“Something that makes people happy can’t be bad can it?” said Anne to John Halder as groups of ordinary German people, including small children, walked by waving Nazi flags. The movie Good brings up many questions. In particular, I find the most prevalent question in this film is, “is John Halder a good man?”
I personally believe John Halder has good intentions, but is not an entirely good man. For example, before he even officially joined the party, he cheated on his wife with an attractive young student. He eventually ends up leaving his wife and children for this woman as well. This clearly shows John Halder’s morals and willpower are questionable. He is not a horrible man, nor a great one, but he is certainly a weak man who doesn’t stick to his guns. He even expresses how he does not agree with the party multiple times in the film. For example, the book burning outside of the school, as well as when he is sitting with Anne by the parade. He obviously does not want to be a Nazi, but he still ends up becoming one anyway. It seems that almost nothing he does is out of his own accord, from writing an argument for euthanasia for the Nazi party, to the end where he is an official gestapo officer inspecting a Jewish concentration camp.
As Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” This quote echoed in the back of my mind throughout the whole film. John Halder hardly did anything that was actually good in this film. He simply did what he was told and did what was best for himself, which is what nearly any person would have done in his situation. He wanted to keep his job, his family (well, families) and most of all, his head. Can one really blame Halder for what he did? What would you have done had you been in his situation in Nazi Germany in the 1940s?
Halder also contemplates throughout the film whether or not he is a good man. It is not only until the end that he realizes he is not a good man according to his actions. In conclusion, I think internally Halder is a relatively good man, but his fear and extraneous circumstances have forced him to become a bad, but not necessarily evil, man through his actions. He is a good man who did nothing and allowed the evil that is the Nazi party to prevail.
The burke quote is definitely relevant to John Halder and to all of us today.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you have to say about him having good intentions, although he did not do a good job at sticking to his guns. He certainly did not have the ability to stand up for himself or others, and what he believed in. Although it seems as if he himself did not really know what he believed in. The quote that you had “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing,” is certainly very relevant to this film, and to many other situations in today's world. When we sit back and relax even in the modern day, evil things can occur, things that we could have put a stop to, had we gotten up to do something. You make very good arguments throughout your blog, especially what you wrote about his willpower, with his wife and Anne. Very good insights.
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