This text comprises spoilers for “It: Welcome to Derry,” episode 1.
“It: Welcome to Derry” sends Pennywise the Clown (Invoice Skarsgard) to the Nineteen Sixties, and nobody is secure from his depraved exploits. The primary episode is pure nightmare gasoline and does not maintain again in terms of the horror, which brings us to a fairly disturbing scene involving a child named Teddy (Mikkal Karim-Fidler) being terrorized by a lamp with a tortured human face on it. The scene in query is likely one of the episode’s many chilling set-pieces that emphasize Pennywise’s otherworldly skills, nevertheless it was additionally impressed by real-life horror tales pertaining to Nazi atrocities throughout World Battle II.
Stephen King diversifications and their offshoots dabble in horror of the supernatural selection, however the “It” saga is arguably extra disturbing when it sheds a lightweight on human evils — homophobia and racism specifically. “Welcome to Derry” continues this development in an episode 1 scene wherein Teddy’s dad tells his son in regards to the Nazis utilizing the pores and skin of Jewish prisoners to create lampshades, a story lifted straight out of the pages of historical past (extra on that later). The story strikes a chord with the kid, and he’s subsequently horrified by a visible reminder of it when he is plagued by the lamp afterward.
Provided that Teddy and his household are additionally Jewish, the lamp scene in “Welcome to Derry” packs a strong punch as a consequence of its real-world connotations. The sequence is a reminder of the Holocaust, and that is why it is extra chilling than the present’s different nightmarish moments.
It: Welcome to Derry reminds viewers of Nazi atrocities
Within the “It: Welcome to Derry” scene the place Teddy’s dad informs him of the Nazi horrors in World Battle II, he brings up Buchenwald, the focus camp most synonymous with SS officers utilizing human pores and skin to make cleaning soap, lampshades, ornaments, and different on a regular basis home equipment. A few of these gadgets are stored on the Buchenwald Memorial museum to this present day, however they are not on show for apparent causes.
In response to numerous studies, Hans Muller, a health care provider at Buchenwald, was a serious driving power behind the SS utilizing the stays of deceased Jewish prisoners to create items for the focus camp’s officers. To deliver these objects to life, the Nazis reportedly targeted on utilizing prisoners with tattooed pores and skin since they seen them as uneducated and insignificant, which means they particularly did not suppose twice about killing them.
“It: Welcome to Derry” is a grotesque present, and the lampshade sequence will seemingly show to be some of the controversial moments in season 1 — which is de facto saying one thing, on condition that youngsters are Pennywise’s predominant goal. The scene highlights the real-life horrors that befell harmless folks throughout one of many darkest intervals in human historical past, reminding viewers that human beings are extra monstrous than fictional clowns.
“It: Welcome to Derry” airs on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday nights.
