The Lives of Others and Rudd's Sorry Speech
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 09/05/2011 05:46 PM
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The Lives of Others and the Sorry Speech
When one is exposed to a new world, it is inevitable that their values, ideals and morals are challenged. It can change their perspectives and their outlook upon the world around them, where the fight for political change can come at great personal cost. This is explored through Florian Henckel von Donnersmarcks “The Lives of Others”, where a man is faced with opposing worlds and the struggle to follow the right path. We see a similar struggle for vast reaching changes in Kevin Rudd’s “Sorry Speech” to the Aboriginals and particularly to the stolen generation.
The world in which an individual lives shapes their perspectives, ideals and values. Through the evolution of thoughts and emotion, we see an unemotional, idealistic, intimidating, and ignorant Stasi commissar change into a compassionate, self-less and open-minded man after a series of catalysts in “The Lives of Others”.
We first meet Wiesler giving a lecture on methods of interrogation. It is established here how he feels about the rules of the Stasi and how he operates within the system. One of the students remarks that the methods being advocated by Wiesler are “inhumane”. Wiesler’s response is putting a cross against the man’s name on a seating plan.
He is portrayed as professional, intimidating, loyal, and ignorant to the corruption of the German Democratic Republic, where socialist values are highly regarded. We expect that from such a business-like and unemotional man that it is highly unlikely that he will change throughout the film. Von Donnersmarck uses subtle and only slightly low angle shots of Wiesler in this opening sequence, where we already sense his authority, but by using low angle shots, his superiority is further highlighted.
His beliefs and those of the party are reflected in the simple functional nature of his apartment. It has been carefully constructed to communicate the values of the system that he believes in so passionately....
When one is exposed to a new world, it is inevitable that their values, ideals and morals are challenged. It can change their perspectives and their outlook upon the world around them, where the fight for political change can come at great personal cost. This is explored through Florian Henckel von Donnersmarcks “The Lives of Others”, where a man is faced with opposing worlds and the struggle to follow the right path. We see a similar struggle for vast reaching changes in Kevin Rudd’s “Sorry Speech” to the Aboriginals and particularly to the stolen generation.
The world in which an individual lives shapes their perspectives, ideals and values. Through the evolution of thoughts and emotion, we see an unemotional, idealistic, intimidating, and ignorant Stasi commissar change into a compassionate, self-less and open-minded man after a series of catalysts in “The Lives of Others”.
We first meet Wiesler giving a lecture on methods of interrogation. It is established here how he feels about the rules of the Stasi and how he operates within the system. One of the students remarks that the methods being advocated by Wiesler are “inhumane”. Wiesler’s response is putting a cross against the man’s name on a seating plan.
He is portrayed as professional, intimidating, loyal, and ignorant to the corruption of the German Democratic Republic, where socialist values are highly regarded. We expect that from such a business-like and unemotional man that it is highly unlikely that he will change throughout the film. Von Donnersmarck uses subtle and only slightly low angle shots of Wiesler in this opening sequence, where we already sense his authority, but by using low angle shots, his superiority is further highlighted.
His beliefs and those of the party are reflected in the simple functional nature of his apartment. It has been carefully constructed to communicate the values of the system that he believes in so passionately....