The White Ribbon



Photo courtesy of filmofilia.com 



Jennifer:

Does the society and time in which we are born affect which pleasures we consider “wrong” and what we would consider appropriate repercussions?  Michael Haneke’s, The White Ribbon, a film set in rural Germany prior to World War I, allows us to question just that. Though we have not yet viewed the entire film, it is beginning to appear as if this is a time in which pleasures are repressed, possibly even ones that we may consider normal everyday activities in our society. They seem to be especially concerned with punishing the children for indulgence in pleasurable activities.

This is lucidly depicted during a particular scene in the film. At one point, the children are scolded for returning home past their curfew and ordered to wear a white ribbon that once represented their purity and innocence as children. They are to tie it around their fingers again as a reminder. The father also orders them to their rooms without supper. These actions indicate the repressive society in which they lived. It would be quite unexpected to see a parent in our society punish his children by letting them go hungry. Their punishment was still not over though. The next day they were each beat by several repetitive and seemingly painful lashes. This type of punishment is becoming less and less common in our society as it is now seen as abuse. It is important to also note that if such punishment were to occur, it certainly would not be due to returning home past your curfew.