[Weekly Update] Anti-Nazi Movies

I have to put "Anti" in the title, because our current political atmosphere is so bad, if I just say "Nazi movies" people might think I'm in support of it. What a world.

CHANNEL UPDATE

Hope you all enjoy our last video on African Kung-Fu Nazis. What began as a silly recommendation video on a silly film became a rather serious essay about Nazism in popular media. But it seems many have resonated. I do wish I can spend a bit more time on the film itself, but truth be told, there really isn't much to the film other than what I've shown you. It's a very self-explanatory movie. And judging by the comments, many are already convinced to put it on top of their list.

On a side note, the film's official account actually replied to the video! I hope the video brings their film a bit more attention. If you are interested in their sequel, and I know I am, it'll be coming out later this year. This is not a sponsor message or anything, by the way. It's a Tokusatsu movie made with traditional techniques. It's hard for me not to be excited.

With this, my list of interesting bad films from around the world comes to a (temporary) end. I have many other films in the bucket still, like Daniel The Wizard, a rather infamous movie from Germany. But for this film and many others, I simply don't have a lot to talk about. So, if you have some absurd and fun movies from around the world you want to recommend, I'd very much appreciate it.

MEDIA TALK

In response to our last video, many have expressed disagreement on depicting Nazis and Fascists as clowns, as the approach inadvertently made them seem way less dangerous, causing people to not take the issue seriously. It's a legitimate criticism, shared by many scholars in and outside of media study. It's a question too big for me to answer on my own. But if I were to answer it anyway, my thought would be as such:

In my opinion, someone can be foolish but also dangerous, they can be malicious and stupid, and they can do a lot of harm without being intelligent. You don't need to be smart to be a heartless monster.

In the context of films, as long as the story shows the evil's willingness to cause harm, and perhaps also the world's inability to take action against evil, it is enough.

One of my favourite recent example is Jojo Rabbit. From a child's perspective, the film both makes fun of the Nazi regime, and its terrifying willingness to bring harm to others. I can't go into more details without spoiling the film, but if you have watched the movie, you know what I'm talking about. The film elects not to show an evil mastermind behind the regime. Instead, it shows how conformity to stupidity is dangerous.

Going back to Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator for a second. In the video, I praised his approach in mocking Hitler, but that success is largely a post-war accident. At the time of making this film, the world knew of the existence of concentration camps, but the scale and the horror of these camps were not well known until the war was over. Had Chaplin known the extent of tragedy that was unfolding at the time, I doubt he'd depict Hitler in such a clownish fashion, and would likely take the matter much more seriously. It's only with time, we can look back at everything, and evaluate the film in a context detached from the time period. In a way, The Great Dictator feels more like a movie to come out of the 70s or even 80s.

Another film that drags Nazism down from its pedestal is Downfall, the 2004 movie, in which most people are only familiar with the Hitler meme. I supposed, in a way, the film is unintentionally funny.

Downfall is, perhaps, the most realistic depiction of the Nazi region in film. Instead of borrowing the grandiose aesthetic from Triumph of the Will, Downfall shows Nazi Germany as it truly was. Each and every location are decorated with Nazi symbols, but you can tell these locations existed before the third reich. The regime merely appropriated these locations, and their decor looks every bit as tacky as that sounds.

Similarly, Hitler's desperation in that famous scene shows how pathetic he really is. But the genius bit is, the film doesn't go out of its way to exaggerate anything. It's not a comedy set out to mock them. It doesn't have to. It just shows you a realistic picture of Nazism and its failure, and it is enough to look absurd.

One more film for today, and this one I bring up all the time: The Producers. The premise of the film is ridiculous. Two producers intentionally make the most offensive stage show possible, only for it to become a hit. Mel Brooks, in creating this story, appropriated many Nazi symbols and choreography in the stage show portion of the film, including, controversially, people forming a Swastika formation.

The reason that move is controversial is because it really did happened in real life. It was a performance used to show the Nazi party as highly organized and powerful. Mel Brooks approach here is akin to taking the same message, and changing only the font, before sending it back out. And yet, under just a slightly different context, the audience becomes aware of just how ridiculous the move is.

Indeed, the reason The Producers work so well is because it didn't make up anything funny about the Nazis. It just takes what Nazis do, and do it. As pointed out by Lindsay Ellis in her essay, totalitarian regimes have to rely on heavy censorships and policing, because their propaganda fundamentally cannot stand up to scrutiny. A slightest bit of people poking fun at it, and it'll crumble. And that is truly why we should make fun of Nazism.

And that is the update for today! I've been thinking too much about Nazism in the past few weeks, and it can't possibly be good for my health. Hopefully, however, the result help you and others sort out our complicating feelings in today's political landscape.

I'll see you next time, hopefully in our April Fool's video.