Zack Rynhold

That’s a great thought about Mando turning away from family! I think this ties in very well because the episode occurs early in the show (Chapter 4 I believe), so Mando is still a typical cowboy at this stage. It takes time for him to learn what it means to be a father and have some shape of a family. On that note, The Mandalorian also has something interesting to say about how families viewed as unconventional, e.g., single parents, are families all the same with the same strong bonds.

Excellent point about Rey and Ben being foils for each other in terms of their divergent lineages and about Rey mirroring Luke in overcoming her family revelation. I would have loved to have seen Rey actually be from nowhere. Her attempts to place herself within the Star Wars hierarchy would have been in vain, much like Ben’s attempts to stray from his family legacy. In the end, it would make for a more perfect union between the two of them, finding their respective purposes through their unity in the force. That being said, most of the Rise of Skywalker’s flaws took time to dawn on me. My initial reaction was one of fondness due to the nostalgia, and so I find myself thinking of it much as in the same way as I do the prequels.

This is a fascinating reading of the Star Wars saga, particularly the prequels. I think that the paternalism argument can even be extended beyond the Empire to the Jedi themselves, who in many ways straddle the fine line between paternalism and human rights intervention as “peacekeepers.” This is a central issue throughout The Clone Wars series, where it becomes clear that Sidious’ plot to defeat the Jedi was grounded in turning the people against them for continuing a war across the galaxy. The Jedi are essentially the US in this analogy, defending freedom and democracy across the world but spreading violence and sowing dissent all the while. The Clone Wars arguably stands for the idea that the Jedi’s downfall stems from their paternalism, which clouded their perception with arrogance and pushed away the likes of Ahsoka and Anakin from the Jedi Order.

This is a very thoughtful article that perhaps accurately portrays why JoJo Rabbit garnered so much popular appeal.

I would note, however, that the article presumes that flagrant racism is no longer the primary form of racism currently in existence. On the contrary, anti-Semitic violence and hate crimes have increased in recent years, much of which arguably stems from a phenomenon mentioned in this article: political leaders, such as Donald Trump, providing a platform for neo-Nazis.

Of course, cinema is only enriched by promoting more nuanced approaches to racism. For example, it was outrageous, yet fully expected, that Green Book in all its simplicity would win the Oscar for Best Picture, while If Beale Street Could Talk did not get nearly as much recognition as it deserved for its rich portrayal of racism. A similar article to this one could explain why that happened. But I think JoJo Rabbit reminds us that flagrant racism does still exist and needs to be denounced for what it is, rather than allowing neo-Nazism to insert itself into the conversation of nuanced racism.