Spielberg's good twin

[meboriqua at aol.com]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
 
> And Schindler's List is on my long list of Movies I Really Have to 
> See, even with my peeves with Spielberg.  And with Williams.  I saw 
> enough of Schindler to catch the haunting opening theme, which I 
> recognized as "Gloomy Sunday" (which Billie Holiday made famous)--is 
> it from some classical work, I wonder?>

Okay, this is really the last thing I write before Sunday when I log 
on after my sister's wedding.  I can't stay quiet when Spielberg is 
the subject.

"Schindler's List" changed my life.  When I say it changed my life I 
really mean it.  I went into that movie one person and came out a bit 
different.  As a Jew, the movie really hit home for me.  I cried not 
only throughout the entire film, but for the rest of the night after 
and when I woke up the next morning, too.  Because of that film, I 
began to volunteer at The Simon Wiesenthal Center and realized that I 
wanted to be a teacher.  I don't know that I would have become a 
teacher (which is one of the best things I decided to pursue) if I 
didn't sit down to watch that movie.  

I had nightmares for well over a year after seeing the movie (usually 
where I was with my sister and we were trying to escape from 
Auschwitz), but I read up on everything Holocaust related anyway.  I 
have met real Schindler's Jews as well as many other survivors of the 
Holocaust.  Meeting someone in person with a number tattoo on her arm 
is a chilling thing indeed, and humbled me quite a bit.  I've had a 
survivor come to my school to speak to my students, something they 
really enjoyed.

I was only able to sit through the movie a second time when it was on 
channel 13 for Holocaust Remembrance Day and my boyfriend wanted to 
watch it as he had never seen it before.  It was not easy to see it 
again, but I did, and even convinced one of my colleagues (who is a 
Black Nationalist and has been known to say not such nice things about 
Jews) to watch it, too.  He was very much affected by it and we talked 
quite a bit about it.

Aside from that, I love everything about Indiana Jones and after 
seeing the first Jurassic Park was actually a bit worried that 
dinosaurs would be waiting for me outside the theater in midtown 
Manhattan.  "The Color Purple" is also a beautifully made film and one 
of my favorites.

I don't go to the movies much and am generally very critical, but I 
cannot criticize Steven Spielberg because he changed my life.  I have 
daydreams of meeting him so I can tell him just that.

--jenny from ravenclaw********************