According to Godwin's law, as the discussion grows, the probability of mentioning Adolf Hitler tends to unity. The validity of this statement is easy to verify on social networks: write something on a resonant topic, and then object to the first commentator. If the discussion begins, by the third or fourth comment you will be compared with the fascist.

Social networks and the Internet in general are both part of the culture and its reflection. That is, we can say that as the cultural material increases, Hitler appears here and there from time to time in this material.

Now Hitler is an imaginary friend. There were many imaginary friends in the cinema: Carlson, Tyler Durden, a corpse resembling Harry Potter, a furry baby elephant. And this week the Toronto International Film Festival Grand Prix received the film Jojo Rabbit. And the imaginary friend of the protagonist in this film is Hitler. And not a rabbit, as you might think.

Jojo's boy lives with his mother, played by Scarlett Johansson, in Nazi Germany. The boy lost his father early, he is afraid of everything, he is shy of himself, he finds himself in ridiculous and ridiculous situations at the training camp for the training of Hitler Youth units.

Adolf Hitler fills the lacuna, from which the image of the father was removed, in the mind of the boy. The Führer from the All-German archetype turns into a child's imaginary friend - a cheerful and mischievous assistant, adviser and accomplice.

Hitler in the film is played by Taika Waititi, who is also the director, who previously shot some very expensive and spectacular blockbusters, including superheroes.

Jojo's boy learns that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in the house - and this is where the boy's growing up begins. He comes into conflict with his inner friend and thus, through the struggle with himself, as if he is fighting Nazism in general.

Over the past half century, or even sixty years, popular culture has not just decomposed into components - it can be said to atomize Hitler.

And, as a rule, in a comic manner - it is not for nothing that Adolf shared one mustache with Charlie Chaplin.

By the way, for the first comedy portrayal of Hitler - Charlie Chaplin's film "The Great Dictator" - the author became the subject of surveillance by the FBI and the keen interest of the director of this service, Hoover. The fact is that in the years 1939-1940 the United States had relations with fascist Germany quite friendly and the leadership of the United States did not like ridiculing the leader. Next, there was a rather complicated history of the relationship between Chaplin and the authorities, which ended with the fact that Chaplin was generally forbidden to return to the United States from the UK. Much later, after the war - and, of course, not because of Hitler. But the beginning was laid in 1940.

Hitler was a hero of jokes and funny poems: “Attention, attention! Says Germany! Today, Hitler was caught under the bridge with a tail. ”

Filmed about Hitler - a lot of movies. Introducing Alexander Sokurov's film “Moloch” into a trance, he quite seriously studied the destructive nature of absolute power, which leads to the decomposition of those who own this power.

And Quentin Tarantino, on the contrary, shot the hooligan action movie Inglourious Basterds, which can be described as the dream of every Soviet boy. Still would!

Damned Hitler burned in 1943! That is, there is no Kursk Bulge, no bloody battles for European cities, and the blockade is half as long! Tarantino then indirectly made us feel that millions of Russian people remained alive.

Hitler was a hero of legends. Not even a hero, but the essence of these legends: in April 1945, all high-ranking Nazis were taken to Latin America, where they safely and lived out their Nazi age.

Hitler entered the speech at the level of pretexts - I know one learned woman who, wishing to characterize a person unpleasant to her, says: "Best friend after Hitler."

And finally, Hitler really became a friend - an imaginary friend of a ten-year film hero. Charming and funny - just a darling. Fluffy and almost with a tail.

It must be assumed that ridiculing Hitler’s image - its carnivalization - is a natural reaction of the unconscious on the scale of mankind, necessary in order to make this image toothless, to expel the very possibility of demonizing the main evil of the twentieth century.

Hitler today, in principle, can not be taken seriously. It doesn’t matter what he invented, wrote and completed there. In itself, he is a funny doll, a children's toy.

Maybe it’s good that humanity is parting with its fears and horrors, laughing. But how now to explain to children who Hitler is? Oh, is that that funny guy like Carlson? Carlson lives on the roof, and where does Hitler live? But the heroes of fairy tales and myths - they continue to live, do not die inside the plot and when it is retold. Therefore, some kind of posthumous mythology is required for Hitler, who lives in the basement.

In general, popular culture poses a number of questions to us. And if you dissect historical corpses, so to the end.

And today, Eva Brown will sell silk lingerie at an auction in the UK. Starting price is £ 300 for underpants.

Hitler is his wife’s imaginary friend and cowards. That, it seems, is all that remains of Nazism in the world?

Is it so? It seems to me that we will see and be surprised.

The author’s point of view may not coincide with the position of the publisher.