This haunting, Holocaust-themed performance for the Russian television show "Ice Age" has invoked livid responses from Western media outlets while Russians interpret the ice skating routine as an effort to commemorate the tragedies witnessed in the Holocaust.
But before its guilt or innocence can be declared, please take 3 minutes to watch the performance in its entirety. It will challenge you.
Renowned Russian ice skaters Tatiana Navka and Andrew Burkovsjy, dawning prison uniforms and the yellow stars of David, masterfully glide and leap to Acinoam NiNi's rendition of "Beautiful This Way." This song, which is performed by a Jewish artist, is famous for its presence in the 1997 film "Life Is Beautiful."
The ominously cheerful tune begins as the stoic skaters pretend to hold the hands of their invisible child. The parents gleefully skate and play with the child like the picturesque nuclear family, but within the blink of an eye the piece becomes a disturbing enigma.
Navka smiles as she pretends to shoot her husband who plays along with the act. With a carefree ease, they pretend to toss a grenade back and forth like a baseball and cover their ears to brace for the explosion.
"Keep the laughter in your eyes" echoes throughout the stadium as the performers' faces are overcome with terror; then "we'll forget about our sorrows" as Burkovsjy tenderly encourages Navka to smile.
Continuing the contrast, Burkovsjy hails Hitler in a jovial, sarcastic fashion. "There's still another game to play and life is beautiful that way," sings Nini. The two playfully scold the guard dogs chasing them.
Mom and dad are caught dancing in the spotlight by the concentration camp guards, igniting the grand finale. The father solemnly smiles and waves goodbye, the mother turns around and holds her child as he is executed by a machine gun in the background. The performance ends with this zoomed-in view of the mother's exhausted, inconsolable face as she cradles her child in the darkness:
It is not difficult to be confused about the message of this piece given the dramatic juxtaposition of smiles and carefree dancing with tragic glances and mad dashes away from the Nazis.
The intentions of this ice dance have been darkened by Navka's relationship to Vladimir Putin: she is married to his chief spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. Given Putin's propaganda prowess, using a popular form of entertainment to nullify the impacts of the Holocaust could be a viable interpretation, as it was understood by The BBC, TIME, The Guardian, ABC News, and others.
The olympic ice skater took to Instagram to defend her actions: "Our children need to know and remember that terrible time, which I hope, God willing, they will never know." The Moscow Times critiques CNN for omitting her defense from its critique of the performance.
After watching this performance several times, it becomes easier to see its replication of "Life Is Beautiful." The iconic and heart-breaking film portrays a father who masks the true horrors of concentration camps and attempts to convince his son that it is simply a game. Likewise, in the performance, the mother and father strive to shield their child from the front of evil through the distraction of dance.
Accompanied by plaintive switches from major to minor keys in Nini's song, the performance mirrors the disparity between the forced or naïve happiness and the genuine sorrow portrayed in the film. The contrast is chilling. If this ice dance is offensive, it seems that "Life Is Beautiful" should also be offensive. Did you know that Life Is Beautiful is actually categorized in part as a comedy on IMBD?
Had the performance consisted only of laughs and cheerful jumps, it would be unforgivably offensive and completely worthy of chastisement. At first, the uncertainty can be misleading enough to force an assumption that the performance must be offensive.
Given Putin's unimpressive record of human rights abuses and an unfortunate history between Russia and Israel, the negative perception is not far-fetched. But from my view, the context redeems the dance.
One commenter wrote "Russia has got a bad history with Jews so I assumed they were joking when they did this. However, now I know the full context I don't find it offensive at all."
If nothing else, this piece is thought provoking and challenges victims, offenders, performers, and audiences alike to consider the impact of the Holocaust. Despite the Holocaust's relative recency and unparalleled inhumanity, the Anti-Defamation League reported that only 1/3 of those surveyed across the world believe the facts about the Holocaust. Some believe the numbers were exaggerated while others were convinced that the Holocaust was a myth, particularly those in Africa and the Middle East. Let me repeat that: there are people unsure of or actively denying the existence of the Holocaust.
While Russia's record on human rights is still troubling, in October of 2015, Vladimir Putin pledged to combat Holocaust deniers. Perhaps, there is hope for the remembrance of the Holocaust.
It is indispensable that the Holocaust be remembered, but most importantly, it should be remembered accurately as one of the greatest crimes against humanity. In good conscience, we must not let reality be downgraded to stories in history books. Let's redeem the press time, honor the fallen, and arm ourselves with the truth about this moral catastrophe.
