What Is Oskar Schindler's List Film Symbolism

Schindler’s List directed by Steven Spielberg is included in the list of the 100 greatest films of all time. The epic production took place in Kraków, Poland in 1993. The 3 hours-and-16-minute work of art is an adaptation of the historical novel written by the Australian author Thomas Keneally. Schindler’s List relies on the fabulous 1982 book Schindler’s Ark which tells the real-life story of Oskar Schindler, a Catholic German industrialist who saw World War II as the perfect chance to become a millionaire, but ended up penniless while saving the lives of more than 1,100 Jewish people.

Early on, Jews in Kraków, Poland, during World War II had been forced by the Germans from their homes and required to crowd into a 16-block ghetto. Oskar Schindler

(Liam Neeson), a prideful member of the Nazi Party, realized he could use the war and the slave labor of Jews to open a factory that supplied cooking utensils for the German army. He had no idea how to run a factory; therefore, he hired Itzhak Stern (Ben Kingsley), a Jewish accountant who would handle the finances. Amon Goeth, a German SS (Schutzstaffel) second lieutenant arrived to Kraków and ordered the liquidation of the entire ghetto. Schindler witnessed the massacre, and he was really touched by it. He continuously strove to keep his friendship with Amon and other important SS officials. Through luxurious gifts and bribery, he persuaded the authorities and managed to get his own sub-camp where his workers would be better protected. Schindler bought more than 1,100 Jews but was left with no money. Nowadays, there are more Jews in the world thanks to the humanitarian act of Oskar Schindler.
I consider Schindler’s List the best movie I have ever seen in my life. The film provided me with information and details I did not know about before. Its excellent description of the horror of the Holocaust unscrupulously shows the real terror of war. Steven Spielberg has the ability to move viewers’ feelings by the intensity of his characters, the music, and the amazing and touching plot. He is able to mix the dread of the Holocaust with the miracle of saving 1,100 Jews just with the formulas of fiction. The camera work, velocity of the shots and angles used contribute enormously to the genuineness of the production. The flawless performance of major and minor characters adds authenticity to the film. Technical aspects including: visual design, special effects, sound, lighting, editing and cinematography help the film to convey its message and delight its audience.
Spielberg chose Liam Neeson for the character of Oskar Schindler because he had the ability to perform the perfect big man, the womanizer with a large ego and a moneymaking scheme, the ideal unexpected hero. Ben Kingley played Itzhak Stern, a Jewish accountant, who became the only honest friend of Schindler. He was Schindler’s conscience and the first to identify his humane qualities. Itzhak Stern was a genius in hidden, a witness of the Holocaust, and a pure character with an assigned narrative function. The ruthless Amon Goeth played by Ralph Fiennes represents the evil and cruelty of the Nazi military. His cold heart does not let goodness in. The acting in general was wonderful; every character played his or her part in a very appropriate and exquisite way.
One of the million reasons I consider this film so extraordinary is because of its ability to transform the audience by creating real emotions and even provoking tears with any effort at all. Spielberg did not use any strategy to manipulate the audience’s sensibility, it is only the incredible true-story plot, the real setting and the intense dialogue that make emotions exploit.
Spielberg’s intention on Schindler’s List is to create an informative rather than entertaining film. This desire of his is revealed in the black-and-white shooting technique, which offers a documentary look and makes the historical material more familiar with the time period stated. Spielberg uses this cinematography since his only frame of reference not only to the Holocaust but the entire World War II had no colors included. At the time, every documentary, picture and movie about WWII were made in black and white, and that was how people visualized the event. Therefore, shooting this way would confuse the viewers on when was the film produced, taking them back in time to live the real story through the screen.
Parallel editing is a technique used by Spielberg to contrast the wealthy and the starving, and the happiness and sadness. He shows the quiet and luxurious life of the German officers and mutinously the miserable and pained situation of the Jewish people. By interweaving the two opposite environments in a single scene, Spielberg exposes the irony of the situation where the Germans benefited from the misery of Jews. Forty percent of Schindler’s List was filmed with handheld cameras with the intention of producing a newsreel effect. By using this shooting technique, the scenes would seem more realistic. Its purpose was to keep the action near enough to see the details but never claim to know more than what the human eye meets.
Only three times during the film did the viewers get to see other colors rather than black and white: at the beginning of the film when it is seen the flame of a candle and a character speaks, a little girl in a red coat, and finally Schindler’s survivors putting rocks on top of his grave.

In all these cases, shooting in color meant life and hope. The color scenes and many other detailed shots stand for what is called “symbolism”. For instance, the little girl wearing the loudest red coat and walking with no concern among the killing and horror represents the innocence of the Jewish people being slaughtered, and some minutes later the same girl dead and lying on other dead bodies on a cart, ready to be cremated, means the loss of innocence and hope. The red color also symbolizes the red flag that Jews used to ask for help from the Allied powers during WWII.

The score for Schindler’s List was composed by John Williams. The music connects the audience so perfectly with the theme that it is easy to feel the pain of the Jews firsthand. Even the silence in some scenes is used to transmit the utterly despicable violence, implying there are no words to describe the unfair slaughter. Every speech and comment is unique. The script and dialogue not only contribute to the development and clear understanding of the plot, but they go so much deeper and really focus on making the viewers think about what is going

on.
Adult themes like violence and nudity are very common but necessary to the comprehension of the plot. Schindler’s List contains drama, suspense and action, but most important of all a real story is told. It increases the awareness on the horrors of war and extends the viewers’ knowledge on the Holocaust. Because of this movie, many people around the world became familiar with this subject for the first time, and the fear of it happening again encourages them to look for peace in today’s world. The film emits the message that everyone always has the ability to help. Schindler’s List shows how a man without a plan in mind, unafraid of risks and with the perfect skills to be anything but a savior, could end up sacrificing everything he had to carry out one of the most humanitarian acts in history.