Life is Beautiful by Roberto Benigni is an emotional film that describes the events that many Jewish families had to face during the Holocaust. Family is a key theme in Life is Beautiful and is depicted in almost every scene. The first half of the film revolves around the romantic love story of Guido and Dora. Guido knows exactly where to find Dora and does everything he can to stay close to her. Guido makes himself noticed by her by appearing magical. It does this by conveniently being in the right place at the right time. Dora was engaged to an unpleasant and self-centered banker, but Guido saves her from her own engagement party. Somehow, Guido manages to win the girl of his dreams simply by knocking Dora to the ground and carrying her away from the party on horseback. The film skips time to show that Guido and Dora have started a family and now have a son, Joshua. He then goes on to show how Guido, his uncle and Joshua run the small family shop together. Everything seems to be going well until the family is taken from their home and sent to a concentration camp. When the family is in the concentration camp, they are separated, starved and tested in every way. The boys are barracked together and remain very close until one day Guido's uncle returns from work. Guido tries to stay strong to prevent Joshua from worrying. Dora is separated from her family when they arrive at the camp, so Guido tries to communicate with her in any way he can. He finds a way to talk to her over the PA system and plays a familiar song for her outside a window. These small actions keep Dora hopeful and let her know that her family is still alive. Guido, however, begins to doubt his own abilities... halfway through the paper... he shows the effects of a self-fulfilling prophecy on a very large scale; people started behaving better than others after being told they were superior. They were influenced by those who believed in an Aryan race and acted accordingly. From start to finish, Benigni does a great job of keeping the film emotionally interesting. The way family is portrayed in this film reflects topics we have studied in class, such as the fact that in some lifestyles the family bond must be strong and held above all else. This film also shows how non-Jews acted in accordance with the self-fulfilling prophecy created by German leaders and the widespread ethnic discrimination directed at Jewish society. The Holocaust was a time of drastic social change and this film does a great job of depicting the different opinions that society had during that time..