The most impactful part of “Look Who's Back” came at the very end of the film. As Hitler drives around Germany as he had done so seventy years ago a montage of radical right protest flashes on the screen as Hitler gazes ominously into the distance. He had previously stated that fact that he was democratically elected and posed the question that “shouldn’t those who voted him in be held accountable as well?” This reminded me of Trump who was elected to the United States presidency with great consequence. The people that initially supported him weren’t mainstream republicans but those on the radical right. But as Trump began to say more and more relatable narratives in campaign speeches people began to ignore the nationalist and racist rhetoric which he had previously laid out. People began to only hear what they wanted from Trump which was a strong wall street and strong middle class. As a result Trump won the election by a razor thin margin and those that voted for him feel no accountability for the children being locked in cages, the rise in antisemitism, the constant web of lies, and the looming uncertainty of politically driven government shut downs.
“Look Who’s Back” makes Adolf Hitler out to be an extremely sympathetic character. He seems like a joke and is treated like so for much of the film. At no point does he claim not to be Adolf Hitler but people refuse to believe that he is the monster that he even says he is. Hitler quickly finds out silent racial divisions which are beginning to work there way into underlying German society. The main focal point of this division is African immigration. As the film continues Hitler starts to become less and less of a joke. He starts making points that people are actually rallying behind despite the fact he has continually stated that he is the monster of the past. When the old jewish grandmother confronts Hitler about the gas chambers and genocide of the last generation it dawned on me that I was actually rooting for Hitler until that point. He was a joke and I genuinely wanted him to do well. After that scene I became disgusted with him remembering that he was a monster.
My least favorite character was Benimmcoach who came across as too ignorant and stupid for me to find enjoyable. He brought Hitler back into the forefront of German media and created a scenario where Hitler could take Germany over again. Ignorance isn’t really relatable to me.
The statement of the the film was definitely about how history repeats itself. With the current European migrant crisis far right politicians in countries like Hungary and Poland are being put into positions of power and destroying democratic institutions. Nationalistic rhetoric is rampant and racial divisions grow daily as an increasingly weary European peoples attempt to fight rapid demographic changes. In this situation Europe is ripe for electing totalitarian governments and starting more European wars. We already see it happening as nationalist dictator Vladimir Putin annexed the Crimea and Donetsk regions of the Ukraine. The question the film ask is whether the people will learn from the past and hold themselves accountable to not vote in strongman politicians or continue to make consequential voting choices.
