I love the movie, ~~but I hate how they hired actual Nazis to play the fascist goons in the movie.~~ Those fuckheads unironically use the crossed hammers as their logo to this day, calling themselves the Hammerskins.

Edit: They didn't hire Nazis, just violent and unruly local skinheads. There were a ton of problems with the production of that movie, but the skinheads in the movie did seem to be in on the joke. I missremembered the history of the Hammerskins, who formed in America several years after The Wall and were not the original skinheads from the movie.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Huh. In the eighties when I first saw it, the question came up, and reports came they hired pro-labor skinheads which were a British movement even before the white-power movement started shaving their heads. Now it totally makes sense that the Hammerskins might rise in the late eighties since racial power movements typically recruit from young people searching for more of an identity, and will often attach themselves to anything. But the sequence was definitely meant to be anti-fascist satire.

Lindsay Wagner noted that movies that explore fascist themes run the risk of inspiring racial power movements to adopting the symbols used in films. In her case she was noting the difference of reaction to movies like American History X and Mel Brooks' The Producers (aka Springtime For Hitler ), where Brooks' offerings have been completely immune to adoption by fascist movements.

And mocking the GOP's intimate connection to the transnational white power movement in the US (which Haley will not opposing, having being a full-throated MAGA) was my intention in responding to Haley.

[–] TotallynotJessica 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

You're correct. I remembered incorrectly.

Fascists can't understand most satire and mockery of their beliefs unless the satire offends their sensibilities. Most fascists are naive children who are all about aesthetics. So long as the satirical fascists look cool or seem dangerous, they'll use the iconography unironically.

It's why Republicans use "Born in the USA" or "Fortunate Son" at their conventions to represent patriotism, despite those songs being scathing criticisms of America. The songs sound uplifting to contrast the dark lyrics, making them great works of art. However, Republicans are the sort of people Curt Cobain sings about in the song "In Bloom." They barely ever dig beyond the surface layer. It's almost required to unironically hold their worldview.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

To be fair, it's one of the trivia points on the entry for The Wall in IMDB that Roger hired actual neo-nazis, so it's certainly a rumor that's getting about.

He recently got flack for the fascist sequence of The Wall ( The Show Must Go On; In the Flesh; Run Like Hell; Waiting for the Worms, Stop ) And wearing the usual militant trenchcoat costume during concerts. He went on a news show to plead his case and cried about the battle of Anzio.

It spooks me how much the communal recollection of history can change with time.