Jojo Rabbit

From Inglourious Basterds to Grave of the Fireflies, these movies satirize toxic masculinity and herd mentality.

The Great Dictator, created by Charlie Chaplin, is seen by many as directly influencing Jojo Rabbit. The film takes place in a fictionalized country of Tomainia, which has lost WWI and has descended into fascism. He also gave his book the alternate title of The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death because he wanted people to recognize that it is boys who go to war, not men. Neither boy knows the true nature of the situation, and they develop a great friendship. The stark difference between joyful, innocent beauty and terror is common in many titles on this list, especially Jojo Rabbit and Life is Beautiful. It is a coming-of-age film that shows the dangerous influence of pack mentality, especially when the pack is so desperate for new connections that it will embrace values like toxic masculinity, nationalism, and violence to fit in. Iranian-Kurdish filmmaker Bahman Gobadi wrote, produced, and directed this film about Kurdish children living on the border of Iraq and Turkey through the eve and dawn of the American invasion of Iraq. The film is tragic in contrast to Jojo Rabbit, but it educates viewers on the tragedies of war through similar narrative choices, like the focus on children in war zones. The boy is excited and unaware of the danger. Inglourious Basterds from Quentin Tarantino is another film that shows the brutality of World War II with some moments of light comedy. The first act portrays a happier time that contrasts with the coming tragedy. By showing the boyishness of the group and having light comedic moments throughout, you are reminded, as with Jojo Rabbit, that World War II was fought by very young men and sometimes children. Eventually, Jojo rejects the toxic ideology of Nazism, which the film shows through a growing rift between him and an ever-angrier imaginary Hitler. Overall, the film is about thinking for yourself, the dangers of Nazism and fascism, and the tragedy of war. Jojo is a 10-year-old member of the Hitler Youth whose imaginary friend is a somewhat goofy Adolf Hitler, played by the film's writer and director, Taika Waititi. Jojo discovers his mother, Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl, Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie).