Swing Kids

Let me begin by saying that I thought that this film was the most emotional of the four movies that I have watched. I had trouble digesting all of the information and heartbreak that occurred. I think this probably happened because I intend on teaching history, the subject I majored in in undergrad. As a result, I have learned more than most people will probably ever need to know about both of the World Wars. All of that information over a series of years tends to make a person a bit desensitized to the Nazi era. Since the ideas about the Holocaust and the horrors of the Nazi regime are mentioned in almost every class I have taken as either a point of discussion or a form of comparison, it is not something we view as shocking anymore.

            However, this movie was completely jaw dropping for me. In no other film have I really been shown people that seem to be close to my age actually having to deal with these issues. This movie was the only one of my four choices that did not take place in the United States as well, which may have made the truth harder to swallow. In any case the reason that I struggled so much after watching the film was because the evil and emotion in it actually disgusted me. However, this information and the stories in the film are very relevant. I am not exactly sure where to find the balance in the classroom between giving information that is desensitized to information that is so disturbing that it is inappropriate for students.

            This raises a moral and ethical dilemma for me as a teacher, because it raises the issue of censorship. There are very few scenes in this film that are particularly vulgar or graphic, and it might be okay to show to students who were juniors or seniors, but the level of emotional disturbance that might occur makes me leery. Therefore, I am now wondering whether or not it is actually my job to put on display for my students the evils that take place in the world. By not showing them the most horrifying things I would feel as though I am cheating them. However, by censoring material I may never really get them to grasp how important these things were, and they may become desensitized to death tolls and statistics as I have become at times. The balance is yet to be decided for me.

           

            There were several different themes in the movie that could closely be related to social mobility and circumstance. Therefore I chose to focus on the three types of people that actually had to physically interact with the Nazi regime. The three categories that most of the characters and probably most German people can fit into are as follows:

            - Those who cannot participate (shown in Arvid)

            - Those who choose too participate willingly (shown in Thomas)

            - Those who have seemingly no choice (Peter and his family)

            The most tragic story that we see in the film is through Arvid, the crippled young man who loves swing music so much, but will never really experience the ability to dance to it they way he wants to. Throughout the film we see his transformation from someone who was simply dealt a bad hand to someone who was completely defeated by society. We can parallel this with American classroom by becoming aware that certain students such as those who feel academically inadequate or perhaps especially ostracized (such as sexual minority youth) may eventually be left with no hope that anything will ever get better for them. It raises the question of crossing cultural lines, because we can wonder if Arvid had not killed himself and perhaps left alone by the regime chance would he have wanted to live in that type of society at all anyway? My own personal guess would probably be no.

            The second transformation we see is Peter and his family. Although they are all still deeply hurt by death of Peter’s father, the mother and eventually Peter devote themselves wholly to the Nazi party. It is clear through several quotes from both Peter and his mother though that neither of them really wants that path for themselves. When Peter eventually gives himself up at the Swing club it is his spirit that we remember as we understand what will soon happen to him and probably his brother. His story reminds us of the difficulty that we often face when asked to challenge our own passion and philosophies in the face of the need for survival. This story can be representative of both underprivileged students and teachers when they have to make tough choices that challenge their abstract beliefs of philosophies.

            Thomas shows us that he is the weakest of the three types of people, because he allows himself to be completely seduced by the propaganda of the Nazi party. He often discusses how easy and wise it is to accept your role in the dominant culture. His priorities are quite obviously based in his own selfishness, but even he has trouble with his decisions when his own ambition causes the arrest of his father and later on Peter at the night club. We can tie this into voluntary service in without being critical in the culture of dominance. I believe this is the same tactic people use when they are claiming to be “colorblind” in the classroom, because that stance eliminates the value that is on every culture except for the norm.

            In the most literal sense, everyone does have a choice for how they handle their position. However, I place a lot of value on effects of nurture and upbringing. Therefore, I think that circumstances highly influence the way that people chose to do things. There are always going to be upsides and downsides to one’s position. In the instance of this movie the “most noble” option that we can see comes from Peter, and look at the lot that left him in at the end of the film. This is not to say that I or others would not think his sacrifices were worth the effort, but there is always a major cost.