Who Wore it Better?

Who Wore it Better?

Who wore it better? The answer to this question depends on many things, mainly perspective. On the left, you see the poster for a 1940 antisemitic Nazi propaganda film titled The Eternal Jew. Some of the major themes included in this movie portray Jews as uncivilized, parasitic, abnormal, and depraved people. As you might be able to see, the Jew on the poster is depicted in a sort of sinister matter, as if Jews are the evil ones with schemes. Without any prior context, one could assume that the Jews were at fault, maybe even go as far to say that the Jews were tormenting the Germans. Taking a look at the right, you see the title page for chapter three of Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus: A Survivor's Tale. Without even looking at their expressions, it can be observed that Nazis are represented as cats, and Jews as mice- a metaphor extended throughout all of Maus- portraying the "predator vs. prey" relationship that Nazis and Jews, respectively, had. Spiegelman characterizes Nazis with the condescending, evil tone that the Nazis gave Jews at the time. This representation of Nazis is not only displayed in this title page, but also in countless other instances within the novel. By using how Nazi propaganda depicted Jews, Spiegelman shows the real relationship between Nazis and Jews- a relationship where Nazis belittle and dominate helpless Jews. In both images, one side is considered at fault- neither side is willing to consider their own faults. Now before you take offense, I will agree that the Nazis were at infinitely more fault than the Jews- but that isn't my point. But in the same way, America depicts Muslim terrorists as evil, Satanic, outright horrible people. Considering their actions, this is probably a reasonable statement. However, these terrorist groups see America as a threat, just as we see them as a threat. And I don't speak on behalf of all Americans, but unfortunately, the media and even some political officials seem to see ALL Muslims as terrorists. Just like the Nazis categorized all Jews as parasites of society, Muslims are portrayed as the bad apples of the bunch. So, going back to the original question, who really wore it better? The answer is simple: neither. Arguably, Nazis were just doing as they were told, and Jews couldn't do anything about it. If you were taught to believe something from your birth and you were never told otherwise, why would there be any reason to question it? Both Nazis and Jews were in an impossible situation- Nazis couldn't sympathize with Jews and Jews couldn't help themselves. A third party was necessary to intercept the issue. Regardless of who had it worse or who wore it better, it can reasonably be concluded that propaganda can easily be subverted, distorting the message to fit different perspectives.