Holocaustmania in Hollywood

In the United States, several critics have recently raised their voices against movies about the Holocaust and the undisclosed motives of their makers.

The fact that many movies about the Holocaust came out just in time to qualify for the Oscars shows their makers are prepared to use this horrible chapter in our history as a gauge of quality, «exploiting mass tragedy to earn the kind of gravitas the Holocaust confers,» says Andre Wallenstein, deputy editor of The Hollywood Reporter.

And he has a point: in the space of just a few weeks, no less than 6 movies about Nazis barbarism were released in American theatres: «The Boy in the Striped Pajamas», «Good», «Valkyrie», «Adam Resurrected», «Defiance» and «The Reader». The makers of the latter film seem to have achieved their goal, as it was nominated in 5 categories and won Best Actress for Kate Winslet. Ironically, Winslet herself starred in an episode of «Extras» in 2005, in which she poked fun at herself, stating the only reason to take on a movie about the Holocaust is that «you're guaranteed an Oscar.»

The author of the book «Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil», New York journalist and essayist Ron Rosenbaum, describes «The Reader» as «the worst Holocaust film ever made», This is a film whose essential metaphorical thrust is to exculpate Nazi-era Germans from knowing complicity in the Final Solution.

Also up in arms are millions of Batman fans: in their view, the nominations the movie received were stolen from «The Dark Knight», despite the high praise and stratospheric success of Christopher Nolan's movie.