Donald Duck in 'Der Fueherer's Face'

• How are the Germans (and Japanese) portrayed in the opening sequence? How is irony created? They seem fairly happy and cheery as they are portrayed in a band that is cheerful. This is quite ironic as the Japanese and Germans were not fairly cheerful people in that time and they treated many people in very harsh ways and song and dance was not something they did not regularly. 
• How is propaganda and the effect of propaganda portrayed with the introduction of Donald Duck? This is trying to show how terrible Nazi Germany was but the Nazi Germans were trying to tell the world of how bad the Americans were and that was how propaganda was portrayed.
• How is irony continued into the breakfast scene? It is showing how much that we people take for granted as he is spraying the 'Aroma of Bacon and Eggs' into his mouth and he is having incredibly stale bread that sounds like he is chewing cement. The people of Nazi Germany are singing about how great their country is and how much better it is than America but they can't even give their people a proper breakfast which is ironic.
• How is Nazi Germany portrayed in the opening shot at 3:30? There is a massive dark castle that looks like hell. There's flames and it is dark and looks like a terrible place.
• What is ironic about the song lyrics regarding work and what is happening in the scene? They are saying that they are the master race and that they are the best but everyone is put to terrible work and life is quite terrible there so this is why it is ironic.
• What does the conveyor belt portray regarding the lifestyle of Germans? That they're life is all work and that it is very stressful they must Heil Hitler and work at the same time which is really manic. There is nothing exciting about it, it's just work, work, work.
• Why do you think that there aren't actually any people that force Donald to work? We only see the ends of bayonets and a speaker. They shows the ends of bayonets to add in idea of hostility. It happened everywhere all the time (ubiquity). The do not trust even they're own soldiers and everyone is forced to do things.
• What is ironic about the vacation? Because the vacation is just a background and a break for about 10 seconds and then they are back to harsh work. It is ironic because it is not a vacation whatsoever and in America they had more of a break and the work was not as manic as Nazi Germany.
• In the dream sequence, how are the Germans portrayed? Why? It looks like they're just made for fighting and there is nothing human about them. The only thing they know how to do is fight and that they are horrible people.
• What do the pajamas when we see Donald in his bed tell us?That it was all just a dream and that he is actually American as his pajamas are the same stars and stripes as the American flag and that it is much better to be American than a Nazi German.
• What is the Statue of Liberty used to convey? That he is proud to be American that it is a good day in America and everything is OK because he is back in his home country. Patriotism, freedom, it is showing the contrast to the Germans. Because the statue of liberty is located near Ellis Island which is an immigrant station, this shows that the Nazi's hated all foreigners, and the Americans welcomed the foreigners into their country.
• How is Hilter portrayed at the end of the film? What is it about his face that is important? He looks extremely run down and worried and angry and he just looks like he is going to fall over because he is so tired and stressed. He does not look like a good man.

• Why is this a representation of propaganda? Why is it actually ironic considering the way the Nazi's are portrayed? It is very exaggerated and tells everyone that everything about the Nazi's is bad and they are not people and everyone needs to go to war against. It is exaggerating the stereotypical side of the Nazi's. This is ironic as the Americans are now saying that they're better than everyone else.

• Who are the villains, victims, and heroes? Heroes are American,s victim is Donald Duck, and the villains are the Nazi's.
• How are the portrayed? They are represented as weapons and negative bad people that don't have a heart and are killing machines. 
• What can you conclude about how these characters are portrayed knowing that this was produced in 1943 USA? (write a short essay including a discussion of the director's use of film techniques.) It is portraying what the Americans want the rest of the world to see the Nazi's as and everyone to join the war as heroes. If that cartoon was done in a more modern day then it might not have been as extreme as it would have been back then as the hatred for the Nazi's was extremely exaggerated back then.

Finding Visual Techniques - Life is Beautiful

key words/focus:
camera angle (low, high, eye-level), vectors, lighting, composition

(4:20) How are camera angles used when Joshua says 'Thank you' (not in German)? Which angles are used to view each of the characters? What does each of these angle signify? 

High angle is used that is looking down on Joshua. 

(4:45) What shot distance and angle is used to show Guido's concern for Joshua when the German waiter leaves the room? Describe the composition) 
Eye level shot, medium distance, asymmetrical, not as geometric, showing the Germans are more orderly and powerful.  
(4:46) How is shot of Guido contrasted to the shot of the German waiter walking away to tell someone what has just happened? Describe the composition and compare it to the previous shot of a concerned Guido.
The shot is symmetrical the shapes are very geometric, the man is walking very proudly and with perfection which ads to emotion. 
(5:02-05) How is the shot of the German's contrasted to that of Guido teaching the children to say 'Thank You'?
The Germans are in a close up whereas the children and Guido are in a long shot. The shot with Guido is very disorderly and the shot with the Germans is orderly. The shot with Guido is a high angle and the German shot is eye level. The Jew is on the same level as the children whereas the Germans show more power as they are higher in power than the children.

Holocaust experience characters

How do the characters in 'Life is Beautiful' represent an engaging and unique presentation of the Holocaust experience?

Most of the background characters in 'Life is Beautiful' are all very miserable and sad. You can see in the victims eyes that they have no hope and that there is nothing remotely good about the situation they're in. But then a character called Guido comes into the scenario and presents a game to his son to make his holocaust experience bearable.

Heroes and Villains in Life is Beautiful

1. Describe what is happening in this scene. A Nazi officer walks in the concentration room and asks that if anyone can translate his German to Italian then please step forward. Guido steps forward although he does not know any German whatsoever. The German officer then starts talking about the rules of the camp, but Guido starts to pretend that he is translating although he actually starts rambling on about the 'game' that he has made up for his son Joshua to make his time in the Concentration camp more enjoyable.
2. Who are the heroes and villains in this scene? Why are they heroes and villains? The hero is definitely Guido in this scene as he is trying to make this demoralizing scene a little bit better and making a joke out of it. He is also keeping the thought of the 'game' alive for his son. The villains in the story is the Nazi officer, he is trying to tell the Jews of the rules of the camp which is obviously very demoralizing. He is also using his power against the Jews as he is standing with arrogance and is in no way doing anything to help the victims.
3. For the hero/es and villain/s, describe techniques used in this shot which highlight their opposing role and how they connect with the audience. The Nazi's stand very straight and geometrically which makes them look orderly and like the have power whereas the Jews stand quite disorderly and don't look like they know what they're doing and quite scared. The Nazi's voices are very loud and controlling over the rest of the people in the room which shows that they have power over the audience. Although Guido is being humorous he is not showing any power when standing next to the Nazi officer.

Holocaust Unit: Key Question and 'Life is Beautiful'

How are victims, villains and heroes of tragedy and trauma valued and given a voice?

We need to apply this key question to Life is Beautiful:

1. What is a tragedy? A tragedy is a tragic story that leaves the person with extreme emotions and is a conflict with an overpowering source
2. How is Life is Beautiful a tragedy? This story is a tragedy because the people being affected are being treated terribly and the story depicts that they are just like us. Many bad and good things happen throughout the story that leaves the viewer with extreme emotion.
3. Could it also be a comedy? I do think that in some ways it is a comedy. I believe so because it makes you laugh in the way that the protagonist makes the horrible situation into a fun game for his little child and he makes everything into a joke. Despite the situation Guido tries to make it humorous using slap stick humor.
4. What is a villain? What is a hero? What is a victim? Give examples of each both from real life and from fiction. A villain is someone that makes the story hard for the hero, they are either bad or evil in the way that they act throughout the story with intention and repeatedly. A hero is someone that is either treated harshly and acts in a good matter, and they may also save the day for the others or themselves, they also go against the villain. A victim is someone that is being treated extremely harshly and affected by the villain. Victims are usually wrongly accused and are treated badly without necessarily doing anything wrong. Example of villains: terrorists, Stalin, Osama Bin Laden. Examples of a hero: Bill Gates, Martin Luther King, Paramedics. Examples of victims: Rwandans, Natural Disaster victims, Milly Dowler.
5. Who are the villains, victims and heroes? The villains in the movie are the Germans, the victims are the Jews and the heroes are the Americans. The main victim is Joshua because he is very unaware of what is going on. The second most victim is Dora, she is a victim of class because her husband is very wealthy and she is not as wealthy and she is also a victim of the holocaust. The Doctor however is a victim and a villain because he is a Nazi but he does not want to do what he is doing. The hero is Guido who is fighting for Joshua the victim who cannot fight for himself. Dora was also a hero because he sacrificed herself to be with her family. 
6. What value do each of these characters play in the movie? What role do they play in the plot? What role do they play in connecting the movie to history? What role do they play in evoking a reaction from the audience? (List the important characters in the movie and label them as either villains or heroes. Then, in dot points, list the important role they play in regards to plot, history, and to the audience.) The Nazi's are the antagonists in the second half but in the first half the antagonist is Dora's fiance. Guido is the protagonist he drives the story and is the hero. The Jews (victims) drive the story add to the story and the complication to the story and Joshua ads to the emotional side of the story as he is purely innocent. The Jews add a depth of emotion to the story as the antagonists the German are very horrible to the victims. Whereas the heros/ the Americans add relief when they come and drive the Germans out saving the Jews. All of the story is very closely factual to the Second World War and this all is history as it is the Jews in the German concentration camp. The Germans makes the crowd feel hatred as they are very sorry for what the Jews are having to go through this adds to the plot. The Nazi's are very cold and emotionless almost robot like which makes the story feel cold and you feel almost no happy emotions for the Nazi's which is intended. Guido is fairly humorous about the whole thing which makes the situations easier to watch and lightens the move and gives the audience a sense of familiarity. It makes you admire the hero because he is going out of his way and trying very hard to try and makes his sons time in the Concentration camp easier and fun. Joshua however makes you feel empathy by portraying extreme innocence. Everything people have to give are being ripped away from the by the Nazi's which makes the audience feel extremely sad. Love, money, power, family, happiness, all of these things are taken away from the Jews in a blink of an eye which shows that they are helpless to stop the Nazi's onslaught.