{"id":5737,"date":"2019-11-02T12:17:00","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T16:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/?p=5737"},"modified":"2022-10-25T17:26:06","modified_gmt":"2022-10-25T21:26:06","slug":"taika-waititi-mocks-the-devil-in-jojo-rabbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/taika-waititi-mocks-the-devil-in-jojo-rabbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Taika Waititi mocks the devil in Jojo Rabbit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Perhaps unfairly, a couple external factors negatively affected my experience of Jojo Rabbit<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Brooklyn Alamo Drafthouse programmed the trailer for Terrence Malick’s forthcoming A Hidden Life<\/em> before Jojo Rabbit<\/em>, throwing a spotlight on the “good German” trope they both share. Of course, both quiet and loud German resistance to Nazi atrocities existed, and I’m not trying to argue that there shouldn’t be any more stories about it — after all, the ne plus ultra is required viewing for all: Schindler’s List<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jojo Rabbit<\/em>‘s darkly satirical take is undoubtedly a fresh twist, but still: the trope threatens to mute the experiences of the victims. Taika Waititi<\/a> is working here in the long and noble tradition of mocking the devil, and for that I applaud him. But the contemporaneous AMC TV show Preacher<\/em> also had the nerve to directly depict and poke fun at Hitler, so it’s not exactly unique.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scarlett<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The casting of Sam Rockwell<\/a> as a conflicted Nazi, which inadvertently (or not?) echoes his role as a tortured racist in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri<\/em>. Again, it’s not like “bad” people don’t do “good” things, but in our present era, with white supremacy re-empowered around the world, I’m disinclined to entertain the notion of an even partially-redeemed Nazi. As a climactic moment in a fiction, this particular character’s act of mercy feels designed to make audiences feel better, rather than ponder the larger problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a thought experiment: I’d rather watch a movie about the successful intervention in the life of a budding child fascist than the opposite. But I spent the entire movie distracted by these minefields rather than taking the movie on its own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So as not to only complain: Jojo Rabbit<\/em> an extremely funny and well-made film, with great acting all around — including one of Scarlett Johansson<\/a>‘s strongest-ever performances — so good that I wonder where she’s been all these years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Perhaps unfairly, a couple external factors negatively affected my experience of Jojo Rabbit: The Brooklyn Alamo Drafthouse programmed the trailer for Terrence Malick’s forthcoming A Hidden Life before Jojo Rabbit, throwing a spotlight on the “good German” trope they both share. Of course, both quiet and loud German resistance to Nazi atrocities existed, and I’m […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5738,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,2],"tags":[1872,922,448,1750],"class_list":["post-5737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-3-stars","category-movies","tag-1872","tag-sam-rockwell","tag-scarlett-johansson","tag-taika-waititi"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/jojo-rabbit.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-1ux","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":697,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/eagle-vs-shark\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":0},"title":"Fish vs. fowl in Taika Waititi’s Eagle vs. Shark","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure I took Taika Waititi's Eagle vs. Shark as it may have been intended. 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Kelly Masterson's screenplay tells the high-tension tale of a pair of wholly doomed brothers as a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "4 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"4 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/4-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/04\/before-the-devil-knows-youre-dead-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":226,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-may-25-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":2},"title":"The Dork Report for May 25, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"May 25, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Star Trek, James Bond, and Harry Potter look out. (guest submission from The Visible Woman Andrea) Lost season finale fallout: Mainstream press coverage: New York Times, EW's recap. Find a career with the Hanso Foundation. Everybody now, Sawyer Sawyer Locke! (guest submission from Follow-the-Dancing-Ball Andrea) Dig through a truly astonishing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1965,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/avatar\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":3},"title":"This’ll Ruin My Day: James Cameron Goes Down the Digital Rabbit Hole in Avatar","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"January 5, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Avatar is the perfect distillation of all of James Cameron's worst tendencies: an obsession with the marine corps (while trying to have it both ways: worshipping the hardware and lingo, but casting them as villains), embarrassingly heinous dialogue (undercutting every dramatic moment with somebody droning flat one-liners like \"oh shit\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "2 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"2 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/2-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Avatar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/avatar.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8959,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/kill-bill-the-whole-bloody-affair-is-a-glorified-double-feature\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":4},"title":"Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair is a glorified double feature","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"My simplistic take on the mini-controversy over Quentin Tarantino casually bad-mouthing Paul Dano: he still talks about movies like a fan, not a professional. Pithy dismissals, sweeping generalizations, and professions of binary love or hate are for movie buffs on Letterboxd, but are uncouth coming from a working filmmaker. See\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Movies"","block_context":{"text":"Movies","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/main-menu\/movies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Lucy Liu and Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/kill-bill-whole-bloody-affair.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":146,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/daily-dork-report-for-february-27-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":5737,"position":5},"title":"Daily Dork Report for February 27, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"February 27, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"What will it be? What will it be? What will it be? What will it be? Perfect for the Dork Report: a veritable masterclass in committee-think & graphic design don'ts... and it has to do with iPods! Still more new territory for Google. I guess they're aiming for .Mac here.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5737"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7548,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5737\/revisions\/7548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5737"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}