Neo Nazi Nonsense

But I am not a Jew hating, Swastika worshipping Nazi. This was my initial thought as I opened a letter from my employer whose attention had been drawn to the fact I had “posted a picture onto Facebook which shows yourself with a Swastika on your chest.”

My profile picture showcased Matty Hawkers most recent photography project, where his brief was to recreate a scene from a film. He opted for the critically acclaimed American History X to achieve his 2:1 grade.

The film that grossed over $23 million at the international box office tells the story a former neo-Nazi skinhead who tries to prevent his younger brother from going down the same wrong path that he did. Critics mostly praised the film and Norton's performance, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

I have provided the trailer below for anybody who hasnt watched the film yet. Dont worry it has been approved for all audiences by the Motion Picture Association of America.

I fell in love with this film that an ex-girlfriend put me on to it . . . Hell I love any movie with Edward Norton in since my first exposure to his work in Fight Club. (Trust me it’s defiantly worth checking out my other personal favourites: The Illusionist, 25th Hour, Red Dragon, fight Club, Rounder’s and Primal Fear).

So who better to be the subject of Matty’s photoshoot other than his life long buddy who constantly gets told he looks like Norton (ever since I went to Berlin an stood next to Crazy Ronny, a Dutch guy who looks like Fight Club co-star Brad Pitt). It was perfect I was free all day every day, when I wasn’t attending Doctor appointments because I was recovering from an OCD induced psychotic episode.

Complete shaved chest, restyled facial hair and barbed wire, D.O.C. (Disciples of Christ) as well as iconic Swastika mock tattoos we headed to the studio, so I could get down to my underpants, and make some angry faces. None of this induced any stress on my behalf and didn’t require much convincing.

The film itself is a gritty piece delving to the heart of the race issues. It tells the story of how two brothers are swept up in the neo-Nazi movement. Derek (Norton’s character) the older brother, serves three years in prison for a racially motivated crime.

During his sentence he becomes disillusioned with the Aryan Brotherhood gang he has aligned himself with, and he changes his beliefs and outlook on life. He is vocal about his changed beliefs and in response to his criticisms the Aryan Brotherhood members savagely beat and rape him in the shower.

Derek leaves prison a changed man, completely reformed, realising the error of his ways.

The film, as well as Norton's performance, received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert gave the film three out of four stars, regarding it as "always interesting and sometimes compelling, and it contains more actual provocative thought than any American film on race since Do the Right Thing".

Other than supporting my friend, having a well needed laugh I also did this as I am personally fascinated with symbolism and the influence images have on people based on there already formed preconceptions and deep rooted beliefs. The meaning and emotions they conjure up on an individual basis intrigues me. Each person’s unique programming, cultural identity, experiences and values attach different meanings that aren’t always the way somebody else with different programming interoperates the same thing. The scene from Da Vinci Code always pops up in my mind whenever I give any thought to this subject.

The Swastika itself has a long history in Europe with popularity as a good luck symbol in Western culture. When I received the letter from work with regards to the Swastika stating that “your views and opinions are your own”, I jumped to the conclusion it wasn’t a good look emblem that was their concern. We are all aware of the more the more recent hijacking of the symbol when it was adopted as a symbol of the Nazi Party of Germany who used the swastika as a symbol of the Aryan race. After Adolf Hitler came to power, a right-facing 45° rotated swastika was incorporated into the flag of the Nazi Party, which was made the state flag of Germany during the Nazi era. Hence, the swastika has become strongly associated with Nazism and related concepts such as anti-Semitism, hatred, violence, death, and murder in many western countries, and is now largely stigmatized there due to the changed connotations of the symbol.

I’m not a racist or anti-Semitic, but I’d like to think we can live in a world where if we choose to explore the effects of symbolism, photography and main stream movies we should not have to worry about offending somebody else who has a differently polarised world view to yourself. If somebody views images, writing and other forms of expression other than somebody exploring there interests, then there is certainly a problem, but I don’t believe censorship of actions is the way forward.

Matty has just dropped of his latest photography project that I have agreed to take part in. He is currently studying Jim Goldberg an American writer and photographer whose work looks at “long-term, in-depth collaborations with neglected, ignored, or otherwise outside-the-mainstream populations”. He creates photo collages of sub-cultures including text on the images themselves often written by his subjects.

Goldberg is part of the social aims movement in photography, using a straightforward, cinéma vérité approach, based on a fundamentally narrative understanding of photography. Goldberg's empathy and the uniqueness of the subjects emerge in his works, "forming a context within which the viewer may integrate the unthinkable into the concept of self. Thus diffused, this terrifying other is restored as a universal." (Art Forum, Summer 1987).

I’m sure this piece will be a lot less controversial, although it is worth noting I did begrudgingly replace the first project from my Facebook photo immediately to remove any negative effects it could of had on the company. I have more recently removed my employer from Facebook, in case any future activities I take on social media affect organisations I am part of.

It does make me a bit sad that this is the state of a world that we live in, but I’m more than willing to comply if it protects me from a physical or metaphorical ass raping Norton style. I will never add current employers or other organisations I am active in to Facebook again where I do choose to express myself freely.

Does anybody else have any similar stories of Social media getting you in a spot of bother?