Triumph of the Will, a Nazi film. The film is said to have brainwashed millions of people into fanatical Nazis. To clarify and deconstruct the charm of this film, attacking it only from the correct historical view of the Allies in World War II, its destruction is not thorough enough, we should see how Nazi fanaticism was constructed from the perspective of ordinary Germans, so It can be reverse engineered and completely dismantled.
The political situation in Germany at that time was far beyond what outsiders and outsiders could imagine. Today, we are quick to understand the evil of the Nazis, but at that time, the people of Germany saw a peaceful scene, the country was prosperous and the people were strong, and everyone was motivated by a great sense of mission to forge ahead. This sense of mission is so great that no one can grasp it, and it can only be left to the state—the “will to walk on the earth” as Hegel called it—to accomplish it. Of course, the country is equal to the leader, the leader is the country, "Hitler is Germany" .
The allure of this documentary is hard to resist, and most German citizens will naturally fall into madness in the guise of rationality. Imagine this is my homeland (in German it is Vaterland, which means fatherland, not motherland - it's very German), when its suffering has been sixteen years since the beginning of the First World War, and the once rich land has been ravaged and shattered . After the entire country has been completely disarmed, the enemy has inflicted on us, who are impoverished, completely unbearable economic exploitation, which is even worse than Xin Chou and Ma Guan. In the entire Ruhr region, the lifeblood of coal in Germany and even the entire European continent, our fathers and sons were driven to mine. Once the coal was dug up, it was directly divided up and transported away by the foreign powers, and nothing was left to Germany. All Germans were in debt for decades, which amounted to life sentences for forced labor. Yes, what the enemy wants is to keep Germany from turning over for decades.
It's not just defeat. This is utter humiliation. The German nation has completely lost its dignity as a European powerhouse. Mothers cry in the dark, relatives live in hunger, and entire nations are driven into the abyss of destruction.
For the Germans, Hitler was a combination of Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. The first thing ordinary Germans see is the economic take-off: the entire country has suddenly risen from the ashes, soared into the sky, and in ten years, it has taken on a new look, as amazing as China's reform and opening up. Moreover, Hitler did exactly what he claimed to "eliminate classes", erasing all distinctions of origin - university professors and Jewish businessmen who were usually high-ranking university professors, now have the same status as us eight generations of peasants, and people of all classes are treated equally. Respect, because we are all doing the same thing today - fighting and sacrificing for a stronger Germany. With the improvement of living standards and the elimination of social conflicts, why is this not a wise man!
He is not only a wise man, but also our great teacher. As a rare performance artist in the world, Hitler's speech ability is breathtaking, and modern people can easily diagnose the symptoms of psychosis from the bizarre exaggeration of his gestures. However, at the time, he was like a mad prophet, every word spit out, All from the motto of a seemingly perfect ideology, a higher will, and every word he utters can set off a religious frenzy in all his listeners. This scene in which the audience is full of cheers and can't help themselves can only be compared with the mental state of the people when some presidents of East Asian countries appear. Germany at that time resembled the Great Leap Forward and China during the Wen Ge period, or even more so. The consistently rational German people have truly seen the growing prosperity of the country since Hitler came to power. It has jumped from the abyss of an economic colony to become the undisputed number one power in Europe, making its neighbors jealous and its old enemies venerated. It is conceivable that if China really catches up with the United States after the Great Leap Forward, then why not believe in the greatness of doctrine and the greatness of the chairman?
Ideologically, Hitler was indeed almost perfect. He completely bound the concepts of the excellent and profound culture of the German nation, the morality of the soldiers, the absolute power of the state and the pure blood, so as to achieve the concept of blood as power and virtue, nation as culture and state, and leader as national mentor and state. These multiple effects themselves. The persecution of the Jews is a natural extension of this logic. For ordinary Germans, the rich Jewish people are in high positions and exploit the people, and their punishment is innocuous in the face of the great progress of the country as a whole, and because of the Nazis' news blocking , most people were unaware of the existence of concentration camps.
The crime of this film is to show the most evil things in the most perfect way, so as to give them the highest charm. The valiant and heroic demeanor of the soldiers, the overwhelming power contained in the uniform and uniform march of the army, the perfect will and the supremely bright future embodied in Hitler's speech, the people who are the true ensemble performers of history. The collective frenzy of the tsunami has merged into a kind of extreme charm, a wave that engulfs everything, so that everyone can't help but devote a strong desire to join this torrent, thus bringing ordinary and short-lived individuals into a great, Go to eternal business. When your country from the ruins has suddenly become so strong and united, a homeland that has been in chaos and conflict for a whole generation is suddenly made so passionate and orderly by one man, whether pragmatist or ideal All activists can find reasons for their support in the "German Dream" provided by Hitler.
So here comes the question. Human beings are such a fragile and helpless individual that all people are busy looking for an eternal and perfect value all the time, so that they can attach their personal value to it, and (falsely) feel the eternity of personal life because of the eternity of this value. , because of the perfection of this value, the individual mind is purified at every moment and freed from the suffering of impermanence. It is always difficult not to fall into a certain wave. When you convert to a religion, trust almost everything a philosopher has to say, or commit your life to someone (as alive, vulnerable, and wavering as you are), you're giving up control and responsibility for yourself , coaxing himself into a state of infinity.
For the German nationals at this time, the reality has given them full reasons to embrace this brand-new country. At this time, avoiding independent thinking, giving up self, and giving up the heaviest burden in life has never been done in history. Seems so easy and worthwhile.
Judging from Mein Kampf, in fact, Hitler himself had already dedicated himself to the doctrine that took root in his mind and gradually flourished. He is no longer a person, he is a spirit. In ancient times, he was the Jewish prophet on the land of Canaan, and the thirty-year-old Muhammad who was enlightened by God in the sand dunes of Arabia. Having discussed so far, we have to sigh at the regulation and termination of madness, which is the other side of human instinct, by modern rational civilization.
The will of the individual is so fragile, and the value he has been looking for to attach to is now in front of us. So, if there is another form of national thought, how can we ensure that the whole society will not be so completely anomie again?
Further, among the various values that are currently popular in human society, which are not similar in nature to the Nazis:
Which is not the mind that rules a country or even a large country? And which of them has not, because of its creeds and regulations, descended from abstract ideas to the laws of the world, and completely transformed society with its (one-sided and arrogant) will?
The Islamic extremism that exported revolution and bloody revenge to the world, the Soviet revisionists who were always ready to dominate the world, the Western neoliberalism that is now faltering and gradually falling from the global throne, the globalism formed by the alliance of the elites of Davos from various countries, Anti-globalization populism, pastoral environmentalists, and transhumanists formed by the confluence of ordinary people in developed countries in Europe and the United States and some developing countries... Which one does not have its own arrogance and prejudice, success and blind spots?
During the Cold War, the internal anti-revolt of some red regimes, the current neoliberalism brought about sweeping and destroying the world like the burning of the Yuanmingyuan, the great absurdity of various ethnic and religious extremist forces, and the Western practice for many years called defending freedom of speech and human rights. The mentally handicapped behavior that insults other civilizations (such as the Charlie Hebdo incident in 2015), which is not full of fallacies and shallow wit?
Which, did not profoundly transform human society, and firmly believed that he was the only correct and final line of human society, but what this world, Bai Nayi, which has been transformed beyond recognition, will eventually become, is actually a super-giant chaotic system. , is simply unforeseeable?
"The so-called most knowledgeable people in the world are not the ones who accumulate for the great thieves? The so-called most holy ones are not the guardians of the Dao?...The saints do not die, but the great thieves will not stop." The reason is solid.
At any time, do not give up questioning the mainstream values, do not give up independent thinking. Nothing in this world is ever right, and reality never precedes your own absolute worth. Everything is false.
At any time, as a minority of independent intellectuals, although they are hermits, they are the indispensable treasures and torches of this society. Because they are watchmen, doctors, guides, and revolutionaries.
We work in the dark and serve the light.
Made in September 2015, revised in October 2020
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