Here’s Why Young People Need Taika Waititi’s Controversial WW2 Film "Jojo Rabbit"

Hollywood is still obsessed with World War II, but a report shows many young people don’t know the history behind the movies.

It seems we can’t get enough of movies about World War 2.

Twenty-five films set during WW2 have been released in the past four years alone, including Dunkirk, which grossed $527 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing WW2 flick ever.

Now Taika Waititi—the man famous for Marvel hit Thor: Ragnarok and Hunt for the Wilderpeople—is producing a dark comedy called Jojo Rabbit, which will be set during the Holocaust and features Hitler as the 'ethnically inaccurate imaginary friend' of a 10-year-old boy.

Waititi will play Hitler and has made it clear he can’t wait to see the way audiences react to what he’s calling an “anti-f***face satire”. It also stars Scarlett Johansson and Rebel Wilson.

But why, with almost 80 years having passed, does Hollywood still churn out movies based on WW2?

Perhaps it’s to inform young people who may not be aware of the era’s genocide and massacre.

A recent study conducted by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany surveyed 1,350 Americans and revealed that 66 per cent of millennials could not correctly identify Auschwitz as a concentration camp during the Holocaust. Even more shocking: 22 per cent of millennials said they hadn't heard of the Holocaust itself.

So, can Waititi change the way millennials understand and appreciate history?

It sounds like Taika is choosing to approach the tragedy of WW2 through humour and satire.

His films are said to focus on a "longing for companionship and an affection for innocence", and it’s clear he’s not straying far from this, considering the main character of Jojo Rabbit is a 10-year-old who forms a bond with an imaginary friend (even if it that friend is Hitler).

I believe he aims to use comedy and his patented techniques to deflate an evil figure like Hitler, especially by portraying him as 'ethnically inaccurate'. (Did I mention Waititi, a "Polynesian Jew", is playing the infamous Nazi?) No doubt that will get people talking… and ultimately, isn’t that what seems to be lacking right now?

However, a comedy like Jojo Rabbit could be seen as harmful and perhaps cruel to those who have been personally affected by WW2. This raises the question: If some young people aren’t fully aware of this incredible piece of history, will Waititi’s warped take help perceptions, or hurt them?

We can’t say until we see the movie itself.

But the use of comedy and a bit of added personality would definitely attract viewers and encourage them to sit and learn about what went on in the 1940s.

It’s no lie that film has the power to influence viewers, especially through the use of imagery and visual language. So, if a filmmaker can use this power to educate the public about controversial matters, would the world not be much more aware and prepared when it comes to avoiding past conflicts (especially given the recent rise in neo-Nazism)?

Most people today—thankfully—don’t really know what war is like. Bringing it to life in movies gives us the chance to understand it better, in a manner that’s definitely more attractive than reading it in a textbook. We look forward to seeing how Jojo Rabbit fits into that lineage when it arrives in cinemas. (There is no release date at this time.)

Photo: Instagram (taikawaititi)