Refresh the Distant Generation

On the first page of “Schindler’s List: Myth, Movie, and Memory,” Terrence Rafferty is quoted stating “the Holocaust, 50 years removed from our contemporary consciousness, suddenly becomes overwhelmingly immediate, undeniable.” This idea struck a chord in me. As time moves away from historically events, they become only that: historical events. “Schindler’s List,” and all Holocaust films, literature, and art serve a unique purpose that is different than that of memorials and ceremonies. The film is a memorial in itself, a memorial that can push the envelope of experience and speak to it’s viewers in a more emotional, personal, and graphic way that imprints itself on our memory. Historical events that are removed from our time, our generation, is distant. These personal stories through contemporary mediums allow us to connect to that event, preserving it in a revitalized format in our memory. I agree with Stephen Schiff when he says “I don’t want to burden the movie too much. but I think it will bring peace on earth, good will to men. Enough of the right people will see it that it will actually set the course of world affairs.” It is important that art about these political-atrocities is made consecutively, refreshing the distanced generation of mistakes humans have made, that can be made again.