When talking about the making of Jojo Rabbit (a must see movie, in my opinion), I remember Taika Waititi making a point out wanting to represent the colourful fashion and more lively sides of Germany under the Third Reich. War movies tend to portray Nazis as dark and dull figures with no inner life other than murdering Jews and plotting for world domination. This is probably dangerous, as we won’t recognize the fascists when they’re in front of us. They’ll be laughing and dancing as they murder the innocent.
Similar to how we study Eichmann to learn about the banality of evil, I think pictures like this one should be in every text book. This is what evil looks like — pretty much like anything else, if you’re willing to ignore the atrocities.
Except maybe for children and the dumber types, most people already know what evil looks like. They are willing to pretend, so what more lifelike portrayals will do is irritate them.
Except maybe for… the dumber types,
A non-negligible portion of the electorate, unfortunately.
The latter portion, which wants portrayed evil to be grotesque and not like reality, because they are not going to avoid evil anyway, is even bigger.
I mean, I don’t like fools. Like half of my family are terrible fools. But the “smart” people with no idea of kindness, fair conduct or at least sport are worse, and in my experience more common than fools, not less.
It’s the guys who twirl their mustaches or have skulls on their uniforms, isn’t it?
No, it’s the “neutral” types. Who are all good when the guys with skulls are defeated, and all compliant when the guys with skulls are in charge.
Guys with skulls themselves are usually more peculiar types, not really discomforted by open public discourse. Just not limiting themselves to any moral boundary. You’d probably find them interesting.
This is probably dangerous, as we won’t recognize the fascists when they’re in front of us.
Speak for yourself.
Considering how much fascism is on the rise globally and the results in the latest US election, most people do not in fact recognize fascism. Nor see it as the threat it is
Highly recommend The Zone of Interest as well. An unusual film about everyday life of nazis.
Very different from Jojo Rabbit of course, but fantastic for showing what humans can come to consider the trivialities of ordinary life.
I’m very happy I saw it in the cinema. Also very happy I was somehow completely oblivious to the thematic when the movie started: I first saw the swimsuits, thinking “huh, is this the 30s?”. Then I heard the German, at which point I realized nothing good was going to go down. I guess the sound during the intro also gave a hint.
Anyway, amazing movie. Worth seeing without distractions.