Friday, October 1, 2010

Motsinger Inglorious Basterds


Picture, if you will, a theater filled with horrified elites of the Nazi party. Their horror stems from a giant female face on a movie screen. The face speaks of their inevitable damnation. Fire crawls up the giant face on the screen and engulfs the rest of the room along with its inhabitants. This scene from "Inglorious Basterds" perfectly exemplifies the film's main theme-- Jewish peoples no longer wish to be portrayed as weak and defenseless in World War II movies. Instead, Jews want to express their pure and understandable hatred towards the Nazis; they want justice.
The fact that Shoshana burns down the theater in this scene is key, because she is Jewish and she exterminates the Nazis as they have done to her family. Throughout the scene Shoshana's face is near the top of the screen, emphasizing her superiority over the Nazis. With a tight frame around Shoshana's face and the flames, we feel that there is no where for the Nazis to go-- they barely even fit into the film frame. The red flames and black background resemble a Hell on Earth.
Through the scene of the burning theater Quentin Tarrentino portrays the justice that Jews deserve; their entitlement they have to disdain and express their disdain for the Nazi party. Think of it as a warning to those who commit atrocities upon others. As they say "what goes around, comes around."



2 comments:

  1. The camera angle also looks up at Sophie, making her more powerful. Interesting blog.

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