Modern Nazis and Pop Culture: An Examination of Fascist Media Tropes (01-16-19)

Neo-Nazi and fascist ideologies are on the rise in modern America. From the riots in Charlottesville, to the
active online presence of white nationalists, a clear problem is resurfacing. Who are these Nazis? Where
do they come from? Do they deserve sympathy (No)? Do they deserve respect (Also No)? How do they
impact the media sphere?

A fascist reading of any text can provide a multitude of interesting interpretations as well as pose an
ethical quandary; is representation of Nazi ideology ethical? In looking at several examples of popular
media, we can examine the effects of semitic coding, implicit and explicit Nazi iconography, and
undeserved redemption.

The following examples all serve to show the influence of the media sphere on Neo-Nazi ideology:

Superman: Implicit Nazi iconography and blatant antisemitism

My Little Pony: Forgiveness is undeserved

Cabaret: Explicit anti-fascism still draws a fascist audience

The Wizard of Oz: Coded antisemitism in media

These call into question not the ethicality of Nazis, but the portrayal of any type of media when interpreted

by fascists.

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Modern Nazis and Pop Culture: My Little Pony (1-16-19)

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a children’s cartoon based on the popular horse toys from the 1980s. While the cartoon has had several incarnations, the most recent generation is the first to have a substantial adult following .The show focuses heavily on the lessons it teaches, and educating a young audiences. In 2018 a “Brony Analyst”, ToonKriticy2k , was accused of grooming underaged girls for sex. The allegations were evidenced by years of screenshots and incriminating skype calls . Once all of the evidence was available to the public, While this is horrific, the surge of content creators gaslighting the victims , calling for forgiveness, and steadfastly refusing to eliminate his presence is nothing short of repugnant. By this logic why wouldn’t the MLP community forgive Neo-Nazis ? Why bother to eliminate violently transphobic , racist (See Figure 1), bullies when forgiveness is the only answer? Figure 1 [ID: The Third ...

Modern Nazis and Pop Culture: Superman (1-16-19)

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a comic book based on the popular video game of the same name. Clark Kent is tricked by The Joker into murdering his pregnant wife, Lois Lane, and killing all the citizens of Metropolis. Superman kills The Joker and proceeds to make a crime free world by becoming a fascist dictator. The whole comic is rife with gross implications, the most egregious being the portrayal of Superman. Not only do the artists use tacit Nazi symbolism to show Clark’s misdeeds (See Figures 1,2,3), but the story goes to great lengths to show this evil Superman as a good person prior to his trauma (See Figure 4). In addition, a subplot of the Year 2 storyline includes Superman gaining access to a yellow lantern ring , a weapon used to rule by fear. This paints the I:GAU Superman as a fear mongering dictator with a super weapon and horrific moral philosophy. Figure 1 Figure 2 ...

Modern Nazis and Pop Culture: Wizard of Oz (1-16-19)

The Wizard of Oz was not written by a Nazi, contrary to popular belief. L. Frank Baum was a man of his time, thoughts on race included, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that much of his work contains racist, agest , sexist , and all around old fashion ideas. However, by analyzing at how the works of Oz have changed over time, we see how racial coding impacts the reception of a work. In 1900 Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and while it is generally believed to discuss the socio economic fluctuations of a bimetallic economy in the late 1800s, whether there is intentional allegory at all is a contentious point. The perceived allegorical statements of the book are in line with Baum’s liberal use of coding, or shorthand character signifiers. This type of coding has some unfortunately racist outcomes that fundamentally alter thematic elements of the story. The Winkies (See Figure 1), a fictional race that resides in the Ozian west (See Figure 2), are slaves to the Wi...

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