Look Who's Back: The Similarities Between Hitler & Trump
(Huge spoilers. As in, go watch the movie, then read this.)
Look Who's Back is a satirical novel by the German author Timur Vermes. It was published in 2012, long before the ordinary American gave a shit about Donald Trump -- it also embodies the story of how he gained fame eerily well.
The thing is, Look Who's Back is all about Adolf Hitler.
The cinematic adaptation came out in 2015. Oliver Masucci's Hitler rises from the dead in Berlin circa 2014. He stumbles into Fabian, a calm little dude played by Fabian Busch. Intrigued by the oddly-dressed man, Fabian takes Hitler under his wing. Though startled by some of Hitler's deadly-serious comments, he's convinced that the guy just never breaks character.
Through social media, Hitler's bizarre antics lead him to recognition. Because of his coincidental encounter with a TV producer, he's featured on a popular comedy series. The show's host is shocked by Hitler's words and rages off the stage. The rest of the crowd sheds tears of laughter. Ratings go off the charts.
Although his appearance and way of speech are strikingly similar to those of his historical doppelganger, people mistake him for an impersonator. They talk about how he is funny and ridiculous, yet somehow manages to vocalize national problems in Germany.
This brings us to Donald Trump. He hosted a reality show called "The Apprentice" from 2004 to 2015. Since the beginning, Trump was interested in running for presidential power, like LWB's Hitler. These days, you can hear his supporters backing Trump's disturbing remarks with, "He's only being honest," and, "At least he speaks the truth."
Watching the film was unnerving enough. Later, I found out the scenes in which random men and women meet Hitler are actual encounters. Those are real residents of Germany bashing immigrants, telling them to "go home".
"The cast and crew drove across the country, having Hitler interact with ordinary people. Most of these people react to the sight of one of the 20th century’s vilest leaders with excitement and amusement. They pose for selfies with the feared Nazi leader and perform the famous Hitler salute for him.” --Adam Taylor of Independent
In the end, Hitler himself summarizes the message of the movie: history repeats. The citizens of Germany elected him. They had a choice, and they chose him. Hitler tells Fabian that even if he is gone, his ideas are very much alive. Candidates like Trump and Cruz aren't the issue. Our own selfish, vapid views and nonexistent attention spans are.
I wish I could make everyone voting in the 2016 election digest the entirety of Look Who's Back. It's not a complicated concept. The similarities between Trump and Hitler have been brought up before. The difference is that this satire may be humorous at first sight.
When you reach the end, you find out you were the joke all along.
Look Who's Back is a satirical novel by the German author Timur Vermes. It was published in 2012, long before the ordinary American gave a shit about Donald Trump -- it also embodies the story of how he gained fame eerily well.
The thing is, Look Who's Back is all about Adolf Hitler.
The cinematic adaptation came out in 2015. Oliver Masucci's Hitler rises from the dead in Berlin circa 2014. He stumbles into Fabian, a calm little dude played by Fabian Busch. Intrigued by the oddly-dressed man, Fabian takes Hitler under his wing. Though startled by some of Hitler's deadly-serious comments, he's convinced that the guy just never breaks character.
Through social media, Hitler's bizarre antics lead him to recognition. Because of his coincidental encounter with a TV producer, he's featured on a popular comedy series. The show's host is shocked by Hitler's words and rages off the stage. The rest of the crowd sheds tears of laughter. Ratings go off the charts.
Although his appearance and way of speech are strikingly similar to those of his historical doppelganger, people mistake him for an impersonator. They talk about how he is funny and ridiculous, yet somehow manages to vocalize national problems in Germany.
This brings us to Donald Trump. He hosted a reality show called "The Apprentice" from 2004 to 2015. Since the beginning, Trump was interested in running for presidential power, like LWB's Hitler. These days, you can hear his supporters backing Trump's disturbing remarks with, "He's only being honest," and, "At least he speaks the truth."
Watching the film was unnerving enough. Later, I found out the scenes in which random men and women meet Hitler are actual encounters. Those are real residents of Germany bashing immigrants, telling them to "go home".
"The cast and crew drove across the country, having Hitler interact with ordinary people. Most of these people react to the sight of one of the 20th century’s vilest leaders with excitement and amusement. They pose for selfies with the feared Nazi leader and perform the famous Hitler salute for him.” --Adam Taylor of Independent
In the end, Hitler himself summarizes the message of the movie: history repeats. The citizens of Germany elected him. They had a choice, and they chose him. Hitler tells Fabian that even if he is gone, his ideas are very much alive. Candidates like Trump and Cruz aren't the issue. Our own selfish, vapid views and nonexistent attention spans are.
I wish I could make everyone voting in the 2016 election digest the entirety of Look Who's Back. It's not a complicated concept. The similarities between Trump and Hitler have been brought up before. The difference is that this satire may be humorous at first sight.
When you reach the end, you find out you were the joke all along.
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| PC: C. Nguyen |
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