Jojo Rabbit explores the mind of 10-year-old Johannes “Jojo “ Betzler, a Member of the Hitler Youth with an idiotic Adolf Hitler as his imaginary friend. When he discovers that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl named Elsa, Jojo decides to write a book about Jews called “Yoo Hoo Jew,” and he interviews Elsa. However, his beliefs are challenged as he gets to know her and falls in love with her.
Of course, some people were offended and took to the Internet to express their dissatisfaction. One proclaimed, “Here we have a comedy about a kid with Hitler as his imaginary friend. One of the worst people to ever exist, and people are complimenting it.”
However, I personally don’t think Jojo Rabbit is guilty of being offensive and excusing anti-Semitism. Yes, it does take a more light-hearted approach. However, it does this to expose the absurdity of Nazi beliefs, paint Hitler as a fool, and embarrass the Nazis. For example, all of the senseless claims about the Jews, such as that they hang from the ceiling like bats, poke holes in Nazi theory and portray them as absurd. If the viewers don’t get the joke, the sub-title clearly states, “an anti-hate satire.” It is also good to keep in mind that all the Jew puns that come out of Nazi’s mouths in the movie were written and directed by Taika Waititi, who is Jewish on his mother’s side.
Overall, I think Jojo Rabbit does a great job of showing the passing of beliefs through the generations and what it takes to undo this brainwashing. It’s easy to believe something when everyone around you does, and the ideas have been ingrained in you your entire life. However, these beliefs can be challenged when you are confronted with something that contradicts them.
We saw an example of this brainwashing in “The Protocols of Zion” documentary in which a toddler growing up in the Middle East said she didn’t like Jews because God said they were apes and pigs in the Koran. First of all, she has probably never even met a Jewish person, so she has no personal reason to hate Jews or even one particular Jewish person. Secondly, nowhere in the Koran does it say that Jews are apes and pigs. This shows how her parents' anti-Semitic beliefs have been passed down from generation to generation, ingraining this hatred in people while they are young before they have the ability to make an educated assessment. This is exactly what happens to Jojo, but meeting Elsa gives him a chance to make that educated assessment. Elsa captures this perfectly when she tells Jojo, “You’re not a Nazi Jojo. You’re a 10-year-old kid who likes dressing up in a fancy uniform and wants to be part of a club.”
I like Jojo Rabbit. It’s funny, but sadly, incredibly relevant as anti-Semitic violence and Holocaust denial are on the rise.
I think that if you heard just what the movie was about, many people would be offended at Jojo Rabbit. I see how this film might be taken the wrong way, however, in a time where people seem to get offended about everything, this film is not the thing to get offended at. I know multiple people who have watched it and loved it, including myself. The movie is hilarious, and I think that the film uses humor in order to get the message across about how ridiculous anti-semitism truly is, especially in this day and age. I was excited to watch the movie as soon as I saw the trailer. As crazy as it may seem, there really is a deeper message that the Jewish director is trying to get across about anti-semitism. People just have to watch the movie in order to get it.
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