Why the Gay Subplots ‘The Lighthoe’ and ‘Jojo Rabb’ Don’t Go Far Enough

Contents:

• JOJO RABB: SAM ROCKWELL REVEALS WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO PLAY GAY NAZI OFFICER IN THE OSRS NOMATED FILM
• WHY THE GAY SUBPLOTS ‘THE LIGHTHOE’ AND ‘JOJO RABB’ DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH
• JOJO RABB: SAM ROCKWELL REVEALS WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO PLAY GAY NAZI OFFICER IN THE OSRS NOMATED FILM

JOJO RABB: SAM ROCKWELL REVEALS WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO PLAY GAY NAZI OFFICER IN THE OSRS NOMATED FILM

Actor Sam Rockwell lov rol that e wh dichotomy, and that’s what attracted him to the role of a gay Nazi officer Taika Wai’s crilly-acclaimed film “Jojo Rabb”.

Jojo Rabb: Sam Rockwell Reveals What Attracted Him To Play Gay Nazi Officer In The Osrs Nomated Film. For one thg, he’s a gay Nazi, which though they existed is not a phrase you hear very often, so I found fascatg to work wh that juxtaposn, ” Rockwell said. Sam Rockwell’s Capta Klenzendorf is a disillned, perhaps not-so-closeted gay Nazi officer charged wh leadg the Hler Youth doctratn, which he do wh a hilar mix of sarsm and fatalism.

So, although many people followed Hler, there was also a handful who went agast the Rosa-WkelAlso known as the verted pk triangle, the Rosa-Wkel found on gay ncentratn mp uniforms. This is another vastatg lson: the great hollowg-out force of totalarianism renrs even tragedy only actual feat of heroism the movie—the only act that volv sacrifice and has nsequenc—is mted by Capta Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell), a gay Nazi who, cked out his end-of-days uniform adorned wh red ge, sps at Jojo and lls him a “dirty Jew” orr to save him om beg executed by Rsian soldiers, who, short orr, open fire on Klenzendorf and others.

WHY THE GAY SUBPLOTS ‘THE LIGHTHOE’ AND ‘JOJO RABB’ DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH

Jojo’s mom Rosie (Srlett Johansson) is a heroic ristance fighter; the boy’s mp director Capta Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell) is a flamboyant closeted gay man; his bt iend Yorki (Archie Yat) is an archetypal pudgy sikick who, like Jojo, is enthiastic about the Reich whout havg any scerely nasty nvictns; and Klenzendorf’s right-hand woman Fräule Rahm (Rebel Wilson) is a buffoon who is meant to be charmgly loopy.

While n not be ignored there is a loyalty that lgers, votn to a untry is hard to break, there is a sad realizatn that Capta Klenzendorf is gay, hidg for his life the ranks of the Nazis, his partner Fkel (Alfie Allen) by his si and his flask to pe. Both movi e om wildly ventive filmmakers wh styl so specific their films n feel like their own mi-genr, but they share half-baked gay subtexts that fall short of their amb visns. In a story about two men on a serted island, the homoeroticism is practilly baked to the log-le.

JOJO RABB: SAM ROCKWELL REVEALS WHAT ATTRACTED HIM TO PLAY GAY NAZI OFFICER IN THE OSRS NOMATED FILM

” But a foppish Hler is the least of Wai’s troubl — the real homoeroticism to play wh Sam Rockwell’s character. (Wai don’t even beg to addrs that the Nazis were sendg gay people to ncentratn mps. )The movie’s “exclively gay moment” may be lour than the one “The Lighthoe, ” but ’s far more problematic, as Wai plays for edic affect to generate sympathy for his characters — queerns as shorthand for humany.

Maybe that would have felt radil or bold 25 years ago, but 2019, ’s jt pla urse, neher Wai or Eggers are gay, which is not to say straight filmmakers n’t or shouldn’t e queer elements their work.