Bupe Okeowo

Kieslowski’s Decalogue is a 10 part series that allows us to visualize the commandments in modern day life. Each film allows us to see and experience what it means to disobey the commandments. Kieslowski’s work proposes that the commandments are not easily understood in modern day society because their meanings are vague or unclear. The use of film as a medium makes these meanings more understandable to us as viewers. Because of that, it works as a Midrash. In the first series we watched, it seemed as thought the computer was a symbol. The computer symbolized a false idol that the father was worshipping. While he did not actually physically worship the computer, the way he acted towards it displayed his idolism. He believed everything the computer said which even made it hard for him to believe that the ice had broken that one night. He places so much of his trust in it and that symbolized how we can believe and rely so much on material things more than our on faith and knowledge. Another commandment that was visualized was “Thou shall not kill” and “Thou shall not steal”. In the second film we watched, Jacek committed murder robbery for no reason at all. I found it interesting because, in a sense it was hypocritical at the end. Murder is a crime, yet they “murdered” Jacek at the end for doing the exact same thing. Does it make a difference whether the murder was court sanctioned or random? Also I saw a different side of Jacek before he was executed. Even thought he was a murderer, we saw the compassionate side of him when he was explaining the story of his sister. I think no matter what we have done, we are all human and we all feel the same pain.