Figure Skating, Oskar Schindler, and Questionable Taste at the Winter Olympics

The 2014 Winter Olympics have sparked numerous conversations in the United States, from security issues surrounding the Games, to Russia’s stance on gay rights, to Shaun White’s abysmal production for the U.S.  Yet, it is Yulia Lipnitskaya, pictured below, who has provided the signature head scratching moment of this Olympiad.  Endless critique has resulted in rapturous praise on the virtuosity of Lipnitskaya’s solo skate for the team figure skating competition.  (Her routine is here, although it is from the European Championships not the Olympic Games.  Also, be sure to note the commentator's take on the music at the five minute mark of the video.)  It was a flawless Olympic debut for the precocious, fifteen year old Russian.

But was her routine’s inspiration in good taste?  Lipnitskaya used the “Girl in the Red Coat” musical piece from Schindler’s List for her routine.  The sight of the doll like Lipnitskaya clad in a vivid red coat immediately brought to mind one of the poignant themes from Steven Spielberg’s heart wrenching film.  Schindler’s List was shot in black and white save for a little Jewish girl’s red coat.  Throughout the film, the audience instantly sees this most innocent child and is able to track her story because of her eye-catching garment.  As such, it is particularly jolting for viewers when the last we see of her and her red coat is among a pile of dead Holocaust victims.

This is why Lipnitskaya’s musical choice is so vexing.  “Girl in the Red Coat” conjures images of the Holocaust, which took place in Germany during World War II.  It is true that the Soviet Union paid the heaviest price of any of the Allies to end Nazi ambition.  However, the Soviet Union only entered World War II because Hitler violated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and ended Russian neutrality.  This breach of trust ignited a surge of anti-German sentiment in the Motherland.  A sentiment perhaps equaled by the raging anti-Semitism coursing through the Soviet Union, particularly Josef Stalin.  Stalin’s bloody time in power resulted in some three to ten million people executed.  Countless Jews were among this number.

This is why Lipnitskaya’s routine walks such a delicate line.  Is it tasteful for a Russian child to emulate Spielberg’s cinematic symbol of senseless death?  In particular, does figure skating have the gravitas as an artistic medium to convey the inherent complexities of such a routine?  These questions may be unnecessary hand wringing but it is a discussion worth having.  It is also a discussion that NBC and Fox Sports have conveniently overlooked.