“Jojo Rabbit” is a movie written by, directed by and starring Taika Waititi. The movie takes place toward the end of World War II and follows 10 year old up-and-coming Nazi “Jojo,” played by Roman Griffin Davis, and his imaginary version of Hitler, played by Waititi, as they navigate the world of Nazi Germany. His outlook gets turned on its head as he figures out his mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, has been hiding a Jewish girl named “Elsa,” played by Thomasin McKenzie, in their attic.
The movie is a comedic satire poking fun at hate and discrimination and what those things mean to a little boy. I think that goal is achieved pretty well. Throughout the whole movie, Jojo imagines Jews as nasty creatures with horns and devils inside their heads running them like a machine. Once he actually meets a Jewish person and is forced to talk to them, he begins to realize slowly that Jews are not monsters trying to destroy the world. The movie has a nice, simple message along the lines of: kids don’t really have hate in their heart yet, but they will imitate people and do what they are told, especially when those influences come from people they look up to, even if it is hateful.
The technical aspects of the movie were done well. The performances were amazing, especially coming from Davis as Jojo. He displayed a wide range of emotions during the movie, and it really pays off in the end. The chemistry between Davis and McKenzie was stellar, and I really believed their relationship. The cinematography was reminiscent of Wes Anderson, particularly “Moonrise Kingdom,” so if you are into quirky indie comedies, then this movie is definitely for you.
Now, let’s talk about the swastika-shaped elephant in the room.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this movie and its portrayal of Hitler Youth and the Nazi Party. Critics and audiences alike have been pretty split on this movie. Most criticisms of the movie consist of people thinking it is not okay to portray Nazism in a comedic way and movies and that media should treat the Nazi Party seriously. If more movies like this come out, young people might not take the Nazi ideology seriously.
While there are some good and interesting points to be made within these criticisms, I don’t think they are completely valid. I do have enough faith in the American education system to teach the youth about how horrible and despicable the Nazi ideology was and how many people it continues to hurt.
Apart from education, there are several pieces of media that portray Nazism as a serious threat not to be taken too lightly, such as “Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” “Shindler’s List” and “The Pianist,” just to name a few movies.
I also think it’s okay to mock Nazis.
I know it is a controversial opinion, but hear me out. They were people doing horrible things to a group of innocent people just trying to live their lives in peace. I think they deserve to be mocked and not to merely be made the super serious villains of history. I’m not trying to say, ‘don’t take any Nazi threat seriously;’ you should definitely take those kinds of things seriously. I am just trying to say, every once in a while, it is okay to poke fun at one of the most evil groups and ideologies in all of history, especially when the group is widely considered to be so.
“Jojo Rabbit” is a nice, heart-warming and emotionally driven film. If I were you, I would “Jojo” over to the theater right now to watch it, unless you are a scared little rabbit! Okay that pun was a stretch, but I didn’t have much to work with.
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