"The Baader Meinhof Complex," film Reaction


I would first like to point out the quality and realism of the film. The actors and producers did a phenomenal job re-creating the events that occurred involving the RAF. I think that is a very important factor considering the severity of the content covered so that the audience can truly understand the story and all sides involved.
In the beginning of the RAF, I understood what the inolved German youth were thinking and trying to accomplish. I believe that the rise of an educated middle class was probably what sparked these types of movements. Students and youth were more educated and aware of what was going on around the world. Many Americans felt the same way during that time period, but didn't take it to the extremes quite like the RAF did. The Baader-Meinhof group took the feelings of many German youth and students around the world to a whole new level. They were the few who had the courage to actually take action against institutions that they did not believe in.
Although I understand their struggle, I disagree with the lengths they took to cause change. Yes, sometimes force is necessary to make a difference, but like in cases with Ghandi and Martin Luther King, Jr., violence is not always the answer. They made extreme differences in their movements using completely peaceful protest like boycotts and disrupting the flow of their oppressors' daily lives. It seems that the RAF were too quick to resort to violence. Their feelings for their cause got control of them and caused them to start bombings; it was a slippery slope form there. Once they built up the courage to destroy buildings, use guns and rob banks, it was easy for them to start pulling the trigger. I feel that they should have stopped using violence before it got out of control and they might have had a better chance of getting their voice heard in a positive way. By the time the group committed suicide, other RAF members had resorted to kidnappings, taking hostages, and performing executions. These extreme policies were rather counterproductive to the cause and at that point I think that a majority of the public viewed them as terrorists rather than social activists. Even though the film was able to get me to feel sympathy for the group, I think the government and police did what was necessary to deal with the rebels.