Consider this scene from Quentin Tarantino’s WWII epic, Inglourious Basterds. German movie star (and war hero) Fredrick Zoller is trying to persuade Joseph Goebbels to switch the venue for his new movie’s premiere. Zoller’s real motive is to impress his would-be girlfriend, Shosanna, who owns a small theater.
GOEBBELS: How many seats in your auditorium?
SHOSANNA: Three hundred and fifty.
GOEBBELS: That’s almost four hundred less then The Ritz.
FREDRICK: But dear Goebbels, that’s not such a terrible thing. You said yourself you didn’t want to indulge every two-faced French bourgeois taking up space currying favor. With less seats it makes the event more exclusive. You’re not trying to fill the house, they’re fighting for seats. Besides, to hell with the French. This is a German night, a German event, a German celebration. This night is for you, me, the German military, the high command, their family and friends. The only people who should be allowed in the room, are people who will be moved by the exploits on screen.
GOEBBELS: I see your public speaking has improved. It appears I’ve created a monster. A strangely persuasive monster. When the war’s over, politics awaits.
[Table chuckles.]
While this is all fiction, it’s profound fiction. Ponder Goebbels’ last phrase: “Politics awaits.”
Fredrick shows zero understanding of policy. Indeed, it’s hardly clear that he even understands the optimal way to plan a movie premiere. So what has Fredrick displayed? A talent for demagoguery. He scorns foreigners – “every two-faced French bourgeois taking up space currying favor” and “to hell with the French.” He panders to nationalist identity: “This is a German night, a German event, a German celebration.” And Fredrick scorns and panders eloquently enough to bemuse the Minister of Propaganda himself.
When you watch Inglourious Basterds, Goebbels’ reaction to Fredrick’s appeal seems obvious, even banal. Why? Because Goebbels is speaking like a generic politician, not a Nazi. And when he does so, we all nod, because deep down we know the ugly truth that demagoguery rules the world. We’re just afraid to say it.
READER COMMENTS
David Henderson
May 9 2019 at 11:38am
Spoiler ahead in this comment.
This is a little off-topic but when we watched the scene where all those Nazis get burned alive, my wife turned and looked at me and said, “You should see the grin on your face.”
Phil H
May 9 2019 at 12:11pm
Without disagreeing particularly – there is plenty of mendacious rhetoric in the world – I also think there is a lot of philosophical diversity in the world. For example, though demagoguery is a standard accusation to throw at Trump, I’m not convinced. He’d have to know he was doing it, wouldn’t he? But in Trump, there is little evidence of the kind of double cognition required.
There is also some level of demagoguery I find excusable: A politician decides to join a party, even though she doesn’t agree with every plank in its platform, and then campaigns for the whole lot. That’s not necessarily corrupt.
Between them, these two factors eat away many of the examples that are often dismissed as politician’s insincerity. There is certainly some real mendaciousness and insincerity out there, but incompetence and necessary social conformity explain more.
Mark
May 9 2019 at 1:03pm
In the context of the analogy and movie, Frederick doesn’t really know what he’s doing either. Shosanna is the one behind the scenes pulling the strings. She would be like the Steve Bannon to Frederick’s Trump.
Phil H
May 10 2019 at 4:56am
Fair enough, it’s been too long since I saw it… I’m afraid the last movie I saw was the execrable Avengers: The Ultimate Insult. The things we sacrifice for our children!
Joseph E Munson
May 10 2019 at 7:15pm
I personally like The Hound’s concise speech on the topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yP1HwPJzbjo
starts at 2:10.
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