The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Movie Analysis of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
by Mark Herman
Author: Nielyn Joy Avanceña
Synopsis
In the time of World War II, a naïve young boy lives a carefree life. Just like any other child, he enjoys his time with his friends and family, and most importantly, he loves to explore. Bruno is a privilege young boy who is a son of who he only knows as a prominent soldier. His life in Berlin was exactly what anyone would want, happy and contented, not until they transferred home as his father gets promoted to a new soldiering house in the area. Little by little, the young innocent Bruno unfolds the reality of life as his inquisitive nature took control and started to explore the world. His adventure began when he met Shmuel, an eight-year-old Jewish boy who wears a striped pajama.
MULTIMODALS IN THE MOVIE
The Movie Poster
“A timeless story of innocence lost and humanity found.”
“Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us.”
The poster of the movie depicts the overall mood of the story. One notable element is the imprinted text that reads “Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us.” This helped us better understand the message of the story as the lines that may divide them is referred to as the barrier between the two boys, Bruno and Shmuel. What do these lines mean? Based on their differences in appearance, Bruno is a well-dressed boy whereas Shmuel wears a pair of soiled, worn pajamas, leading us to conclude that the division is most likely the result of the contrast between their characters. “But hope will unite us,” Bruno primarily represents the hope as the light is positioned in Bruno’s character. He is also extending his hand as if reaching passed the barrier, suggesting that he is breaking through the boundary between them to bring light to Shmuel's life's darkness because he is the hope that will unite their different identities. “A timeless story of innocence lost and humanity found.” The passage illustrates Bruno's journey leading up to his encounter with Shmuel. He’s initially an innocent kid but upon his journey, he had unraveled many things. He became aware of the Jewish people's experiences and struggles. Bruno lost his innocence when he met Shmuel and entered his world because he had experienced a time in his life that made him more conscious of the evil, sorrow, and agony in the world. Hence, Bruno lost his innocence at the same time as Shmuel found humanity, and that is Bruno. Another point is the background of the poster as it was painted dark and it is visible that the sun is setting, which means it is the ending. We can say that the ending of the story will be tragic and painful because of the gloomy atmosphere the background creates. The question is, what happened to their hopes?
The Movie Trailer
THE LINES THAT DIVIDE US
In the trailer of the movie, “The lines that divide us” were illustrated with a picture of soldiers, which suggests that the lines being discussed are actually the soldiers. They serve as the dividing lines between conflicting components in the film.
THE HOPE THAT UNITES US
Moreover, together with the line “The hope that unites us” is an image of Bruno and Shmuel reaching each other’s hand. Bruno is the ideal example of hope, and their outstretched hands are sign that it will bring them together. Bruno and Shmuel attempted to break all barriers separating them in spite of all the adverse factors.
DISCOVER AN UNFORGETTABLE STORY
The trailer plays ominous music the entire time, and towards the end, a black background is displayed, a symbol for grief, rage, and even death, giving the impression that the outcome would be tragic. The general melancholic tone and depressing mood of the movie ultimately contributes to its reputation as an unforgettable one.
SEMIOTICS IN THE MOVIE
The main character: BRUNO
In the story, Bruno is an innocent child who is naturally curious and loves to explore. He refuses to be deceived by the claims made in the history books and by the lies his parents made him believe. Instead, he went on an exploration and made his own discoveries on the other side of the world. However, he is not actually a free child who can openly do things, therefore his desire to explore is challenged by the circumstances he finds himself in. Bruno is a prisoner in his new home because his parents forbid him from exploring and most importantly, he is unable to speak his ideas because he was imprisoned in cultic ideologies.
Bruno represents the majority of the youths today, what they fight for, and the worldviews they hold. Youths were once innocent, however, when faced with different circumstances, it altered the way they think and perceived the reality. Youth's intense curiosity drives them to search for the truth and encourages exploration. They refuse to allow themselves to be deceived by the lies that society encourages us to accept as truth. Because young people are now aware of the truth, society forbids them from speaking up and expressing their opinions. However, the circumstances forced the youths to battle and speak out for what they stand for, and that is the truth. More importantly, Bruno symbolizes the hope in the movie. The future's hope is embodied by the youth, who are also represented by Bruno.
Shmuel
The events in Shmuel's immediate area and the setting in which he grew up caused for his awareness in the realities of life. But he remained an innocent child who yearns for simple happiness in life, despite all the things he experienced. Shmuel is a symbol of all children who have experienced poverty at a young age, lack of access to basic necessities, abandonment, and victimization by an unjust social system. There are children who still need to sacrifice their childhood and work to support themselves. For instance, the children who ask for money in the street, who sell goods to make a living, and those who work a significant number of work hours at a young age. Since there is no certainty for their tomorrow, they must work hard and take risks in order to survive. The saddest aspect of life in this cruel world is seeing children who only exist for survival rather than living meaningful lives.
Ralf
Ralf is a soldier, who by nature, lacks freewill because being a soldier is not about choices, it’s about performing one's duties. Ralf and the soldiers are primarily to blame for the class, racial, and religious divisions that exist in the society. They are those in positions of power and authority in our society, primarily government officials, who treat others unfairly and with disrespect because they perceive they are better than them and are therefore entitled to higher status. Moreover, because some people will always consider themselves as superior to those groups because of their ethnicity, people of this type, who believe they are better than others, are the main cause of why racism, background discrimination, and religious intolerance will never end. Another lesson we have learned from the character of Ralf is that there are people who will force us to believe in lies of the society. They will impose their own beliefs in us, they will teach us the things they want us to believe. They want us to listen to their lies to cover up all their immoral actions and appear respectable.
Film
A soldier-produced film describing the camp's activities was featured in the movie. It portrays how contented life is inside the camp and how much people would undoubtedly enjoy living there, which is a complete fabrication. From a political standpoint, the film symbolizes for the state or government's dishonest conduct. The film is merely a cover for the unethical activities. Government projects serve as evidence of how effective a government official is, but in reality, they are only a façade to hide corruption. Their projects give them the impression that they are competent and excellent in their work, but this is all completely untrue.
Hug of Bruno to his Father
Children typically view their parents as hero and society is constantly telling that Ralph, Bruno’s father, is a hero, so his mind can’t comprehend that his father is actually the villain. The hug symbolizes the trust Bruno have for his father that despite everything he had witnessed and discovered, Bruno still trusts his father and he believed that he is a good man. He is a hero in his eyes, a soldier who fights for their country, a soldier who eliminates evil people, and a soldier who ends all wrongdoings.
Ending: Bruno and Shmuel holding each other’s hands
Bruno and Shmuel departed together on Earth. But before they were burned, they were both holding each other’s hand. This can be an indication that they were attempting to draw strength from one another. Most importantly, they were united before they die. There was still some hope in Bruno and Shmuel, but it quickly vanished as a dark screen and a deafening silence appeared. We can infer that the hope is gone. No matter how hard they both fought to overcome the barriers, it was still not enough because all opposing forces were preventing them. Bruno tried to enter in Shmuel’s world to become together, but their attempts were challenged by the social system. Where did the hopes go? There is no chance for people from different social classes, races, religions, and cultural backgrounds to unite.
There is no hope in humanity.
Overall, the film delivered a valuable lesson. It illustrated how childhood innocence react to their surroundings when state politics are at the center. Bruno continued to be the innocent kid that he is. Bruno's innocence persisted throughout the entire story due to his naïve exploration of his surroundings. The same is true of Shmuel, who nonetheless had a childlike nature despite being undoubtedly impacted by his imprisonment. He is aware that he has less and that he must serve his captors, yet he treats his new friend the same way. Furthermore, it captures the current state of our society, which is deteriorating everyday as a result of how people view individual diversity. Our society will continue to draw a distinction between the differences of each individual. There will be people who will behave in a compelling way and who will exert total control over their surroundings, much like the character of Ralf, who particularly exerts total control over Bruno and constantly plans stories in his head. Ralf and his superiors are as well responsible for the burning of the Jews because of the way they view them, how they are different, and how they do not belong into the society. Controlling the human race is becoming increasingly difficult. We need to modify how we look at things because it is not everything about ourselves. We need to come together and act as one.
The film shows the event in excruciating detail, all until the very end. Every character serves a specific symbolism and function in the society. For the general public, the scenes could be very challenging to watch. Due to the fact that it concerned two innocent children, the depressing mood it generated in the audience has left an indelible impression on their minds and hearts.
