Chariots of Fire (1981)

Personal Movie Rating: 70%

Here is my thought on the movie "Chariots of Fire" (1981):

*WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*

The film "Chariots of Fire" tells the story of two athletes, Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charrleson), in the 1924 Olympic. In the film, Abrahams was a Jew experiencing anti-Semitism from the staff in the University of Cambridge where he studied in. He had an extreme passion in running, and he wanted to achieve victories in numerous running competitions. Abrahams ran because  he wanted to prove to the people that even though he was born a Jew, he was as good if not better than other English men. Abrahams wanted to use his achievement in running to 

break down the English men's bias and prejudice towards the Jews. On the other hand, Liddell was a devoted Christian born in Scotland, who wanted to work as a missionary in China. Even though Liddell's sister, Jennie Liddell (Cheryl Campbell), disagreed with Liddell's idea to become an international runner, Liddell decided to go ahead anyway as he saw it as a chance and opportunity  to glorify God before he became a missionary in China.

Both Abrahams and Liddell were motivated to run in different ways. As a Jew, Abrahams was treated in an unfair manner as compared to other English men. The bias and prejudice he received all this while motivated him to win a gold medal in the Olympic. In order to achieve his target, Abrahams stopped contacting his girlfriend, Sybil Gordon (Alice Krige),  so that he could focus solely on his training. This indicates that Abraham's high motivation led to his strong control over his own behaviors. Also, Abrahams didn't receive any support from the University of Cambridge officials as they show disapproval towards Abrahams's decision to hire an external coach, Sam Mussabini (Ian Holm), to train him. The officials thought that the decision to hire an external coach would taint the reputation of the university. Regardless, Abrahams was able to succeed without the support of his university's officials as he was highly motivated to reach his goal. 

Liddell, on the other hand, was motivated to run not only for himself but also for God. He believed that winning running competitions was a way to honour God. Liddell's love and devotion for God motivated him to put in a huge amount of effort and time in the field. He also quit his rubgy team so that he could focus on his training as an international runner. Even though Liddell wanted to win a gold medal in the Olympic, he didn't forget that the reason why he ran was to glorify God. As such, Liddell refused to run when he realized that the heat for his 100-metre race was held on Sunday. He refused to run as his Christian convictions didn't allow running on the Sabbath. Instead, Liddell chose to switch place with another runner in the 400-metre hurdles that didn't take place on a Sunday. In the end, Liddell won a gold medal in the race. Not only that, his religious convictions made headlines around the world as well. This indicates that one is capable of reaching his/her goals as long as he/she stay motivated all the time.

In a nutshell, the film shows how two people from different backgrounds can be motivated in different ways to work their way to the top. The take-home message of this film is that we must always search for the key motivation that drives us to reach our goals and achieve success in life.

Schindler's List (1993)

Personal Movie Rating: 92%

Here is my thought on the movie "Schindler's List" (1993):

*WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT*

The film tells the story of a German businessman, Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), in the World War II era. In the beginning of the film, Schindler moved to Poland so start up his own business. In order to make sure everything runs smooth, Schindler socialize and made friends with some important personnel in the Nazi party. Schindler's connection with the Nazi party grew stronger over time, and that gave him the opportunity and advantage to employ Jewish people as low-wage workers in his factory. However, after witnessing the suffering of the Jewish people caused by the Nazi party, Schindler began to develop compassion towards the Jewish people. He spent all his money to bribe the officers in the Nazi party, so that he could use the excuse of hiring the Jewish people as factory workers in order to save them from the concentration camp. He continued to protect the Jewish people until the war ended. The Jewish people expressed their gratitude towards Schindler by giving him a signed statement attesting to his role saving Jewish lives. The final scene of the film depicts the Jewish people saved by Schindler, also known as the Schindler Jews, showing their gratitude towards Schindler by paying tribute at his grave in Jerusalem.

One of the themes of the film is evilness. The Nazi army were extremely brutal and cruel while treating the Jewish people. In the film, the Nazi army gathered the Jewish people in the Krakow Ghetto while waiting for the completion of the Plaszow concentration camp's construction. Once the camp was completed, a Nazi lieutenant, Amon Goeth (Ralph Fiennes), gave the order to liquidate the Krakow Ghetto. Many Jewish people were killed during the process.  The remaining Jewish survivors were then moved to the concentration camp. The Jewish people were treated badly in the concentration camp. The Nazi army forced all the Jewish people to strip for a naked medical checkup in broad daylight. The Jewish people were treated as if they were animals ready to get slaughtered. In addition, Goeth brutally mistreated his Jewish maid and randomly shot down Jewish people from the balcony of his house. To sum it up, Goeth and his troops kept the prisoners living in constant fear for their lives.

The question here is why did the Nazi army did the aforementioned evil things in the film? Milgram's study found that most participants in the study followed the instructions of the experimenter to induce electric shock. This indicates that most people follow directions or command of authority figures out of obedience. Hence, there is a possibility that the Nazi army were merely following instructions of their superiors to carry out all those inhumane treatment of the Jewish people. In addition, the Stanford prison experiment showed that the participants who were assigned the role of the "guards" became more sadistic and cruel over time. As time passed by, the treatment of the "guards" towards the "prisoners" became even worse. This indicates that sometimes people might get too immersed in certain roles. Therefore, it is possible that the Nazi army's evil acts were merely due to their over commitment towards their jobs.

To sum it up, it remains unsure what is the actual reason that explains why the Nazi army did all those terrible things to the Jewish people. Even if the Nazi army did all those things simply for the pleasure of it, no one can actually say that what they did were evil. Good and evil are extremely subjective individual constructs, and they have had different definition throughout history. Good and evil are merely constructs created by ideological shifts.