Page - 55 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/01

Punishment and Crime | 55www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/1, 47–61 • Martin becomes sad, and the pastor suspects he is masturbating and orders his hands bound at night. • At Christmas the pastor frees them of their ribbons and restraints. • At the end of the story, we see Klara standing on watch as the schoolchildren make a mess of the classroom before the pastor and schoolteacher arrive. The pastor publicly reprimands Klara, after which she faints. • We see her killing her father’s bird and putting it on his desk shaped like a cross.15 This list is as problematic as the whole film. How do these episodes define Klara and Martin? They are all extremely meaningful and traumatic events, but they pass without explanation, and without much emotional display. The only fact we can recognise is that Klara leads her brothers and sisters in a group that is present before and after the crimes, and when people ask what they are doing, she responds, “We want to help, how is the victim doing?” Are her words a kind gesture or a pretence, hiding their guilt? ENTERING AN UNJUST WORLD All human beings constantly try to make sense of the world they live in by de- ducing a cause-and-effect chain of events, a stacking of new information into appropriate categories. If new information does not fit, we remain restless and unsatisfied. The basic assumption of this film is already discomforting. We want the romantic image of a friendly village a century ago that is rudely disrupted by the outbreak of the First World War. What we get is a story about a village that is more vile and gruesome than a war could ever be. How can we process such information? Taking a step back, we can endlessly discuss ways in which a spectator can temporarily, hesitantly or wholeheartedly engage with movie characters, but with the film The White Ribbon engagement remains seriously problematic. Our moral judgment is strongly questioned, as can be explained with the help of a theory developed by Melvin Lerner. From a sociologist’s perspective, Lerner sought to explain the human moral system irrespective of religion and culture. He termed his theory “belief in a just world”.16 His position is a reaction to developmental psychologist Jean Piaget’s theory of how children learn to understand justice.17 Piaget suggested that chil- dren start off believing in a just world. For children what is just is based on effect rather than intention. Someone who unintentionally breaks two dishes is seen 15 To be precise: we do not see Klara kill the bird, but we come very close that moment. We see her open- ing the cage and grabbing the bird; in the next shot we see the dead bird on the table. 16 Lerner 1980. 17 Piaget 1948.