proposed passion into horrible violence. Multiple scenes then seem to collide at once within the film, but all of them relate to one another despite happening in different settings: at a Jewish wedding within the camp, a light bulb is smashed at the exact same time Goeth first slaps Helen; warm embraces are shown at that same wedding as the servant girl finds herself embraced in physical abuse. This powerful sequence of events only serves to magnify Goeths obvious love

for Hirsch despite an accompaniment of intense hatred thats been bred into him, thus making his final decision to beat her even more heart wrenching than it would be naturally. Finally, and perhaps most powerfully of all, images are used in this scene between Amon and Helen to further show just how intricate their relationship is in spite of the formers longing to feel indifference towards the latter. As mentioned above, the different images used throughout the editing process are particularly meaningful in helping to convey both sides of Goeths feelings; but just as meaningful are the various ways those images are shown on the screen. In this scene, the shot reverse shot pattern is heavily used throughout the beginning of the dialogue as to show Amon when hes talking and Helens cold reaction to his words during his speech; in addition, a low angle shot is paired with that pattern so as to almost put the two characters up on a stage before the audience, and make their situation appear even greater than what the viewers already understand it to be. As the conversation progresses and Goeth begins to closely approach Hirsch, the scene is taken into a close-up shot, where every move of both characters is closely documented and analyzed for the purpose of being able to predict what will happen next. Consequently, the audience is able to better understand the agony Goeth is facing through a purely physical aspect, which in turn allows them to better understand the severity and meaning of his words. Although in a perfect world it is thought that love can conquer all, it is clear that in the real world prejudices and hatred can have the ability to overcome that potential for love. The events depicted in Schindlers List and, more specifically, the relationship between Amon Goeth and Helen Hirsch, are the embodiment of this sentiment. The mise en scene and editing in the scene discussed above greatly affected my reaction to it, because I felt like without both of those things the compelling message behind the actions of the characters would truly be missed.

However, I found the way images are used in this film to be the most prevailing of all; the images shown caused me to consider just how little the world has actually changed since the time period this film was set in, despite societys thoughts that the earth is now a more evolved place than it was back then. Through the use of these three cinematic elements, the audience is able to decipher Amon Geoths brutal attempt to work out his love/hate feelings for Helen Hirsch, and therefore viewers such as myself are allowed to really comprehend just how much influence differences have on people.