The White Ribbon - The Conclusion

            The conclusion of The White Ribbon was not much of a surprise for me. The opening scene of the movie where the children are inquiring about the doctor was one that did not bode well. It was obvious that the children in the town were up to something and though the teacher found no conclusive evidence I agree with his hypothesis – the children were responsible for the horrible deeds that occurred in that town.

I found it interesting that the movie had no music. Last week, my speech teacher challenged my class to watch a film without sound and see if we could still understand what was happening. Her initial goal was to show us how body language can convey meaning, but she also wanted to emphasize the use of technology in a presentation, especially that of music. She argued that the “killer is behind you” music is necessary to provoke fear in the viewer.  I initially thought that she was right, but after watching the movie, I believe that there is something about silence that can be just as frightening.

There were a few scenes in the movie where characters were going somewhere in the dark and the lack of music left me without a clue as to what was going to happen. At least when you have the music, you know that the bad guy is coming, but without it you cannot mentally prepare yourself.

Another thing that caught my attention in the film was the connection drawn between masturbation and death. When the father told the story of the boy who gradually wasted away from masturbating I felt the need to laugh at the absurdity of the idea, but the father’s seriousness stopped me. That sexual intercourse, even with one’s self, was so forbidden that a boy had to be strapped to his bed is very interesting. Especially in light of the fact that the children were engaging in activities that could actually kill people.

This juxtaposition of the repression of sexual activity and the ignoring of other harmful activities is very indicative of society today. Quite often people will focus on the more sensationalized problem and ignore the other “evils” going on. That the priest/father could imagine his son committing a “perverse” sexual activity, but not physical harm against others shows the need to focus on things that can be controlled.