Worthington 1

Dillon Worthington
Professor Michael McDonald
Discourse 300
31 May 2015
An Analysis of an Excerpt of Schwarzfahrer
I will first begin with an analysis of the shots that comprise the scene of my choice.
(2:10-6:40) We begin in 2:10, where the black rider boards the tram. The camera pans left as it
follows the main character who is in the foreground of the shot until he travels back into the
tram. When he asks the old woman if the seat is taken, the angle of the shot brings some
interesting interpretations into play. The angle of the camera gives the audience an upward view
of the protagonist which could be either a suggestion that he has some sort of dominance over
the old lady, or that it is simply her perspective looking up at him. The remainder of the shots in
the scene cut quickly between the two main characters and other riders of the tram, including
close-ups of riders faces as they listen and react subtly to the racist ramblings of the old woman
with the occasional Steadicam shot going horizontally across the cityscape as if you were on the
tram, looking out the window.
Secondly, I will look at the film itself in a rhetorical analysis, the message it attempts to
convey, and the themes covered. The Black Rider takes a very interesting approach to dealing
with the topic of racism. It definitely plays with the ideas of generations. You have the old
woman, the black rider, the two Arab men, a young mother with her kid, a stern-looking business
woman, etc. There are representations of people from all walks of life. The kid begins laughing
at the situation between the black rider and the old woman almost immediately, seeing her

Worthington 2
reaction and the absurdity of the situation from the beginning, showing a generational gap of
how racism is perceived.
Racial tension is shown in a way that we can see in everyday life, one crazy person
talking incessantly on and on about the topic while others sit by and do nothing. All the
passengers on the train are obviously uncomfortable at the wildly racist comments the old
woman is spewing out, but none of them do anything about it. The only ones that come close is
one of the Arab guys, but his friend talks him down quickly.
One of the observations we had made in the Anchor class is the many hints the
filmmakers give us towards the old woman being involved in the Nazi Regime, or at the very
least she is from that period and has these ideas in her head. She has a distinctly nationalistic
view. When talking about immigrants coming in, We wont be able to tell what country were
living in. (6:35) Also, given the fact that this film was made and set in 1993, the age of the
woman, her mention of Hans her late husband (5:50), a very strong German name, and their
intense hatred of all things not German; one can assume that some of those ideals have stayed
with people from that time who were involved.