Four recent movies and broadcasts have brought our attention to historical episodes of racism, anti-semitism, authoritarianism, and murder in the first half of the Twentieth Century. These episodes had been largely forgotten as the history of social progress has been celebrated. New attention to past events as presented in the four works is…

The movies can be part of sudden and thorough revelations of attitudes toward current events. The ambiguities of our history can be seen in the swings of public sentimentality. In the movies, these swings are highlighted. Our deepest sentiments can be unexpectedly unstable. What we find in the movies can emphasize these discontinuities. "West…