POINTS OF VIEW

It has been said that the historian has an obligation to relate all known evidence to his theme, not forgetting that which contradicts it. Thus, the historian has to present as many views of a particular event or subject as possible before coming to any conclusion. Can a filmmaker present many points of view?

Think about the film 'Schindler's List'. Do we see everything through the eyes of Oskar Schindler? What other "points of view" do we see? How does this affect our understanding of what is happening in the story?

 

Film still from Stephen Spielberg's 'Schindler's List'

If a historical film is presenting an "unbiased viewpoint", in the ways that historians should present as many different sides of the argument as possible, then how do different viewpoints appear in 'Schindler's List'?

Quite often in a film we are asked to sympathise with one character - what we might term "the good guy" .

Film still from Stephen Spielberg's 'Schindler's List'

Try to think back to the film and remember who else is chosen. What special qualities do many of the people have?