Analysis Of Das Boot

For many individuals there is a period when we must reconcile our past actions with our present reality. Though this can be accomplished through therapy, the challenge increases exponentially when an entire country is forced to confront its history. A notable example of this challenge is Germany after the events of World War II and the Holocaust. For German society, the current prevailing attitude is that a nation can only truly reckon with the past if they understand it. Das Boot is the perfect cultural representation of the idea that the only way Germany will be able to look to the future is through acknowledgement and realistic portrayal of the past. The modern confrontation with Germany’s Nazi past, like many German concepts, can be boiled …show more content…
The movie takes place in a German u-boat tasked with taking out British and American ships with torpedoes. They undergo many harrowing journeys along the way, but the viewer often is confined within the claustrophobic hull of the submarine. The film is characterized as a “crystal image” meaning it shows both sides of many aspects of society. The German Quarterly describes the film as having “a simultaneity of presence in different worlds, both above and below water.” This contrast is reflected in the crew of the ship. Much of the conflict revolves around the differences between the war-hardened, world-weary veterans and the shiny, Hitler-youth recruits. From the audience’s perspective, however, the film doesn’t appear to state a thesis concerning the war, but just portray the Nazi soldiers as humans rather than mustache-twirling humans. In the end of the film, the viewer is undoubtedly happy and relieved that the crew made it back to their own port; we are all suddenly reluctant Nazi sympathizers. The ease with which the audience can see their side offers a glimpse into how effortless it would be for an entire country to get swept into the Nazi party. In the most clever twist in the movie, moments after the submarine reaches home the port is bombed in an Allied air raid. We watch as the captain and most of the crew dies, and I found myself emotionally confused. I should, in a way, be satisfied, as this bombing means the good guys are closer to victory and Hitler can no longer commit his evils. At the same time, I just spent two hours with these sorry souls stuck in a submarine and hoped the whole time that they would make it home. It’s no wonder this film has been described as “ideologically promiscuous.” The only belief system the movie appears to subscribe to is that of the truth. Ultimately I think