On Lee's Nazism and Neo-Nazism in Film and Media

In his manual for good historical writing, The Historian's Craft, the French Jewish historian Marc Bloch wrote nearly eighty years ago, "When all is said and done, a single word, 'understanding,' is the beacon light of our studies. … We are never sufficiently understanding."¹ In quest of such understanding, some teachers (myself among them) have little difficulty in using any means possible when looking at difficult or controversial topics. Doing so might increase the understanding we seek—even more so when dealing with areas that in so many ways might otherwise defy it.

My field is history, not film or cultural studies. Film appreciation is not my "thing." Thus, when I look at movies relative to historical events, it is with regard to their value as tools for teaching about people, ideas, movements, or events. I am not all that interested in their creative qualities, other than if they create a sense of place or period.

Filmmakers employ dramatic license when making movies. This is a vital consideration when we contemplate the connections that can be made between films and real-life events. For the most part, it is simply not possible for filmmakers to re-create with complete accuracy everything that happened in any historical situation, so liberties have to be taken—perhaps not with the truth so much as with representations of the truth. While filmmakers might have a commitment to telling the general outline of a story, they are often forced to select specific vignettes, themes, or exchanges to best express themselves. The ambiguous label "based on a true story" can lend credibility to even the most tenuous of movie tie-ins, but filmmakers seem generally content to employ the term if their movie has even the remotest grounding in real-life events.

Some movies, indeed, assume a substantial degree of license, but in doing so they create compelling scenarios. In this regard, the skills of the historian can meet those of the film maker to enhance understanding. There is little doubt that movie representations will have to be considered more and more in the future, as educators address a population that derives most of its understanding of the world through visual sources.

Helping younger generations learn about historical events through critical consumption of film might be a way to engage them emotionally and intellectually, as young people today are likely to glean much of their knowledge about the world through films, both before and after their formal education.

Jason Lee's work Nazism and Neo-Nazism in Film and Media adopts a position in which issues relating to how Nazis and neo-Nazis are portrayed visually are dealt with as a matter of duty to those beholding them.

Lee's work covers a broad range of media, including films, television, and video games, and along the way he considers the challenges confronted when looking at such images. He seeks to locate not only how Nazis are (and have been) represented in film and other media, but also the degree to which they play a role in modern-day understandings of how such representations have (if at all) influenced modern politics. For example, he argues that this is embodied through Trump's America, where increasingly extreme right-wing politics became normalized starting in 2016. That said, one of Lee's key points is that Nazism and neo-Nazism form a major element of contemporary society globally and are not just for kooks, nostalgics, or politicians determined to break through accepted cultural norms.

Some of these movies are difficult to classify. Often they are simple drama or documentary, but sometimes, such as in the German film Look Who's Back (Er Ist Wieder Da, dir. David Wnendt, 2015), satirical comedy. A question is raised: should such movies best be viewed by an audience with some prior knowledge of the historical background they depict? Moreover, if an audience is not adequately prepared, can this lead to...