The Phony Truth

Slaughter-House Five
Kurt Vonnegut                                    


    "The photographer wanted something more lively."

          This clip is from the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. It demonstrates how the Nazi's used false propaganda to encourage the European population to become part of their party. For this video is phony, Pilgrim as well is forced to form part of this idiotic political technique.

Slaughter - House Five
Kurt Vonnegut

Chapter Three

Boom! Boom! (Shot guns) (Sergeant yelling) (Bomb landing in a trench) (Blood spattering in the camera) Director shouts: "Hey you! The one dressed in rags! Fall down and pretend your dying!" Then, he once again cries out: "No! No! You are doing it all wrong! Foolish birdbrained people, you are useless! Now everyone, go to your first position, and from the top!"      

          When one observes this episode in "Slaughter-House Five" as an outsider, one can't help but notice how pathetic and ridiculous it is. Just imagine a professional photographer and film producer in the middle of a battle field, trying to get a perfect shot to show to citizens the powerful atmosphere experienced in World  War II.

         When the Germans captured Billy Pilgrim, they would create a scene of war and use Billy as one of the characters. A group of soldiers would gather around a field and shoot prisoners, while photographers and professional film directors produced advertisements on WWII. These broadcasts would implant a certain image on ignorant Europeans. The Nazi's purpose was to convince the public that war was no big deal. War was taken care of, and victory would obviously fall into the hands of the Germans.  Hitler along with his army, would make certain to the German population that the economy would grow after the war, and bring only benefits to those who dreamed of "bathing" in money. As the this word spread, confidence of Nazi power submerged within the air. 

           Money. Money. Money. Germans wanted money. Through power they would obtain these tiny pieces of green paper. Shocking, phony images would accomplish this vision. For, the Nazi's pretended they were supreme. They acted as if they knew what was wrong with the country. They knew how to fix it. In addition, they knew who to blame. Most importantly, people wanted it to be solved, no matter how, or by whom. Power would go into the hands of anyone who desired it. 

          If society has been able to put up with lies created by the government, in order to obtain fortune, then what is the truth? Are the pictures we see in war museums reenactments of historical occurrences? If so, how do we know these incidents weren't modified by the producer?  Nevertheless, it is more than obvious, that their are different points of view in war, and some of these might be valid. Though, who is demonstrating their perspective and who is victimizing themselves? People who recognize their mischiefs will always negate them, until the point of confession. However, their are few people in this Earth that will admit they represented and event or a situation falsely. In conclusion, we now don't really know our real past. Who was the villain? Who was the hero? What side aimed to create a utopia? What side impeded this, and made the world a dystopia?

          Our complete lack of factual historic occurrences will lead us to make false judgments or assumptions. Through a simple overview of an event, we can infer the purpose of every clashing side. "Assumption is the cause of all faults."