Skokie

Rating:
Summary: Execellent docu-drama of a true story
Review: "Skokie" is the true story of how a community of Holocaust survivors and their neighbors in Skokie, Illinois stood up to a group of Neo-Nazis who wanted to hold a rally in their town. This watershed event is to Jewish-American history what the Selma March is to African-American history: a major turning point in the ongoing struggle of a minority to stand up for its dignity and rights. And yet, relatively few people recognize the name "Skokie" in the same way that they do "Selma." Which is one reason I show this video in Social Studies classes.

The film is well-balanced in the way that it presents the issues from all sides. On the one hand, the Nazis claim their First Amendment right to free speech. On the other hand, making that speech in a community of Jews who suffered under Hitler is provocative and cruel. The Jewish "establishment" recommends "quarantine" -- ignoring the Nazis to avoid giving them more publcity. The Holocaust survivors, on the other hand, point out that silence allowed Hitler to take over Germany, and they are not going to be silent again now. They urge public protest.

Danny Kaye's character is on the protester side. He describes an incident in the concentration camp where his mouth was stuffed with rags so he could not cry out. He refuses to be silent now and becomes an outspoken activist leader. His wife, on the other hand, is so emotionally traumatized by the memories that this controversy is re-awakening that she retreats to her room, listening to music and trying to block out the flashbacks. And their teenage daughter? She learns for the first time what her parents went through in the camps, and how her grandmother was brutally murdered by the Nazis. Up until this time, her parents has not talked about it, because they felt that a child should not have to grow up with such things. (Historically, it is true that, up until the Skokie events, many Holocaust survivors in America did not discuss the camps with their children. Many children of Holocaust survivors didn't even know their parents were in the camps -- yet they wondered why they had no aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.)

The legal side of the controversy is also well covered, with public meetings in the synagogue, private meetings in the Mayor's office, and courtroom scenes where the First Amendment is tested against testimony by the survivors about what seeing a swastika means to them. (These courtroom scenes also serve to give the viewers some background information about the Jews and the Nazis without getting preachy.) As the controversy heats up, Skokie becomes a focus of national attention, attracting protesters from around the country and giving the Mayor a big headache. Do the Nazis get a permit to hold their rally or not? I won't be a spoiler -- watch the film for yourself!

On the technical end, the film is rated PG with no bad language (except when the Nazis use racial slurs), making it appropriate for use in schools. However, it's 121 minutes long, which means it takes up two class periods (or more, depending on how long your classes are.) The action moves along well, however, and the students stay interested. The last part is a sort of trailer where each of the main characters does a short interview-type monolog about what he or she got out of the events. In the end, the viewer is left to decide for him/herself whether hate speech should be protected speech.

Rating:
Summary: Strong recreation testing the extent of free speech
Review: "Skokie" is the true story of how a community of Holocaust survivors and their neighbors in Skokie, Illinois stood up to a group of Neo-Nazis who wanted to hold a rally in their town. This watershed event is to Jewish-American history what the Selma March is to African-American history: a major turning point in the ongoing struggle of a minority to stand up for its dignity and rights. And yet, relatively few people recognize the name "Skokie" in the same way that they do "Selma." Which is one reason I show this video in Social Studies classes.

The film is well-balanced in the way that it presents the issues from all sides. On the one hand, the Nazis claim their First Amendment right to free speech. On the other hand, making that speech in a community of Jews who suffered under Hitler is provocative and cruel. The Jewish "establishment" recommends "quarantine" -- ignoring the Nazis to avoid giving them more publcity. The Holocaust survivors, on the other hand, point out that silence allowed Hitler to take over Germany, and they are not going to be silent again now. They urge public protest.

Danny Kaye's character is on the protester side. He describes an incident in the concentration camp where his mouth was stuffed with rags so he could not cry out. He refuses to be silent now and becomes an outspoken activist leader. His wife, on the other hand, is so emotionally traumatized by the memories that this controversy is re-awakening that she retreats to her room, listening to music and trying to block out the flashbacks. And their teenage daughter? She learns for the first time what her parents went through in the camps, and how her grandmother was brutally murdered by the Nazis. Up until this time, her parents has not talked about it, because they felt that a child should not have to grow up with such things. (Historically, it is true that, up until the Skokie events, many Holocaust survivors in America did not discuss the camps with their children. Many children of Holocaust survivors didn't even know their parents were in the camps -- yet they wondered why they had no aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.)

The legal side of the controversy is also well covered, with public meetings in the synagogue, private meetings in the Mayor's office, and courtroom scenes where the First Amendment is tested against testimony by the survivors about what seeing a swastika means to them. (These courtroom scenes also serve to give the viewers some background information about the Jews and the Nazis without getting preachy.) As the controversy heats up, Skokie becomes a focus of national attention, attracting protesters from around the country and giving the Mayor a big headache. Do the Nazis get a permit to hold their rally or not? I won't be a spoiler -- watch the film for yourself!

On the technical end, the film is rated PG with no bad language (except when the Nazis use racial slurs), making it appropriate for use in schools. However, it's 121 minutes long, which means it takes up two class periods (or more, depending on how long your classes are.) The action moves along well, however, and the students stay interested. The last part is a sort of trailer where each of the main characters does a short interview-type monolog about what he or she got out of the events. In the end, the viewer is left to decide for him/herself whether hate speech should be protected speech.

Rating:
Summary: Lest We Forget
Review: He could have his pick of them, but this is the only film role Danny Kaye took after a 12 year retirement of sorts.

He managed to sandwich in Skokie amid a slew of TV specials, tributes, and various other glorified career retrospectives. It would be his last significant work before the cameras, and it proved to be some of his finest.

The subject matter may seem corny or outdated to a young person, but not to anyone who knows the dark side of history the Nazis created.

And now here in a land where liberal communist sympathizers had been attacked at every turn for decades by the authorities, the conservative neo-Nazi party was enjoying a blind eye being turned to them. They were allowed to run rampant, particularly in America's East, and specifically in Illinois.

The main cast, featuring the great Mr. Kaye, Kim Hunter, Ed Flanders and Lee Strasberg (all of whom are sadly no longer with us), is excellent and all turn in the fine performances that one would expect of actors of their sterling talent.

Do not ignore the past, Skokie is saying, in case our apathy might be mistaken for weakness. These days, though, two decades after Skokie was filmed, we're keeping a much closer eye on Oregon than Illinois, but the message is the same - maintain constant vigilance upon those who would hide behind the Constitution and wave the flag in order to further the sickness of bigotry.

Rating:
Summary: Strong recreation testing the extent of free speech
Review: Skokie is the name of the small suburb outside Chicago and home to a large Jewish populace, many of whom are survivors of the Holocaust. In 1977, it was also the epicenter of an uproar when the American Nazi Party publicly announced they would hold a rally in the center of the town. This film examines the inevitable aftermath of emotions felt nationwide (particularly among the township's residents), along with the legalities of speech protection by the First Ammendment, no matter how pejorative.
The story intensifies its dramatic (and ironic)pitch when the ACLU quickly sides with the Nazis, despite many of its members being Jews. They explicitly indicate how even hateful ideology and practices are protected under the Bill of Rights; a move that angers even its most ardent supporters. The film's theme is this most basic of arguments: do even hate groups of this vile nature have the right to free speech. Or does this act breach any limitations set forth in the ammendment (such as yelling 'Fire!' in a crowded theater)? And if so, will stopping this march undermine the principles of the Bill of Rights?
An first-rate cast delivers excellent performances to this reenactment: John Rubenstein as the ACLU's attorney desperately trying to convince the public that the Nazis have a right to conduct their assembly, George Dzundza as the menacing leader of the Nazis, Kim Hunter as a Holocaust survivor haunted by the horror of the concentration camps, Eli Wallach (making a brief but strong cameo) as a disgruntled senior ACLU member. Leading this ensemble is the late Danny Kaye in a rare dramatic role. When his character is first alerted of the Nazi's imminent move, he attends a town council meeting and vehemently objects to the Nazi's actions. This performance was a refreshing turnaround from his early comedic roles.
Despite some lapses into melodrama, "Skokie" challenges viewers of all ages to this question: Should a group like the American Nazi Party be allowed the freedom of speech even though if they ever came to power, they would surely deny such freedom?