Good (by C.P. Taylor) is written about a man named Holder who is sent into a concentration camp to basically give input on what to do with the disposed. He clearly doesn’t understand what it is going on but joins the SS in order to protect himself. Holder is a good man, but feels forced into genocide. The reason why doing nothing does not make him a terrible person is because he didn’t have an alternative. Yes, he could have acted out, but during a time where everyone is searching for an enemy, one slip up can easily lead to death. When the wrong people are put in charge, they force good people to do terrible things.
In Bent, Clive Owen takes the roll of a homosexual. He attempts to deny his homosexuality, but eventually learns that he should not hide who he truly is. At first he denies that he is gay, so he could wear a yellow star instead of a pink triangle. He then finds his love after carrying rocks. After stressing that he doesn’t want to wear the pink triangle, he eventually learns that he should not hide who he is and kills himself.
Owen’s decision to not hide who he is was heroic, but unintelligent. Being surrounded by severally closed minded individuals with guns who persecute people that are different is unimaginably difficult. Why increase your chances of death? It is a wonderful movie. I understood the message but simply thought it was unintelligent, but if I were to analyze Owen’s character, he created problems that could have been avoided. He was a difficult character to watch, but had the right intentions while under stress.
Overall reading about the Holocaust is interesting to see how people react in different situations. From both sides, you see how others feel and react when they see other people being oppressed. Then you see how those being oppressed feel and react. All actions reveal what people do in order to survive. Most tend to hide on both sides, while a select few rebel.
The interesting part of these last two lessons is that we have not seen much rebellion. I’ve only read or seen people with the desire for others to stop. It is extremely difficult to find someone with similar beliefs when being vocal alone could cost you your life.
Overall, this is a great blog post but I do have to disagree with your statement about Max's decision to reveal his true self being unintelligent. I think many would argue that this action is his first admirable deed in the whole play. Max is established as a self-serving individual whose concern for others is generally muted in favor of his own survival. To not only step out of the proverbial "closet" while simultaneously professing his love, after sacrificing so much to secure the safety of his life, is undeniably poetic. While I can see how being poetic is not always the wisest path, and it ultimately defies Max's personality and goals, I think it speaks to a larger point: the Holocaust seems like a completely inappropriate and simultaneously appropriate setting for poetic rebellion.
ReplyDeleteMax is a homosexual. He doesn't just play a role. Keep that in mind because it is the core of his behavior throughout the film. Develop you paragraph about people's reactions with a bit more specificity.
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