Psychology

Impression of the author often serves as a constructive legacy into film adaptation of the written work. Some of the most critically acclaimed British films of the noir and neo-noir genres have succeeded in transcending their commercial values because these films have retained the originative ideas of their authors. While it is well established that language of cinema and that of literature differ from each other in terms of expressionistic scope, assimilation of content and amalgamation of both, there are certain common aspects between the two schools. The 2008 British film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas bears testimony to the ingenuity of cinematic adaptations of novels that thematically concern the Holocaust and its aftermaths on psychological and social lives of the survivors.

Thesis
This paper is going to critique the film in light of the films portrayal of the brutalities involving Nazis extermination of the Jews.

Brief Synopsis Explanation of Key Themes and Cinematic Devices
Based on an eponymous novel by John Boyne, the Irish novelist, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas deals with the theme of horrific torture unleashed by Third Reich upon the Jews during WWII. The film also explores other themes central to cinematic reconstructions of the Holocaust events, including loss of innocence and humanistic struggle for survival. Other Holocaust dramas such as Spielbergs Schindlers List and Polanskis The Pianist also explore themes similar to what is shown in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, albeit with less allegorical components. This chronicles the story of two boys who befriend each other at the notorious extermination camp in Auschwitz. Bruno, the 8-year old son of the Schutzstaffel officer Ralf, undergoes deep socio-psychological transformations once his family shifts to Berlin (Cettl 2009). He, along with his mother Elsa, is barely informed of the professional duty Ralf is entrusted with. As a result of this, they think Ralf is in charge of a labor camp. However, Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy of Jewish origin awaiting death at the concentration camp. The touch of British cinema is acutely observable in the treatment of Brunos loneliness and his yearning to have companionship. Hollywood productions of the Holocaust genre have typically bypassed the humanistic sides of war films, focusing more on perfections of technique and entropy. But this British film delves deeper into the humane aspects of isolation and remorse.

Brunos life at his familys new home soon becomes suffocating as he is constantly on the lookout for exploring the surroundings. This habit of his lands him and his family in trouble as he makes way to the outer periphery of the concentration camp. On the other side of the fenced wire is the camp itself, thronged with people wearing striped pyjamas. Here he meets Shmuel and both of them immediately strike a chord of intimacy, despite the anti-Semitic preaching Bruno receives from his history teacher Herr Liszt. After interacting with Shmuel, Bruno fails to relate to the formulaic conception about the Jews he is taught to believe by Liszt. His boyish innocence undergoes a profound transformation at the sight of countless acts of inhumane torture unleashed by the Nazi commanders upon the hapless Jews at the camp. Once again Cettl argues that The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas takes mannered looks at childhood innocence, which is set in contrast to the conventional American film narratives (2009).

Moreover, the humanistic aspects or the lack of it at the concentration camp are revealed from the viewpoint of Bruno  the way he perceives them, as opposed to what he is told about the so-called heroic mission of the Nazi German troops. The smokescreen of heroism and patriotism is lifted in a jiffy from the disbelieving eyes of the commanders son who, early in the movie, socializes with the Nazi officers unbeknownst to the actual reality.

Distortion of Cultural Elements
Spreading cultural pluralism was never on the agenda of the Third Reich. It is a matter of great historical importance that the oppressive German regime introduced a systematic device in the name of nationalistic cause to brainwash its citizens. This may be underpinned by the fact that Bruno and his sister Gretel are taught distorted history of Germany by Liszt. Moreover, Brunos firsthand account of the Nazi torture does not tally with what he is taught to believe in the propaganda films involving the Theresienstadt genre.

Christian Theism and Subversion of Behavioral Collectivism
It may be noted in relation to the thesis question that The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas blends Christian theism with the German faithlessness during that period. The Jews were seen as evil incarnations that must be terminated for the sake of humanity. Cettl observes the boy recites prayers to God before bed much as the officers swear allegiance to Hitler. The boy now learns that his friend is a Jew  subhuman and responsible for all evil according to his new official Nazi tutor (2009).

So it is quite apparent that the film exposes the improbability of psychological purification under the dire circumstances of widespread human rights violation which, in no way, endorses Christian beliefs about the existence of God. The reality of the Holocaust was so grim that it completely shuns all possibilities of a culturally singular notion about collective human redemption.  

Developmental Psychology
The complex process of psychology development in a pliant child is explored in depth in the film. Eminent film critic and columnist Roger Ebert views this film as a medium of perceptional shift. First we watch the film and absorb the narrative as they are delivered to us by the 8-year old Bruno. Then once he is gone, the audience has to make a perspective switchover (Ebert 2008). This calls for an examination of the times shown in the film. Several research works of Sigmund Freud and other seminal scholars in the field of cognitive psychology had been published and approved of by the psychologists by the time the film hit the theaters. So it was never a problem for the director to incorporate the composite mix of developmental psychology in the film. A number of crucial epistemological elements are introduced through characterization. Ralf, the Nazi commander, can be interpreted as a figure of patriarchal dominance and theistic absolutism (Cettl 2009). Again, Brunos account of his father changes drastically once he understands the reality about his fathers profession (Berardinelli n.d.). It implies that a childs unassuming account remains a constant coefficient amid the flux of historically exploitative documentations of some of the major events from the twentieth century. What it also implies that a childs cognition delivers a much more powerful punch to the allegorical attempts to rationalize and mitigate gross inhumanity.

Conclusion
In essence, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas presents a refreshing version of Holocaust movie depictions. Notwithstanding its praiseworthy attributes, the film also raises disturbing questions regarding the justification of including two minor characters in such a hostile and repulsive setting. As some scholars have been tempted to comment that director David Heyman has purposefully fictionalized historical accuracy for the sake of cinematic achievements, the film still remains to be a cult classic among its contemporary reel productions in the British industry.