In a recent German movie addressing the rise of political figures which resemble that of Adolf Hitler, society as a whole is examined. The movie, "Look Who's Back," is based on the premise that Hitler comes back to life in present day Berlin. The movie begins as a comedy. As Hitler attempts to navigate the modern world and people fail to take him seriously, it is hard to do anything but laugh. However as the story continues it becomes clear that this isn't such an unbelievable premise. People begin to listen and agree with what Hitler has to say. There comes a point in the movie where the viewer has the gut wrenching realization that it wasn't just the Germans in the 1930s who accepted and elected a man who would go on to carry out innumerable atrocities against minorities and those who were different. This phenomenon is present in societies all over the world and throughout history.
I decided to watch this movie after hearing about it from my German professor. I expected a comedy -- sure a Hitler comedy, but a comedy none the less. In the beginning I laughed. Seeing Hitler try and find a dry cleaner to clean his underwear is generally a pretty funny premise. However, as the movie develops, the plot evolves from the situational comedy of Hitler in the modern world to that of Hitler addressing pressing issues in the world today. For most of the movie there isn't a real mention of Jews, rather the movie focuses on the issues facing the modern world. You see the view of Hitler in relation to modern issues and they sound eerily similar to the voices we hear today.
The movie title translated into English is "Look Who's Back." Although the movie uses Hitler coming back to life as a way to analyze the current voices and the potentially harmful intentions those in our society have, the viewpoints are not specifically Hitler in nature. In the scene which is perhaps the most moving in my opinion, Hitler addresses the question of who is to blame in causing his atrocities. He states that he hid nothing from those voting, he was honest in his intentions and yet people elected him. It is true, his intentions weren't some huge secret. The dialogue goes on to question how this could be prevented. As soon as the option of banning all elections is stated you realize that you can't avoid this. To take away the option of people choosing their leaders seems utterly ridiculous, but so does electing someone who will harm others. The culminating moment of this scene is the quote, "You can't get rid of me, I'm a part of you. I'm a part of all of you."
The movie is right; it wasn't just Hitler or Germany or even just the 1930s. History does repeat itself and the leaders we look back on and feel ashamed of aren't just a product of their own beliefs. They stem from the beliefs of the people who allow them to gain power. Even though they might no longer be alive the ideas that they embody cannot truly be destroyed until we as a society seek to eradicate the values that permeate our world.
The movie is not directly referring to Donald Trump's presidential candidacy, although incredible parallels can be seen. The book was published before Trump running for president was a reality. The fact that the movie fits so perfectly with the events we are seeing in the United States, despite the fact that book on which it is based was written in 2012, further illustrates the message of the movie that history repeats itself.
Every time I think about this movie and the meaning behind it I get a deep pit in my stomach. It's the kind of pit we need to have though. We have to face the problem that seems to keep happening. I implore anyone and everyone to watch this movie. It is in German but Netflix has a version with English subtitles. Take a couple of hours to watch this movie, you will get quite a few laughs, but will also gain important insight.
