Auslaender through the lens, Final Video
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Author Archives: rossbk
Glued
No one really expected this pandemic to impact our lives the way it did. We left for spring break and simply did not come back. Our minds were left scrambling for what had even happened and what to do. So as many have, I turned to social media and all things online to simply understand what was going on. There was an obvious increase in the amount of time I was spending online. Personally, I started watching a lot more YouTube to pass time. Be that news, keeping up to date with friends, etc I watched it all on YouTube. I was able to track the number of hours I spent per week watching and compare it to before the quarantine. I knew it was more, however, I was not expecting double the amount of hours.
Thankfully, this has made me notice how much time I am using in a way that is not necessarily helping me in any way. Sure, it is a nice distraction but I realized that I am not making any progress in anything by doing so. This has given me a slight burst in inspiration to not waste as much time on social media and watching videos over the summer. Since we all are stuck inside physically why not take the time in summer to work on myself so when we all come out of this I am in a better position than before.
The stay at home orders have given us all a good opportunity to put a lot of time into something we find valuable. I think it is up to each of us to realize that and turn that realization into an actionable moment for personal growth. We all are stuck inside in this crazy crazy time and we can unite though that universal understanding. It is all we can do.
Behind Open Bars
This still from Joy shows a visceral scene of a woman trapped out in the public, unable to partake in the basic human right and experience of playing with your child. The longing to want that sense of normalcy is unimaginable at this moment. The iron bars trapping her on the outside of the children’s world show us that even in broad daylight, where all can see, we do not know the serious situations people can be entrapped in.
The camera has placed her in the very middle of the screen forcing us to bear witness to her sadness as a barrier separates not only her from the real world but also the viewer. From this screenshot, without context, we see simply a woman of color staring defeated at something we cannot see. This is very much what all of the other people in the scene also see. Just a woman. Both us and them truly have not experienced the hardships and humiliation that this person has faced.
As we see later in the film, she returns to her home. I think to some degree this might be the case of wanting some familiarity, even if it is for a temporary amount of time. At times it is comforting to be in a place in which you understand. You know the rules and how you can go back to Europe. All of this. This horrendous system all exists without the majority of people even knowing it exists. Many will never know. As cliche as it sounds, we simply need to realize that for every situation there is more than meets the eye. Implementing that into your life is harder than it sounds…
Wandering to the mountains
These two stills from Herzog’s documentary Encounters at the end of the world embrace the forlorn soul-searching atmosphere portrayed in the film. The first still captures the moment a cell biologist reconciles with the fact that he will never again return to the pole to do research as his age will prevent him. He recollects on his past life and the shortness of life itself. Meanwhile in the other still, a penguin has lost its ability to reason and abandons its group to wander into the icy mountains. Unknowing of the fate that lies before him, he blissfully waddles into the cold.
I feel that these two scenes signify two of the points Herzog wished to make about the human experience. On one hand, you can reminisce on the past and contemplate your actions bringing you to a pensive mood about life and its meaning. However, on the other, you can blindly follow your thoughts and desires until your time comes to an end. Herzog wanted to display the difference between truth and facts. One can scientifically measure that the penguin and man will die but at the same time, their individual truth is very different for each of them.
Rage and Regret
Jesus frisst Menschen
I found not only this scene but the entire relationship with religion in Almanya: Wilkommen in Deutschland a bit of an eye-opener. While I am not personally religious it is well known that Christianity is the dominant religion in Western countries so seeing the view of Christianity as a foreign concept was very eye-opening. We all know that other religions exist such as Buddhism, Islam, or Hinduism however as most of us have grown up with the Christianity influenced cultures having the views swapped gave a bit of insight into some of the fake “stereotypes” that exist. I found it hilarious how they described going to church as “eating the man’s body and drinking his blood.”
Ok Nazi
I felt this screenshot worked well for an “Ok Boomer” style meme(albeit a low-quality meme). Their facial expressions show a combination of humor, discontent, and simply tired emotions. After having ended the war this Nazi higher up thinks he can escape without paying for his crimes. So as the “Ok Boomer” meme relates to the opinions that Millenials hold towards the Baby Boomers I felt it can relate to a degree. Stereotypically, the Boomers do have a “holier than thou” mindset and the younger generations simply scoff and look on with discontent at the poor conditions they have let behind.
Perhaps Tomorrow
I find this clip to be very relatable to the migration crisis around the year 2015 in Germany. I had just happened to be studying abroad during this time and had to register as a temporary “citizen” so I saw firsthand the waiting times for people in Germany. This scene truly depicts the variety of ages, backgrounds, and different ethnicities(here a majority white refugees and in Germany a majority Middle Eastern refugees). The older generations waiting to escape the war and destruction with a tired and indifferent facial expression, simply trying to get by. On the other hand, the younger generations were filled with hope and eagerness to explore a new life in a new country. As the young woman says in the clip “Perhaps tomorrow we’ll be on the plane.” Unfortunately for many people who fled to Germany, they were stuck in such a massive wave of people that it just took too long so they had to create tent/slum-like areas to live in while they wait. This could be related to the cramped conditions you can see the people waiting in. The plane flying in the sky could be equated to the freedom that escape from the terrible conditions would bring. With all of this taken into consideration, I have found many parallels with the German immigration crisis.
Heil? What does that mean anymore?
There is quite simply a lot to unpack in this still of the film “To Be or Not To Be” However I would like to focus on the “errinerungskultur” aspect of this image in regards to a German/American viewpoint. Here you can easily see the satire regarding the use of the Nazi salute in the Second World War. From a German perspective, this is absolutely unacceptable and highly problematic. Since the Germans bear the blame for the atrocities done in the war they shy heavily against bringing it up at all. Using the nazis in any form is tasteless and should be avoided at all costs.
From an American perspective, I believe that simply repressing the past and shoving it deep inside will only make the problem worse in the long run. I am by no means advocating for the improper use of the Nazis, but instead, have a healthy discussion about what happened and how to improve vastly from whence that stemmed. America has its own set of dark pasts and in only now just starting to scratch the surface of bringing these topics to light. So far sensible discussions have only brought more understanding between Americans. So hopefully the Germans will also start to adopt this mindset in order to tackle their past as well.
This image truly shows that even back in WW2 other nations and cultures were already willing to use a dark past in order to bring good things to light.