A Reel Witness: Steven Spielberg's Representation of the Holocaust in Schindler's List

Abstract

This essay explores why Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List is significant for American cinema, for movies about the Holocaust, and for the artist himself. Two primary concerns guide its search: (1) to review the relationship between film history's prince of profit and his account of the Holocaust and (2) to emphasize how moving pictures might offer us something not possible in academic historical studies. The thesis is that the movie and the filmmaker are inextricably intertwined and that an understanding of that bond is useful not only for appreciating the film but also for reducing misconceptions about depicting the Holocaust in a commercial medium. My goal is to suggest to readers that movies do not function in a vacuum, that their ability to entertain and to educate is tied to uncertain market conditions, daily censorship battles, prevailing industry practices, and powerful financial considerations. The more one understands these aspects of the film's background, the more one appreciates Spielberg's challenges and accomplishments. Thus, a subtext of this exercise is that mainstream theatrical films are both a business and an art, that historical and biographical movies make use of the past to comment on the present, that the mass media mediate between us and the events they depict, and that audiences often mistake that mediation for reality.1 The reader should also know at the outset that the tone of this essay differs markedly from that of many film studies. Rather than denigrating pragmatic moviemakers for bowing to commercial realities, I want to explore how artists like Spielberg employ their box-office clout to express their personal visions to a mass audience. As William D. Romanowski aptly stated, Film has long been realized as a powerful transmitter of culture because it transmits beliefs, values and knowledge; serves as a cultural memory; and offers social criticism. Consequently, the cinema remains a continual battleground in the cultural conflicts in America.2