Understanding the Holocaust through film : audience reception between preconceptions and media effects

Empirically, little is known about the individual reception of films about the Holocaust, but this has rarely prevented intense speculation about the impact of films on Holocaust knowledge, memory and consciousness. This article presents key findings from a qualitative study with viewers of recent films. It argues that researching actual audiences rather than mere textual analysis is required to understand the complexities of the reception process and the relationship between history, film and memory. It demonstrates that while the impact of feature films about the Holocaust on viewers has been overstated and the role of preconceptions underestimated, the film “text” nonotheless matters for individual film reception.