The Lives of Others

Wow. Thrilling and cold and sad and I saw a side of the history of Germany that I had only known about a little bit.

The Stasi were a HUGE group of government employees (secret police and intelligence) who worked as part of a machine of oversight and control. They used very intense tactics of questioning and blaming and blackmail to scare people into submission. You must never speak badly of the Government. You must always be a loyal East German. Art and expression were severely limited to that which did not question this.

There were artists and authors and actors whom they "approved of" but even they were suspect at all times and under surveillance sometimes for any hint of not being loyal or saying or doing anything that might reflect poorly on East Germany. The Stasi themselves even did not trust one another. I may not have the history completely correct, but you can read more about the Stasi here.

This film is about a group of artists and the Stasi guy who watches them. What he learns and comes to understand. It was a great lesson in human nature and conscience and I really loved it.

Given our current government situation, this is a good reminder of what it looks like when people who believe they have unlimited power are in charge. Sometimes I wonder how close we would get to a situation like the Stasi before the braindead apathy of this country would wake up.