Human experiences can be fraught with danger and trauma, however, can still lead to self-growth and understanding. Human experiences are deeply embedded throughout texts to display and to emphasize how characters interact with each other. In ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’, the director describes the three human experiences shown in the three characters: Bruno, Shmuel and Bruno’s father. The director challenges world views by incorporating the following human experiences in the characters and how characters interact with each other. The director also shows that wanting power is seen in ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ by showing the audience how certain groups took over less weaker groups creating a sense of mixed emotions for the audience.
A human experience that is very common is war. Some people have experienced war and many haven’t. War is one of the more intense subjects that humans are a part of and discuss as it still goes on in our lives till this day. Movies and texts like ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ and ‘War Photographer’ share similarities such as the conflict that comes from war. I personally haven't experienced being a part of this devastated time, but these works have helped me understand and educate me on how saddening this time period really was. In this paper, I will focus on the two works. Both of them help show us focus on the ideas about human experiences of war. However, they both share the fascinating truth about how both texts are upsetting yet exciting, symbolizing trust and growth and overcoming certain obstacles that we face in our everyday lives.
The director of the ‘The Boy in The Striped Pajamas’ has shown an array of elements within his production, assisting in successfully illustrating human experiences. Human experiences are defined as what people face throughout their lifetime including emotional, physical, spiritual and social factors. The director has achieved this primarily through the use of characterization by representing the characters in such a way that they reflect common experiences that are shared amongst us. Such experiences include friendship, emotions, memories and ideas. This allows the audience to appreciate, explore, interpret, analyze and evaluate the variety of representations depicted.
The two protagonists in this movie go by the names of Bruno and Shmuel, two nine-year-old Jew boys, living in Auschwitz, trying to make the most of their lives, but unfortunately, they both live in very different worlds. Bruno and his family are Germans whom their father is part of the Nazi army managing the concentration camps, this is very upsetting because Bruno doesn’t know what his father is doing to his friends (Shmuel) family, but then realizing what was going on.
The director shows a scene in the movie timed at 26 minute, 17 seconds. Bruno is seen hurt and is treated by the fellow Jewish worker named Havert, who immediately helped Bruno. As we continue to watch, Bruno mentions that Havert is only a farmer who peels potatoes for a living, causing him to get a little emotional and discuss his life before being taken to the concentration camp. This shows that Havert is suffering and wants to leave the camps. The use of camera angles zooming on Havert face as he begins to tear up as Bruno says, “You aren't a doctor, you are a farmer who peels potatoes”, questions Havert past and doesn’t believe that he was a trained doctor
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Moreover, the director portrays the human experience of “the desire for freedom and self-determination” is shown through Bruno and Shmuel, they are seen exchanging clothes in order for Bruno to enter and try to help find Shmuel’s dad who was taken away by the Nazi’s. This shows that Bruno is determined to find his friend's father which then leads to the boys entering the chamber.
After I had completed watching the movie, it has created an urge to find out more about the history of this time period while also making me reflect on how lucky I am today to not have experienced this.
Similar experiences, are found in the poem ‘War Photographer’ by Carol Ann Duffy. This is a poem published in 1985, the poem is about a photographer who returns home to England to develop the hundreds of photos he has taken in many different war zones. The photographer wrestles with the trauma and PTSD of what he has seen, and his bitterness that people who view his images are unable to empathize fully with the victims of catastrophic violence abroad.
‘War Photographer’ shows certain themes and techniques related to human experiences, for example suffering in the human experience is related to the idea that there are challenges in life and that we as humans must overcome these challenges. Suffering is an integral part of the human experience as it determines growth. In this text suffering within the human experience is shown through the use of imagery by the quote “running children in a nightmare heat”. The protagonist discusses the sufferings of war and how it is a collective human experience which is seen in the metaphor ‘spools of suffering’, which emphasizes masses of suffering. The struggle to survive and adversity relates to the idea that humans face challenges to survive and to become a better version of themselves, this is shown through the quote “solutions slop in trays beneath his hands, which did not tremble then though seem to now”. This is shown through the technique of juxtaposition.
Reading this poem has had a huge impact on my understanding of the common module as this poem discusses the in-depth experience of Jewish soldiers and the traumatic times they had to go through. The images that Carol Ann Duffy used, this has helped me have a more enhanced understanding of the world.
In conclusion, both works have allowed me to reflect on my parents’ human experiences and how they suffered during their time in Iraq before migrating to Australia. After hearing what they had been through, it has changed the way I see the world. All three experiences share similarities including suffering yet overcoming the obstacles and reflecting over it. While ‘The Boy in the Striped Pajamas’ and ‘War Photographer’ capture the difference between trauma and life-threatening times, despite the consequences experienced by Jewish people caused by the Nazis or being traumatized from war. They both draw people into this topic. What does this say about human experience?
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