Presentation by Jayton, Chad, and Edmund

Summary

Er ist wieder da (Look Who’s Back) is a film about Adolf Hitler waking up in Berlin in 2014. After a series of events, interacting with everyday Germans on the streets, Hitler meets with a filmmaker Fabian Sawatzki. With his help Hitler quickly gains a massive amount of media attention as a comedian but also states a message of the current political state of Germany. Hitler begins to write an autobiographical book about his new life in the 21st Century called Er ist wieder da(Look Who’s Back in English). With the help of the former TV executive Bellini the book is a given a chance to become a film. After a shooting of the film Hitler is assaulted by two Neo-Nazis who believe his act is insult to their beliefs. This attack and Hitler’s  hospitalization brings him to massive fame. To his horror, Sawatzki eventually learns that all this time he has been working with the actual Adolf Hitler, rather than a scary good impersonator. Sawatzki tries to Bellini that man they have been working with is the real Hitler. Bellini does not truly believes him and tries to calm him down but Sawatzki in his panic and outrage trashes the hospital trying to escape. Sawatzki confronts Hitler at the studio at gunpoint and guides him to the rooftop. At the roof Hitler gives a small speech of his rise to power was all thanks to the people. Sawatzki shot him and Hitler falls off the roof but appears behind Sawatzki stating that he cannot be killed because he is a part of every German. This confrontation is revealed to be a scene from the film and the real Sawatzki is shown in a mental health institution. The film ends with Hitler and Bellini driving away, followed by a credits scene in which Hitler talks about the rise of the far right throughout Europe.

Transnational Elements

This film can be considered transnational because of its audience and the larger themes it addresses. While the film is set in Germany and German is the predominant language of the film, it is accessible to a larger audience worldwide in various languages, subtitled and dubbed. Thematically, the film addresses the issue of rising far-right nationalist movements that are currently affecting quite a few countries in the past few years. Examples include not only Germany but also Italy, the UK, Poland, Sweden, Brazil and others. This transnational element becomes readily apparent in the credits, when the character of Hitler directly addresses the audience and the viewer is met with real-world footage of alt-right rallies and violence.

The Credits Scene

This clip focuses on the rising support for more Nationalist parties throughout Germany and other European countries. This is another message that makes this film transnational. At one point in the clip we hear someone being interviewed stating that people that come to Sweden should adapt to their way of life and in the background we see Swedish protests. That same message has echoed through multiple countries. Trump has refused refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern Countries. Germans in the film feel that their government has placed their interests behind those of refugees. Then at the end Hitler states that he “can work with this”. This is a scary message because throughout the film, people express their wishes to follow him.

The monologue is more or less directed at the audience, connecting real world events for the viewer in a style that dismisses the comedic and comparatively light-hearted nature of the actual film and addressing an issue very seriously. The film could possibly have been inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 film The Great Dictator, in which Chaplin plays a fascist dictator, mocking Hitler in various ways. At the end of Chaplin’s film, he breaks character and addresses the audience in a call to action rising up against and confronting fascism wherever we see it. The two final scenes, altough very different, are also greatly similar, to one another, addressing similar themes.

Larger Themes

The film largely places focus on right-wing populist and nationalist groups that are currently seeing a growing increase in support. In Germany, the largest of these groups is the Alternative für Deutschland or Alternative for Germany political party which currently holds a considerable number of seats in both state and local governments as well as the Bundestag.

According to the journal article cited below, the AfD can be considered a far-right party in the German political system. Its message varies widely from the main center-right parties the CDU and FDP. A number one issue which led to its rise in popularity during the refugee crisis was an anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and anti-refugee platform. The AfD and other far-right parties in Europe focus largely on euroscepticism and tighter immigration restrictions, particularly against refugees and Muslim majority populations. Other examples of far-right parties in Europe which follows this trend include, but are not limited to The United Kindgom’s UKIP (UK Independence Party focusing on Brexit and immigration) and Austria’s Freedom Party (FPÖ). Since the rise of these parties all across Europe, acts of violence towards minority populations have increased and escalated, some proving fatal.

Source

Decker, Frank. “The ‘Alternative for Germany’: Factors Behind Its Emergence and Profile of a New Right-Wing Populist Party.” German Politics and Society, vol. 34, no. 2, Summer 2016, pp. 1–16. JSTOR.