Marginalization as Perceived by Children in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Life is Beautiful: a post-colonialism perspective

Abstract

Racism is an inseparable part of human history and a common issue depicted in movies. A movie itself is more than just entertainment. It may imply human values, character building, social conflicts, art, history, as well as racism. Racism is an adults’ issue. Therefore, it is interesting to examine how children perceived marginalization toward the Jewish as depicted in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Life is Beautiful. To reach that aim, the discussion section was divided into three parts i.e racism, slavery, and genocide which are portrayed in the scenes in both movies. From Post-colonialism perspective supported by a brief discussion on children’s characteristic, the analysis and interpretation reveal that children behave mostly by imitating what the adults do around them or by listening to adults’ explanation about things. This makes them perceived marginalization differently from adults because the idea of marginalizing others is far beyond their mindset who think all human are the same and; therefore, should be treated as equal. By reading this study, the readers of this paper will get a better understanding of how children perceive marginalization, particularly one addressed to a different race since children have a different way of perceiving marginalization from adults.