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Exploring Rhetoric in Schindler’s List Essay

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Introduction

Film-making is an intriguing art and a powerful tool for authors to convey advanced critical ideas and send important messages to a particular audience. Movies can provoke strong emotional responses and mobilize activism to alter harmful practices. Thus, producers’ techniques to share their stories are vital to their ability to resonate with the intended audience. The following sections evaluate the rhetorical strategies adopted in a historical film, “Schindler’s List,” directed by Steven Spielberg, using Redding and Steele’s approaches. The most notable rhetorical techniques in “Schindler’s List” are Consubstantiation, irony, metaphor, and dramatism.

Thus, the parts analyze how the filmmaker uses these strategies and how they combine to establish a dominant purification strategy. The film’s overall message is that even in the darkest times, some individuals can make a difference and advocate for positive change by acting on their values and beliefs.

Synopsys and Description of the Main Characters

“Schindler’s List” is a historical drama directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1993. The film is fascinating because it shares a story of one of the most memorable events in human history and reveals how human morality can rise above the worst atrocities. The movie is a true story of a man called Oskar Schindler, a German businessman responsible for saving the lives of more than 1,100 Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. The film is set in Krakow, Poland, in 1939, just after the beginning of the Second World War, and documents the inhumane adversities the Jews suffered through because of their culture (Spielberg).

The leading actor, Schindler, is a Nazi party member who travels to the city to take advantage of business opportunities. However, after opening his factory, he realizes he can benefit from cheap Jewish labor and decides to employ Jews instead of non-Jews. Schindler’s factory later developed and became a haven for Jews spared from prosecution in concentration camps (Spielberg). He even uses his Nazi connections and powers to protect his workers by bribing officials and spending his hard-earned money on their wellbeing.

As the film progresses, the director introduces the audience to Itzhak Stern, a Jewish accountant who plays a significant role in keeping his people safe. The accountant works with Schindler to navigate the city’s complex web of corruption and bureaucracy and exploit officials’ greed to ensure the Jews’ safety (Spielberg). However, Amon Goeth is a sadistic character who represents the worst of human nature and the implications of unchecked power. Goeth is a Nazi officer responsible for a concentration camp near the factory. He is shown committing several atrocities against the Jews regardless of whether they are adults or children (Spielberg).

The film depicts several scenes and the battle between good and evil until the end. Although Schindler is a Nazi party follower, he risks his life and spends his money to save the lives of his workers. In the film’s last scenes, Schindler breaks down upon realizing the fruits of his work and the value of the lives he saved. Thus, the movie sends a message of compassion, courage, self-sacrifice, and moral action in the face of evil.

Film Analysis and Rhetorical Strategies

Redding and Steele’s rhetorical analysis model mentions several approaches authors and writers use to enrich their presentations, capture attention, and establish connections. However, the rhetorical techniques in the film include Consubstantiation, irony, metaphor, and dramatism. The following passages elaborate on these rhetorical techniques.

Consubstantiation is a strategy visible from the film’s beginning as the director uses the approach to stress the essence of shared experiences and community. Consubstantiation is a strategy that binds individuals with shared attributes and a sense of identity to explain the importance of collective experiences and rituals (Ryan and Melissa 18). The film’s main feature is the Jews’ plight during the Holocaust and the atrocities they faced after society turned its back on them. Despite their suffering, Jews sought comfort in each other and organized safe havens such as Schindler’s factory to sustain and avoid their race’s extinction (Spielberg). The scene where Schindler hosts a Sabbath for the refugees and allows them to praise and light candles is a powerful depiction of Consubstantiation. Thus, their beliefs in shared values kept them together and enabled them to persevere through torture and suffering.

Irony is also a rhetoric presented in the film as a German, a member of the Nazi, ends up saving more than one thousand people and sacrificing his wealth to ensure their wellbeing. Irony describes the use of language or circumstances opposite to what the audience expects to solicit a specific response (Ryan and Melissa 24). Irony is often used for humor, but in the film, the circumstances under which the Jews survived were ironic. The Nazis hated Jews and demanded their extermination by all means possible. However, Schindler, who was first interested in the Jews because of their cheap labor, had a change of heart and was dedicated to ensuring their survival (Spielberg). Similarly, he worked with a Jewish accountant and established positive relationships with his workers, a risk that would have cost him his life.

“Schindler’s List” can be assessed through a narrative or drama lens because of the director’s approach to telling the story. Dramatism is a technique that evaluates human behavior and motives according to others’ perceptions (Ryan and Melissa 47). The Holocaust is a notable historical event, but the director shares his message through one man’s experiences and the people he saved from prosecution. The director goes into detail and shares Schindler’s experiences and ambitions to save lives. Thus, the narrative’s structure allows the audience to become more immersed in the story, resonate with the character’s plight, and empathize with the refugees’ situation.

“Schindler’s List” heavily relies on metaphors to send hidden messages and enable its audience to understand the severity of atrocities perpetrated against the Jews. A metaphor is a figure of speech, words, phrases, or actions used in place of others or to represent something else (Ryan and Melissa 32). For example, the color red is widely used in the film to symbolize the bloodshed and violence that existed during the Holocaust. In one of the scenes, a little girl in a red coat walks through the chaos in the ghetto. This scene is particularly intriguing as it depicts how innocent civilians suffer from harmful ideas and notions fuelled by others against them. This metaphor creates a powerful emotional impact and informs the audience of the implications of societal injustice.

The Dominant Rhetorical Strategy and Central Message

The dominant rhetoric strategy in the film is the purification of values, as the film focuses on the essence of humanity and decency in the face of evil. Throughout the film, characters struggle with their beliefs and values under the shadows of the Nazi regime and violence against the Jews. The main character, Oskar Schindler, exemplifies purification as he is introduced as an ambitious businessman looking to profit from war and suffering (Spielberg). However, Schindler transforms from an opportunistic and selfish individual and becomes empathetic and compassionate toward Jews in his factory. As the film progresses, Schindler establishes a connection with the people and becomes dedicated to his abuse to the extent of risking his life and wealth. Thus, he embodies the purification of human values and reinforces that morality thrives above atrocities against fellow human beings.

Conclusion

Visual storytelling allows movies and similar productions to explore complicated themes and challenge humans’ innate beliefs. However, all exhibits aim to shed light on critical societal issues and solicit positive change. “Schindler’s List” is an intriguing film that features a German Nazi and a group of Jews escaping from the wrath of the Holocaust. Despite their differences and initial interests, Schindler houses and protects the Jews from torture and murder. The character goes through difficulties but is dedicated until he ultimately succeeds. The story presents several rhetorical strategies, including Consubstantiation, irony, dramatism, and metaphors. However, the dominant rhetoric strategy is purifying human values, as the director depicts how human morality rises above immorality. The movie recaps how one man saved and changed the lives of others amid tension and destruction. Thus, it encourages such behaviors as they enable the human race to accommodate each other, respect human life, and embrace humanity.

Works Cited

Ryan, Michael, and Melissa Lenos. An introduction to film analysis: Technique and meaning in narrative film. Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 2020.

Spielberg, Steven, director. Schindler’s List. Universal Pictures, 1993.

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