tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post8648251992949650238..comments2024-02-14T05:39:29.497-06:00Comments on HELL BURNS: MOVIES: "IDA"Sr. Helena Burns, fsphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09196121481873845379noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-52087437703798878432016-08-07T20:13:22.448-05:002016-08-07T20:13:22.448-05:00Thanks so much for your comments here. I have adju...Thanks so much for your comments here. I have adjusted the review. I guess I have read accounts and seen soooo many historical films and docs that paint the Polish people as a whole as extremely anti-Semitic. The sheer volume convinced me. I've instructed readers in my revised blog post to read your Comments!Sr. Helena Burns, fsphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196121481873845379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-34393982283398155042016-08-06T20:45:43.912-05:002016-08-06T20:45:43.912-05:00...(cont.)
In the independent country Jewish Pole......(cont.)<br /><br />In the independent country Jewish Poles fought as hard for as all other Poles (which, by the way, created one of the first democratic constitutions in Europe, also giving women full civil rights as a matter of course), Jews were vital parts in efforts to rebuild the country, present in every aspect of public life, making up a big percentage of businessmen, entertainers, educators, scientists. Then Germany invaded and Russia "helped". Most of the Polish intelligentsia was eliminated; Jews were being exterminated outright, Slavs were meant to be slaves first. There was nothing Polish about the concentration camps. They were built by Poles only in the sense that the prisoners themselves were made to build them. Were they people who betrayed their neighbours to Germans? Tragically, yes - but they usually didn't do it from hate, just from fear. I'm not saying it makes the act any less evil, I'm saying the motivation wasn't any different than giving away any other person wanted by an occupant. And the heroism was no different, either. There are more trees in Yad Vashem monument for Poles than for any other nation.<br />Poles have never been intolerant until there came the plague of communism. And communist propaganda with its aggresive narrative looked for class wars and every reason to make Poles hate each other. (Oh, but the real enemy has always been fascism, right? It's not like THEY had camps, or been allied to Germany, pff.) And the thing is, the West treated their Russians very seriously. (They would know how things worked in "their territory", right?) It was convenient to some and irrelevant to others that "Polish concetration camps" became a thing.<br />The myth of an intolerant Poland was and still is used as a tool to discredit the very Catholic national identity and traditions (the Church is obviously a synonym of intolerant fanatics, right?), it's only (and only slightly) changed who does it.<br />What I'm saying is, it's very hard for me to see someone whose judgement I rely on in other diciplines being so misled about something so important. Ida itself is highly manipulative, very much strays from the truth not only of the story it's based on, but also of the situational reality. And saying that Poland is "very anti-Semitic" is extremely hurtful, even if I've heard it from Poles, too. I understand how this notion comes about, but it's just not true. I just wanted you to know that.<br /><br />- PhilopatorAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-17197599993451558722016-08-06T20:45:22.060-05:002016-08-06T20:45:22.060-05:00I'm afraid that the alleged anti-Semitism of P...I'm afraid that the alleged anti-Semitism of Poland that this film and common 'knowledge' promote is actually a residue of Communist propaganda.<br />Camps were located in Poland because it made most sense to Nazis from the technical point of view - from the location to the fact that there were so many Jews in Poland. And why were there so many Jews in Poland if it's such a xenophobic and anti-Semitic country? Because since the middle ages it provided a safe haven to them and accepted them with their whole cultural and religious identity. When there were massacres all around Europe in Reinessance, Jews (and other persecuted religious and cultural groups) would flee to Poland. They found not only peace, but the space to prosper and grow.<br />By the 20th century Jewish communities were so developed and prominent that they had started to annoy some people who would use the age-old argument for political leverage - those pesky foreigners taking over our economy, that sound familiar in any way? - except the weren't really foreigners, they were Jewish Poles. They identified as both, which is a very important thing to understand about how they functioned in the world and kept their national identity despite the centuries without their own country. However, there were many rural places were Jewish communities were practically self-governed and orthodox to the point of seclusion and hostility towards any outside influence. They met with hostility in return, because of course - ignorance and just plain neighbour squabbles are always prominent in these situations. Late 19th and early 20th century were the time when the issue of fuller integration of all Jews was vital and much discussed. Poland was a country striving to preserve its identity under tyranny; Jews had it double difficult there.<br />...<br />To be continuedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-73559863080778112882015-04-04T00:16:15.594-05:002015-04-04T00:16:15.594-05:00Anonymous: Good point! Anonymous: Good point! Sr. Helena Burns, fsphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196121481873845379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-1749255903413503752015-04-04T00:09:25.762-05:002015-04-04T00:09:25.762-05:00Are there any movies since, say, 1965 in which a w...Are there any movies since, say, 1965 in which a woman on the fence decides to stay a religious? I think maybe the one about the Immaculata basketball team, but no one others. To be fair to The Sound of Music, it was based on reality...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-90244632806125301352015-02-24T18:06:35.782-06:002015-02-24T18:06:35.782-06:00Yes, it has everything to do with the story! Thank...Yes, it has everything to do with the story! Thanks for this!Sr. Helena Burns, fsphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196121481873845379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-22835531294410586592015-02-24T15:57:01.601-06:002015-02-24T15:57:01.601-06:00http://youtu.be/OALt13mcxJghttp://youtu.be/OALt13mcxJgDvoraOCDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427347237897894399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11789157.post-64461031110866630682015-02-23T21:21:44.119-06:002015-02-23T21:21:44.119-06:00Very interesting that the trailer is set to a famo...Very interesting that the trailer is set to a famous chorale prelude of J.S. Bach, transcribed for piano. I would need to study more closely to discern if this is the famous recording by pianist Alfred Brendel. <br /><br />The chorale prelude, "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" (1706-1717), was written by Bach based on the hymn text of Johann Agricola (1529), and formed part of a collection of preludes that he composed for the liturgical year. <br /><br />Here is a translation of the first stanza of the hymn. Does it have any connection to the heroine or to the motif of the film?<br />I call to thee, Lord Jesus Christ, <br />I pray thee, hear my crying; <br />Both lend me grace within this life <br />And let me not lose courage; <br />The proper path, O Lord, I seek, <br />Which thou didst wish to give me: <br />For thee living, <br />My neighbor serving well, <br />Thy word upholding justly. DvoraOCDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03427347237897894399noreply@blogger.com