is schindler's list a holocaust denial film?

The TFS Hotline post. See you in the comments ☕️

I think about heat a lot in this life, maybe because I’m so rarely in it (thanks London). Some Hotline submissions come in cold, like they were pulled from the fridge. Some arrive lukewarm and require some hot takes to spice up. Others are broiling, ready to start a fight or fan the flames of an existing one. The best ones are searing, radiating heat from the inside out — that’s how I felt when I read this submission about Schindler’s List and Hollywood’s ongoing legacy of representation. It sat with me for so long before I was able to respond (it got super hot after that) but I’m so glad it did.

Thanks Steven Aoun for sharing your voice with TFS this week.

Full disclosure: I debated the merits of running this one for a while. It’s not always wise to inject yourself into your newsletter, but Steven’s words were so incisive that as much as they made me uncomfortable, I felt they deserved a response. I’m conscious that Schindler’s List is an all-time favorite film for many — and I take that to heart as you can see in my response below.

SPICY TAKE

From Steven Aoun:

My controversial opinion is that Spielberg’s celebrated Schindler’s List is an instance of Holocaust denial, and I provide an intricate argument to justify this view (it appears alongside a review of Gibson's Passion of Christ where I argue that the Three Stooges put Mel on the road to Damascus).

Suffering Servants

From Sophie: