Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Photos, Responsibility, Guilt, and Suicide

Just a thought about Unbearable Lightness and Tereza's photos. We discussed how, in some ways, PHOTOS = proof of everything the Communists were doing and how CAMERA = weapon. But what if we took it further and said that the regime using Tereza's photos against her is kind of like the guilt of the Czech people for standing by. Tereza did not foresee the consequences of taking the photo, but she is still "guilty" of taking it. In the same way, the Czech people may not have know exactly what would happen if they chose to fight or not to fight the Soviets, but they are still partially responsible for the results.

Also, and this is definitely stretching it, it kind of goes to what I was saying earlier about the theme of suicides popping up in Czech film. Turning the knife on oneself by not taking action or by unknowingly providing propaganda for the enemy. Alex, do you call bull on this one or nah?

1 comment:

Unknown said...

I think your comment "In the same way, the Czech people may not have known exactly what would happen if they chose to fight or not to fight the Soviets, but they are still partially responsible for the results" ties directly with a quote from The Unbearable Lightness of Being. During our AP Essay, one option was discussing the quote "the criminal regime were made not by criminals but by enthusiast convinced they had discovered the only road to paradise" and its ties with Paradise. The Czech people didn't know the results of fighting the Soviets. The enthusiasts didn't know that attempting to achieve their form of Paradise would lead to a criminal regime. Both those leading the government and those run by them both had to take risks to achieve their goal of Paradise. Despite the outcomes, they had to accept the consequences. Kundera accurately exclaims that despite the unknown consequences, everyone is still as guilty. Even if you say "I didn't know! I was a believer!" you're still as guilty. The people and government are both easily as responsible for the outcomes of their decisions.