Tag Archives: memory

We’re Germans now

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Hüseyin in this GIF is having a nightmare about becoming a German with his wife, Fatma and conforming to German culture in the process of losing their Turkish heritage.   This theme of adapting to culture and the fear of losing culture and cultural memory is very prevalent throughout the film and shown through this clip. For instance, in this clip Fatma is shown wearing traditional German clothing and eating a huge meat drumstick which frightens Hüseyin and further pushes him to wanting the family to return to Turkey for a vacation to see where they came from.  This culture can be seen throughout three generations and how with each generation things are forgotten and each generation is more assimilated to the German culture. It brings about the larger question of what makes you what nationality you are, or rather what makes you German and what makes you Turkish. Upon receiving their passports, the two now have surrendered their Turkish citizenship but they do not identify completely as Germans but rather somewhere in between where there is no label for what you are.

 

Inglourious Basterds Meme

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In the film Inglorious Basterds, Col. Hans Lada’s character acts as one of the main antagonists, making it pretty easy to dislike him. In the opening scene of the film, he visited a french dairy farmer’s home to investigate the possibility that they were hiding a Jewish family from the Nazi’s. The colonel then goes on to explain that he thinks of the jewish people as rats and to find them you must think like a rat. All the while he was enjoying the fresh milk from the farmer’s cows. He makes a fuss about how delicious it is, complementing the farmer. Later, he is in a restaurant sitting with Shosanna, orders her a glass of milk, and instructs her to wait to eat her dessert after they bring the whipped cream for the top. The significance of the milk is still somewhat beyond me but I believe that it was used as an intimidation tactic. It also created suspence within the films that it was featured in.

We Don’t Wear Our Uniforms Anymore, Right?

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While the Nazis were able to take off their physical uniforms, they were not able to take off their metaphorical uniforms. This meme references how after the fall of the Third Reich, the majority of the Nazis were simply able to take their uniforms off and continue with their lives, but it was not as easy for the survivors of the Third Reich to move on from the atrocities that they had suffered or forgive the sins against them committed by the Nazis. After World War Two, many countries thought that the process of Denazification was enough to absolve the majority of former Nazis of their sins. However, it was not enough for the survivors, because it did not matter if the Nazis no longer wore their physical uniforms, they still wore their metaphorical uniforms of the sins they committed.

Hugo Stiglitz has Fans

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During the flashback where the Basterds break Hugo Stiglitz out of prison, they introduce themselves as his fans. One can not help but laugh at such a playful set of words, given the setting and context of the scene. The Americans know and remember him as a celebrity, given that “everybody in the German army has heard of Hugo Stiglitz.” However, Stiglitz’s status as a celebrity to them is like calling him an artist, actor, or performer of anything much more commonplace than Nazi-killing. Teh above meme is made with a humorous imagination of what Hugo’s equally humble reaction could be. After all, his character is quiet and does not tend to do much, save for contributing to the more violent scenes of the film. He likely would consider his deeds a personal hobby, but in a much more laid-back honesty compared to his heralded remembrance by the other characters in the film.

Can’t escape being a Nazi

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The meme translates to “The first cut is the deepest and hard to forget”. This meme is similar to the article “Collective Memory and Cultural Identity” by J. Assmann because it shows communicative memory. The Nazi was branded with the swastika by the Basterds and he goes back to tell Hitler of what had happened to him. This is an example of communicative memory because the story of how he was branded is being told.  The memory of being branded by the Basterds, unless documented such as photograph or writing, will only live as long as the people, who were alive to experience it, are still living.