Tuesday, May 22, 2018

THE LAST JEDI & THE NAZIS

The Nazis are back! Marching and rallying around mostly the Southern city streets of the USA (Sayers, M. & Yan, H. 2017), there’s a President with arguably fascist tendencies sitting in the Oval Office  (Wolfe, R. 2017) and far-right movements are on the rise across Europe (Holleran, M. 2018). But the Nazis are also back in the one reality I wished was real - STAR WARS. Some people are complaining that the latest trilogy in the 1970s-born franchise, consisting currently of The Force Awakens (Abrams, J.J. 2015) and The Last Jedi (Johnson, R. 2017), is getting too political. Now to be clear, this claim is only really being made by Internet dwelling idiots who think that casting a woman in the lead role, or a black or Asian person in prominent roles equals the destruction of the franchise. That’s not what we’ll be looking at. The fascist symbology in the new trilogy and the treatment of the characters who show the most fascist traits is interesting. Because spoiler alert, the Nazis aren’t back - they’ve always been here. Further spoilers, politics, and specifically the Nazis, have always been in Star Wars. Indeed, since the Nazis real-world conception, they’ve always been in mainstream cinema. And we shall examine how fascist/Nazi representation in Hollywood has changed over the years - leading directly up to The Last Jedi and it’s addition to the tradition. 

For clarity’s sake, I will be using the term Nazi to refer both to Nazism and fascism because the differences between the two in the context of this discussion are so minute it’s not really worth making the distinction.

In The Last Jedi the decimated Resistance Forces, headed by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), are on the run from The First Order; spearheaded by General Hux (Domhall Gleeson) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) - who in turn are both in the services of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis). The First Order’s design is incredibly reminiscent of Nazi design. If we look at the Nazi SS (a paramilitary wing of the regime) & Gestapo (the secret police) uniforms we can see very sleek, almost stylish designs. Straight lines, black leather, stark cuts that all come together to emphasise the height of wearer, as well as the power and authority they hold. These uniforms were designed to be intimidating, to project power through fear and to create the perception that all who wear the uniforms are part of one, united, unstoppable force; a unit without individuality, but with great strength. These distinctive uniforms were designed and produced by non-other than Hugo Boss - of Hugo Boss fame - who was an active member of The Nazi Party (Associated Press, The New York Times, 1997). We see this similar costume design in The First Order - General Hux wears a sleek, all black uniform and black leather boots, with a cape on occasion to emphasise his height; Kylo Ren too wears all black and so do all the officers of The First Order. The Order’s outfit design is incredibly minimalistic, creating a look that diminishes the wearer’s individual body shape. 
The First Order doesn’t just take inspiration in the wardrobe department, however. The Nazi party is arguably most recognised through its infamous symbol, the Swastika. A simple, angular design set against a white circle surrounded by red. These three colours, when put together, no matter what the order, I would argue instantly reminds us of the Swastika. Black, white & red. And indeed we see this colour scheme in The First Order; whether it’s the stark, all-encompassing red of Snoke’s throne room, the shiny black floors and dark - with hints of red - interiors of the ships, or the black, white and red design of their logo, it’s incredibly clear, the inspirations taken from The Nazis. 
Whilst The Resistance’s ships are more organic looking, with rounded designs, The First Order’s ships are incredibly oppressive - not just in scale but in their shape too. Adolf Hitler was fascinated by Greek and Roman design. Art historian Henry Grosshans wrote in 1983 that The Nazi party viewed the culture of The Weimar Republic (Germany before the Nazis), that consisted of post-modernist influences and dadaist art, to be disgusting. Whereas post-modernism and da-da are all about deconstructing pre-conceived ideas and structures through surrealist art and thinking, The Nazis held beliefs in a bygone time in German history, where the pure and strong holding power and everything was perfect and tradition was sacred and of course that’s all nonsense. But Grosshans goes on to write that Hitler “…saw Greek and Roman art as uncontaminated by Jewish influences. Modern art was [seen as] an act of aesthetic violence by the Jews against the German spirit…” (p. 2);  the Jews were, of course, held responsible, along with communists, for the degenerations and deconstruction of Germany’s strength and power post WWI. If we look at Greek and Roman architecture we see grand, angular designs, with giant pillars to really emphasise the height and structure of these buildings. For instance, in the famous Acropolis of Athens, with the over 2,500-year-old Parthenon still standing huge and powerful, despite standing in ruin. The Nazis applied this to their own architecture, with a focus on square, angular, oppressive scale - incorporating Greek and Roman pillars and domes into their designs. Going back to The First Order’s designs we see this same emphasis on scale and height, creating an oppressive atmosphere and alluding to the wide-stretching hand of influence The Order has across the galaxy. The ships are triangular, spiky; you almost feel like you could cut yourself on their designs. 
But of course, The Last Jedi isn’t the first in the Star Wars franchise to incorporate Nazi iconography. A New Hope (Lucas, G. 1977), the first in the franchise, kicked off the trend by calling the Empire’s foot soldier’s literally Storm Troopers. Storm Troopers were the name given to specialist German soldiers during World War One. However, Storm Troopers were later incorporated into the Nazi party as a paramilitary wing. In an interview with director James Cameron, for his mini-series, James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction (2018), A New Hope director George Lucas said that it was his intention to show The Rebels up against an oppressive, evil Empire. He also wrote A New Hope during the Vietnam War and saw American Imperialism under Nixon as the Empire. But what better force from history to draw from than the Nazis to create the imagery of The Empire. 
Of course, there are other stylistic influences Star Wars takes from. From Darth Vader’s shogunate-esque helmet to even the iconic lightsabers that take some inspiration from the swordplay from Samauri movies of the 20th century. Lucas has said many times how Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s movies influenced Star Wars (Barber, N. 2016). This Japanese influence continues into The Last Jedi. Snoke’s Elite Praetorian Guard, dressed in stark red, wear a plated garb reminiscent of shogunate armour seen in Ran (Kurosawa, A. 1985). The throne room fight scene, towards the end of the second act, in which Kylo Ren & Rey (Daisy Ridley) team up to take on the aforementioned Guards is choreographed with fluid moves seen in classic Samurai films. In the final face-off between an old, embittered Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) faces down Kylo Ren & his army of giant First Order battle tanks. Skywalker emerges from a cloud of red dust, thrown up by the blasted ground, the shot itself is almost a direct lift from the final fight in Yojimbo (Kurosawa, A. 1961); the flowing dust in the background as a robed Skywalker steps forwards matches Sanjuro Kuwabatake (Toshiro Mifune) standing before the bandits as smoke blows behind in the deafening wind. 
Now, so far we’ve only discussed and examined the physical design of The First Order in The Last Jedi and how it relates to the Nazis, but what about their portrayal? Well, the two main First Order characters, Kylo Ren & General Hux have a tense relationship. Both seek the approval of Snoke and both enjoy the other’s failures; they’re trapped in a game of one-upmanship. In the first scene in Snoke’s throne room, Kylo enters the film for the first time just as Hux is being dismissed by the leader, informing Snoke that they have The Resistance, “…tied at the end of a string.” As Hux passes Kylo on his way out, he gives Kylo a snivelling grin - as if to say, “I’ve pleased daddy, haha, take that!” 
Further on in the film, after Snoke is (spoilers) dead at the hands of Kylo Ren and The First Order’s main ship has been blown in half, Hux stands over Kylo’s unconscious body - ready to shoot him - just before Kylo wakes up. They then argue about who the rightful leader is, Hux becomes defensive and challenges Kylo’s rule until Kylo puts Hux into his cowardly place with a force choke. This evil infighting is a common trope within cinema. The good guys always show loyalty. It’s the bad guys, the enemy, who want nothing but power and will step over anybody to get to it. But this is somewhat accurate to the Nazi organisation itself. Of course, there was a cult of personality surrounding Adolf Hitler, but loyalty to the generals was never rock solid. You only have to remember The Night of the Long Knives, in which Hitler ordered the capture and execution of potential political rivals in the summer of 1934; this included some close to Nazi party itself, such as leaders of the Sturmabteilung (the aforementioned real-life Storm Troopers). 
However, some might argue that the treatment of The First Order villains, specifically General Hux, is too comical. Indeed, his first scene in The Last Jedi involves him being mocked by Resistance star pilot Po Damron (Oscar Isaac). Whilst The First Order are reintroduced with their signature, low-brass, militaristic theme, the tone quickly shifts. Damron, cocky and arrogant, makes fun of Hux - calling him, “Hugs” and pretending not to hear him over the intercom - whilst Hux is too stupid and pompous to realise he’s being “tooled” with in the first place. Throughout the film Hux is routinely seen to be snivelling and cowardly to comical effect. Whilst being reprimanded by Snoke, Hux is thrown about and yelps and squeal. Even Kylo Ren is made fun of by Snoke, for losing a fight to a “girl” with no Jedi training. He’s made fun of for wearing a mask he doesn’t really deserve. But does this occasionally slapstick treatment of our villains diminish their ability to hold up as formidable foes?
If we look back there’s always been a long history of playing with the Nazis in film; often mocking them, whilst also using them as formidable enemies. Charlie Chaplin was one of the first major filmmakers to really address the rise of Nazism in Germany with his classic The Great Dictator (Chaplin, C. 1940). In it, Chaplin plays a fake dictator, though he sports the famous Hitler moustache - clearly a wink from Chaplin, given that he was the first to make the moustache famous with his Tramp character. The film is a satire of Hitler and his Nazi regime. It even addresses the regime's treatment of the Jewish population, though being made in 1940 Chaplin would have been unaware of the full extent of the horrors the Nazi regime put in place. However, it’s a pretty scathing film. Hynkel (Charlie Chaplin) is a hypocritical, power hungry, almost child-like leader. Whilst no direct symbols or language are lifted from the Nazi regime, the design is incredibly similar; with similar uniforms and set designs. And whilst funny and endearing, the film is clearly a warning call of what could come of a Nazi regime, with a final speech that pleads for unity amongst all humans. 
Skip forward several decades, post World War Two, into 1981 and we get Raiders of the Lost Ark (Spielberg, S.). Now, apparently in today’s society, there’s some debate as to whether it’s morally okay to punch a Nazi - despite them being… Nazis - but whip-wielding-wonderer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) clearly doesn’t care. He punches Nazi’s left right and centre. The film is set in the 1930s and is clearly an ode to the film serials of the 1940s, who would have had cartoonishly evil Nazi villains in them just like Raiders. However, in 1940, any Nazi villains would have been a clear case of wartime propaganda. But in 1981, under the direction of Steven Spielberg and the guiding hand of George Lucas, the Nazi villains of Indiana Jones’s world are just throwbacks to a bygone era. There’s no wider point to be made about the evils of Nazism - by the 80s that fear was largely gone, with the new threat being Soviet Russian and The Cold War. They weren’t particularly comical either. Sure, they failed and were destroyed by their hubris - thinking they could control the ancient magic of the Ark of the Covenant - but Belloq (Paul Freeman) was never made fun of in the same way Hux is made humiliated. His face does melt though. And even when, in The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones does run into Adolf Hitler, in a comically intended scene, Hitler isn’t made fun of. It’s the situation that is funny, not the person.
So when we look back to The Last Jedi and ask whether or not the comedic treatment of Hux, in particular, devalues the threat The First Order poses, I would argue that it does not. In part because Kylo Ren, in my opinion, is a genuinely gripping villain. He’s unhinged. Powerful, yet unrefined. He’s a rabid dog on a tight leash, desperate to lash out. And by the end of the film, he’s not just let off the leash, he’s using it a whip. And through the production design, The First Order can’t help but feel oppressive and threatening. Maybe that’s down to the fact that Nazi symbolism scares me no matter what the context, but it’s effective. 
But I also think it’s appropriate to make fun of the space Nazis by throwing General Hux around. Every year in the German town of Wunsiedel Neo-Nazis march to the grave of a high ranking Nazi official, Rudolf Hess. The locals tried many tactics for many years to stop the march, to no avail. Until 2014. Moises Velasquez-Manoff writes in his 2017 article for The New York Times that the residents of the town “…turned the march into Germany’s “most involuntary walkathon”…Colourful signs with slogans festooned the route.” By marching the Neo-Nazis inadvertently raised some ten-thousand euros for anti-Nazi causes. They took the power away from the Neo-Nazis and made their beliefs and actions a joke.

We live in a time where Nazism has come back into the open. They march and rally in American streets, openly. They spread the word freely through social media. They got a president elected. They call themselves the Alt-Right. And whilst they must be tackled and dealt with, a keyway is to ridicule them. Manoff went on to further write, “By undercutting the gravitas white supremacists are trying to accrue, humorous counter-protests may blunt the event’ usefulness for recruitment.” Like the Alt-Right lives under the shadow of the Nazis of the early 20th century, The First Order lives under the shadow of The Empire from the Star Wars Original Trilogy - A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back (Kurshner, I. 1980) & Return of the Jedi (Marquard, R. 1983). They are the space Alt-Right. With all the imagery and symbolism that goes with it. Kylo Ren is an Alt-Right blogger, complaining that women don’t get with him because of space feminism. He’s an effective villain, not because he’s all-powerful, but because his rage is relatable. Relatable to our world. The Nazis, Neo-Nazis, Alt-Right Fascists - whatever you want to call them - are in Star Wars as well as our social media platforms. But, just like with the Original Trilogy, we’ve been through this before. And it never turns out well for the Nazis. 

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