Projecting the Holocaust into the Present: The Changing Focus of Contemporary Holocaust Cinema (review)

"An Important New Perspective on the Holocaust in Film"

Some authors provide sound scholarship, others supply detailed analysis, but few combine these accomplishments with prose that bridges the gap from the academic to the general reader. Historian Lawrence Baron has done just that while dealing with the often-controversial area of cinematic representations of the Holocaust. Because World War II genocide remains so dark a subject, it is easiest to see the era in high contrast black and white. This author points to the complexities of history, filmmaking, and cultural perceptions by contextualizing his work within classic films of the Shoah (from 1945-1979) while identifying trends and shifts in how stories of the Holocaust are now brought to the screen in the twenty-first century. Few previous works study more than the obvious contemporary movies Schindler's List (1993) or Life is Beautiful (1997). This author looks at a wide range of films, including X-Men as "Holocaust pop metaphor," indicating that the shadow of past atrocities pervades our culture. Baron meticulously developed a database of films to discern changes in filmic Holocaust narratives. His interest is in storytelling; to include documentaries would lengthen the book and discourage an audience outside the scholarly realm. Journal subscribers will recall "Holocaust Iconography in American Feature Films About Neo-Nazis," Lawrence Baron's contribution to Film & History 32.2, the 2002 thematic issue of "The Holocaust on Film."

Although Baron grounds his work in critical perspectives, primarily genre studies and the famous work of Robert Rosenstone, the text is designed to be readable for undergraduates as well as more senior scholars. Chapter notes provide extensive references to critical sources as well as contemporary reviews and responses to each film. A detailed bibliography and filmography organized into useful categories concludes this work. A particularly welcome feature is a reference section for Internet resources, the first research tool many college students turn to for information.

The organization of the text is also classroom friendly. After establishing the tradition of Holocaust films in such expected titles as The Diary of Ann Frank (1959) or the mini-series, Holocaust (1978), the chapters that follow introduce the intersection of genre conventions with Holocaust themes, examining four or five films in depth in each chapter. Although some might quarrel with genre as a critical lens, this seems to be particularly appropriate when exploring connections between the historical past and the images of that past that reach the movie screen. These recognized cultural codes immediately evoke responses and provide information for the viewer (and reader). In addition to the expected categories such as biopic or ill-fated lovers, Baron provides an insightful analysis of Holocaust-themed films produced for children and the possibly unsettling use of comedy for such a sobering topic. Another chapter identifies "Neo-Nazis as Holocaust Ghosts" and also examines films dealing with the children of survivors; these topics link the familiar treatment of the Holocaust period with the lingering effects of historical horrors on current issues.

Throughout the text, Baron inserts tables quantifying his extensive research and identifying films within, for example, decades or national cinemas that share common themes. His work also indicates the quantity of multinational film productions on the Holocaust that have emerged, reminding the reader that this is a subject of history and memory that extends across national boundaries and generations. While not diminishing the Jewish tragedy of the Final Solution, the author includes a discussion of others who were persecuted as dangerous or deviant or both—gypsies, the mentally retarded, and homosexuals.

Supported by his extensive research and precise explication, Baron demonstrates that the relationship between Holocaust studies and cinematic interpretations of this history are far more multifaceted than many previous works have acknowledged. He responds to critics who believe only documentary film should be allowed to speak of the Shoah, or to those who feel no representation can be accurate, by developing a measured, carefully constructed...