The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, directed by Mark Herman is based during World War II. This time period revolved around the Holocaust and discrimination against Jewish citizens. The main focus of movies based during this time is to point out all of the differences between those who were free and those who were not. While watching this movie most of the audience only sees the differences, but that is not all that Herman highlights.  Although the plot of The Boy in The Striped Pajamas is based around the inequality of Jewish citizens, if one closely examines the various visual elements at play in this image it is clear that the director actually intended to create a sense of parallelism.

The ground planes are a discrete way that Herman attempts to show equality. When one glances at this image they can clearly see the differences in the ground planes behind each boy. The plane that the Jewish boy is located on looks extremely barren. The audience then correlates this background with the boy’s emotional state, so the bleak plane causes the audience to assume he is depressed without even knowing the context. The plane that the free boy is located on seems to be flourishing because it is bright green and slightly overgrown. The green and wildness of this background promotes the idea that he is free to do as he pleases. The fact that the free boy’s plane is overgrown causes one to believe that he is in better health than the other boy, 

whose plane is mostly unfruitful. All of these details are what initially catches the viewer’s eye. Although those obvious points direct the audience to only see differences, if one looks closer there are also similarities. 

If one also looks closer, around the Nazi boy’s feet there is an area of dead, dull looking grass, just like there is around the Jewish boy. Farther into the background of the plane the Jewish boy is located on, there is bright green grass and even some trees. The patch of dead grass surrounding the Nazi boy is used to show that even though he is free, he shares similar feelings as the Jewish boy. The flourishing trees and grass in the background of the Jewish boy is used to show the audience that even though he is imprisoned, he is meant to grow and flourish like the free boy. Herman uses these small details in order to point out the similarities among the differences.

The viewpoint of the image is also used to show likeness between the boys. This viewpoint may seem like it was chosen in order to draw attention to the fence, in order to put emphasis on the fact that the boys are separated. One would assume that because the fence is located directly in the middle and very close to the camera, but that is not the case. The fence does not stand out as much as one would expect because of the dull coloring. Instead the boys are what catches the audience’s eye and almost makes them not notice the fence at all. Despite the fence, the profile viewpoint gives a sense of balance to the image as a whole. The side view creates the illusion that the boys are on the same level, even though they are separated by a massive barb wired fence.  When viewed at this angle the audience views the boys as friends, equals even, because one can clearly see that they are one the same ground, in the same place. They are just simple on different sides of the fence.

Proportions are also used tactfully, in order to point out equality. At a glance, one can see that the free boy is standing above the imprisoned boy while looking down at him. Initially the audience would assume this was done in order to prove that the free boy has any control over the prisoner boy, however, that is not the case. The Nazi boy looking down at the Jewish boy does show that he has more power than him, but it does not show that he has power over the prisoner boy because of their stances. Even though the Jewish boy is technically lower, the audience can tell by his stance that he is not afraid. He is clearly calm. The prisoner boy is also not looking up to the Nazi boy, if he were looking up to him that would give the free boy more of a sense of power over him. Since he is simply looking straight and sitting in a calm manner, it tells the audience that he does not feel ‘beneath’ the other boy. The Nazi boy on the other hand, is standing up looking down at the prisoner boy. Usually this would indicate that he is in charge, but his stance says otherwise. The Nazi boy is slumping over and looking at the Jewish boy with what seems like sadness in his eyes. These small details make the audience feel as if he wishes he could be with the other boy.

Any movie based during the time period of World War II is mainly based around the concept of Jewish citizens versus the Nazis. There are always other subjects, such as a Jewish family hiding from the Nazis or someone smuggling Jewish people in their home. What always remains the same throughout the movies is the constant reminder of the inequality between the Jewish people and everyone else. By not only focusing on the inequality, the director makes The Boy in The Striped Pajamas stand out. The various visual elements the director chose to go into the scenes give the audience an opportunity to see the differences along with the similarities. There are many obvious points that show the differences, but there are also many ways that parallelism is shown between the boys if the viewer takes a closer look.