On why it is sometimes better to just be a rabbit.
I had forgotten how much I love satire. The sarcasm, exaggeration, absurdity, irony; what a wonderful way to criticize people. Hence, my watching and enjoying Jojo Rabbit. I believe Jojo Rabbit did a great job at highlighting some of the absurd behaviors behind those at the forefront of totalitarian regimes and therefore wanted to spend some time talking about them. I believe that by viewing atrocities like the actions of Nazi Germany at multiple scopes, one can understand what went wrong at each level and Jojo Rabbit did a great job at looking at the individual, particularly emotional aspects. Therefore, I ask what pushes one towards mass manipulation and extortion? Why would anyone ever follow? These are not questions with simple answers, but Jojo Rabbit provides at least some insights and lessons to be learned. Let's look at a few of them.
"Heil me, man. Whaaaat? You can heil me better than thaat."
To start with, the absurdities of the ego. Who exactly needs, even deserves to be heiled that much? Are you actually worthy, or are you so fearful of your own self perception that you must demand other's praise as compensation? Why is it okay for you to have a "snake mind" but not for others to have a "serpent's tongue"? I guess it only works, if it works for you. Can I have some of that Unicorn meat? I only have scraps for myself. I guess not, that's reserved for special people... and it doesn't actually exist. Why is your fear of others less damning than my fear of killing?
"I'm massively into swastikas, so I think that's a pretty good sign."
Now, the blindness of those in search of self. Why am I following you? Am I not my own compass, do I have my own thoughts? What am I representing? Well, obviously the swastika. It is a thing and I do love it. I love knives, but I can't bring myself to kill. I idolize missiles, but am susceptible to butterflies in the stomach. I am a brave rabbit, but only end up hurting myself. Man, I am ugly and I suck.
These are just a few moments gathered from the film, but they have a common theme -- fear and self. This movie does a good job of looking at the fear we all experience and the effects of how we handle it. Through the lenses of Jojo Betzler and his subconscious Hitler, we witness two ways of coping with fear. One insists they don't experience it at all, but are instead strong and in control (how ironic, amiright?). The other says they are fearless, but knows they are lying. One takes his fear and projects it onto others, pushing them into darkness, the other accepts guidance from those who have genuinely faced fear. It is such an innate emotion, and yet there are those of us who don't know how to handle it. Therein lies the power of the rabbit.
If we are going to be scared of something, even ourselves, do not ignore it. Calling ourselves a wolf doesn't make us wolves, nor a panther panthers. In doing so, we only end up chasing unicorns. Sometimes it is better to just be the scared rabbit, not knowing what to do. Maybe if we just run to our holes, we can get to safety and take some time to figure things out. We can look to others for help and work to truly become the rabbit/wolf/snake/tiger/giraffe/snail hybrid we're meant to be; for caging bats does not produce freedom, it never has. It only perpetuates the fear, this time of the fact that the animal might get out. True freedom only comes from self actualization while avoidance binds us to that which we avoid.
By bottling up fear and avoiding it, we don't remove it. It still exists. Instead we fall into unhealthy habits of projection, manipulation, and extortion. Instead of controlling ourselves, we look to control others around us, claiming success when we've exerted ourselves over others. The irony is that we never win in these situations. The emotions are still there, sitting and festering. How can anybody claim victory when they still feel like shit? I've never danced when I still feel miserable. It is therefore better to confront and process. Look at the fear, see it. Exist inside it. There are reasons the fear exists, try to understand them. Looking the tiger in the eye tells you something about it. Maybe it's not as frightening as you once thought. Maybe it's worse. You'll never be able to make a good decision concerning it though without first looking.
"Dancing is for people who are free."
Therefore, be the rabbit. You are one. Be scared and confused. Don't know what to do. Run. Hide. Fret. We must all do it sometimes. Go find a safe place. Take that time and do something with it. Maybe reflect so that you may grow and come out of your hole changed, better... then naturally run back into it when you're scared again. The rabbit has his own ways of surviving and they work, so adopt them. You will one day be able to come out again, maybe even dancing, for real. But even if after everything is said and done and you do not come back out and instead stay in your hole for longer, at the very least you will not have harmed anybody else.
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