Boy in the Striped Pyjamas free essay sample

A sense of belonging in place is a chief aspect explored in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Bruno’s feelings of affinity with the neighborhood he grew up in is made evident from the beginning, through a scene of him and his friends running through the streets of Berlin with their arms out and making aeroplane noises. A high angle shot is used and the boys’ winding movements are mimicked by a tracking shot which serves to emphasis the carefree nature of childhood innocence and their obliviousness to the horrors occurring elsewhere.Bruno’s playfulness and exuberant facial expression denotes the sense of belonging he feels with his friends as well as the place in which he is playing. Gentle piano music accompanies this scene which exudes a sense of calm through its soaring, uplifting melody and resonant tone to suggest how much Bruno is enjoying his game. A short while later, the music takes on an increasingly precarious tone when Nazi officers are shown gathering Jewish families and roughly herding them into the back of trucks. We will write a custom essay sample on Boy in the Striped Pyjamas or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The young boys, due to their protective barrier of naivety and innocence, fail to acknowledge the true nature behind such events. The physically aggressive manner with which the Jews are being treated suggests they are not wanted in that area and consequently would experience a sense of alienation and rejection. The sense of security which was initially portrayed is now contrasted through this scene via effective juxtaposition and also serves to ominously imply that this sense of belonging Bruno feels is only temporary.The notion of familial affinity as a source of belonging is illustrated through Bruno’s interactions with his family. He is well-loved by his mother and father as shown through their genuinely affectionate and caring gestures and use of endearments such as â€Å"sweetheart† and â€Å"lamb†. However, it is the older sister with whom he experiences conflict with as shown through one of his many retorts: â€Å"You’re only twelve, so stop pretending you’re any older. In a particular scene where Bruno’s parents are informing him that they will be moving to the countryside due to the father’s promotion, the notion that he does not belong in his family as much as it appears is created through positioning. Bruno is seated across a la rge mahogany table from the rest of his family whilst they are speaking to him with a considerable gap between them. This positioning highlights the sense of isolation Bruno feels with relation to his family and is also metaphorical for the beginning stages of a chasm within the family which will continue to grow as the story progresses. Whilst Bruno’s family all seem enthusiastic about the move, as shown when the sister comments, â€Å"We’ll make new friends where we’re going†, Bruno seems to feel otherwise with his disheartened expression, and this becomes a basis on which he begins to feel that he does not belong. The atmosphere of belonging within the family which was strongly portrayed initially is gradually deteriorated as events unfold around the new home. The mother soon discovers that her husband’s promotion was in fact to oversee the progress of the nearby Auschwitz concentration camp, which included the mass killing, cremating and burial of hundreds of Jewish inmates.Despite the mother’s pleas to her husband, which are ignored, she suffers a series of breakdowns, as evinced through her lack of makeup, disheveled hair and general uninhibited behavior such as playing on Bruno’s swing and laughing to herself. Her initially kind and warm motherly words of affect ion towards her family become increasingly hostile: â€Å"The man I married is a monster! Even your own mother couldn’t love you. † The father, on the other hand, becomes a cold impassive man, hardened by work. The lighting in his office is dim and unforgiving, accurately reflecting the nature of the work that is done there. Furthermore, another figure in the family who contributes to the widening chasm is Bruno’s older sister, Gretel, who becomes increasingly brainwashed through anti-Semitic propaganda, as indicated through her nationalistic pride and constant denigration of the Jews: â€Å"They’re evil. Evil, dangerous vermin†¦they’re the enemy. † The petty conflicts between the two siblings at the beginning of the movie eventually escalate to a point where Gretel has virtually rejected Bruno as she considers herself a mature adolescent and Bruno a nuisance.This is demonstrated through the manner in which she speaks to him as well as the facial expressions she directs towards him such as constantly rolling her eyes: â€Å"Never, stupid. † All these factors ultimately lead to worsening and then altogether eliminating the sense of belonging that Bruno feels with his family. Friendship as a source of belonging is an integral concept explored in the film and it is mo st frequently demonstrated through Bruno’s relationship with a young Jewish boy of the same age who resides in the nearby concentration camp.In the scenes where Bruno visits Schmuel, no particular special effects are used to portray the concentration camp in a negative light and the simplicity of these scenes with a medium shot effectively serves to highlight the importance of friendship despite the morbid surroundings. Bruno grows to like Schmuel and plays with him everyday despite being bombarded with continuous streams of anti-Semitic opinion: â€Å"You see, these people†¦ the Jews, are not really people at all†.In the scene where Bruno and Schmuel are playing checkers across a barbed wire fence, a non-diegetic piano melody accompanies which emphasizes that the sense of belonging in friendship can offer an alternative way out of harsh reality, and that friendship is something to appreciate during rough times. In the last scene, the image of Bruno and Schmuel clasping hands just before they die is symbolic of the mutual sense of belonging they feel with each other, and how they still treasure it right down to the last second.The film, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, consists of numerous cinematic techniques such as varying distances of shots, positioning and lighting as well as music to convey the message of belonging. As well, various aspects of the central notion of belonging is por trayed such as familial relationships, friendships and a sense of belonging with place through dialogue, choice of shot, positioning and appropriate music to accompany scenes.