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  • Essay / Schindler's Use of Cinematic Symbolism in Film - 1766

    Spielberg decided to shoot the film in black and white for the entire duration of the film in order to enhance scenes and foreshadow good and evil. However, he uses color for the girl in the red coat who symbolizes the turning point for Schindler. Candles are also used as a symbol. The smoke that began at the beginning would later become the smoke of trains and crematoriums, representing Jewish life and death. It also uses a Nazi protagonist, which goes against what a Holocaust film should have as a main character. Schindler's List is important and its story should always be remembered. He started as a war profiteer, then became the savior of 1,100 Jews. Stern was at Schindler's side during the war and he helped change who he was for the better. Stern is the only main Jewish character in the film. Goeth helps us understand Nazi ideology throughout the film and we see in many cases how unaffected he was by each Jew he killed. This also shows his inner struggle because of his Jewish servant, but ends up beating her and letting her go with Schindler because he became more interested in money. The film addresses many important aspects of the Holocaust, including race. We see this when Schindler goes to jail for kissing a Jew and is told it is illegal. To give further credence to this film, the use of Schindler's real Jews at the end helped to increase