Schindler's List/World Peace

Congratulations to our very own Ms. Philippines, Shamcey Supsup, for bagging the 3rd Runner up place in yesterday's Miss Universe Pageant! Filipinos couldn't be any prouder with your beauty, grace, and wit.


In every beauty pageant, during the Q&A part, we almost always expect the question “What is your greatest wish for the world?” And the scripted answer? “World Peace!” We laugh, and why not? It is a no-brainer answer, and it will never be a point taken against the beauty contestant.

We trivialize this as a joke, but reality is otherwise. I have heard of unbelievable stories from my own grandmother and my parents about the war. To my generation, war is only a tale found in history books, or if at present, far enough for its claws to reach my family.

I wish there was always world peace. Funny or not, this would always be my answer.

Movie Recall:  Schindler’s List   (1993)

Oskar Schindler is a greedy German businessman who becomes an unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

My Review:

A really depressing movie. But everyone must see it. How could one man have done the most heinous atrocities ever committed to man’s dignity, while the rest of the world kept silent? The images shown in this movie seems surreal and unbelievable. I have never seen a movie where my jaws were constantly dropped, and my eyes uncontrollably moisten.

Trivia :

Director Steven Spielberg was unable to get permission to film inside Auschwitz, so the scenes of the death camp were actually filmed outside the gates on a set constructed in a mirror image of the real location on the other side.

To gather costumes for 20,000 extras, the costume designer took out advertisements seeking clothes. As economic conditions were poor in Poland, many people were eager to sell clothing they still owned from the 1930s and '40s.

Harrison Ford was offered the title role but declined, saying that some people would not be able to look past him as a star to see the importance of the film.

Steven Spielberg was not paid for this film. He refused to accept a salary citing that it would be "blood money".At his insistence, all royalties and residuals from this film that would normally have gone to director Steven Spielberg instead are given to the Shoah Foundation, which records and preserves written and videotaped testimonies from survivors of genocide worldwide, including the Holocaust. The film that finally netted Steven Spielberg the Oscar for best director, something that had eluded him in the past

It is said that, during the filming, the atmosphere was so grim and depressing that Steven Spielberg asked his friend Robin Williams if he could film some comedy sketches.