An Analysis of Foucauldian Power in Jojo Rabbit Movie (2019)

Authors

  • Anggi Rulina Sitnggang English Literature, Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia, Lampung, Indonesia
  • E. Ngestirosa Endang Woro Kasih English Literature, Universitas Teknokrat Indonesia, Lampung, Indonesia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.5703

Keywords:

Foucauldian, ideology, Nazi, power

Abstract

This research is titled Foucauldian power in the film Jojo Rabbit (2019). This research aims to uncover how Foucauldian power is depicted through Jojo from the movie Jojo Rabbit using Foucault's theory of the use of power. The analysis uses scenes, images, dialogues and narratives contained in the film, then looks for contextual similarities with Foucault's concept. A qualitative descriptive approach is applied in this study which includes the main data from the film, equipped with various references. Ten-year-old Jojo Betzler was educated by the Nazis to imagine Hitler, the Nazis, and the Aryans superior and the Jews considered weak. It was only when he met and befriended Else, a Jewish girl hiding in his attic, that he was able to break free and begin to recognize and deconstruct the superior and weak that he had imagined all along. This film contains all elements based on dialogue, main characters, scenes, images and narratives contained in the film. The findings of the study show that there are three important elements to reveal Foucault's power such as acceptance toward nazi ideology, power for protecting others and power for being acknowledged.

References

Ade-Ojo, G. (2012). Theory, ideology and the danger of totalitarianism: Implications for knowledge enquiry and policy making. Africa Speaks Conference, University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.

Afrianto & Gulö, Ingatan (2019). Revisiting English competence at hotel. Teknosastik: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 17(1), 3539.

Allen, A. (2002). Power, Subjectivity, and Agency: Between Arendt and Foucault. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 10(2), 131–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/09672550210121432

Berard, T. J. (1999). Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality, and the Reformulation of Social Theory. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 29(3), 203–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5914.00099

Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Los Angeles: Sage Publication, Inc

Deacon, R. (1998). Strategies of Governance Michel Foucault on Power. Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory, (92), 113–148

Fauzan, M. A., & Adim, A. K. (2024). Representasi Nazi pada Film Komedi Satire Jojo Rabbit. KOMUNIKA, 11(2), 136–147. https://doi.org/10.22236/komunika.v11i2.15127

Fiske, J., & Hancock, B. H. (2016). Power Plays Power Works (1st edition). London:

Routledge

Foucault, M. (2009). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison (A. Sheridan, Trans.). New York: Vintage Books.

Hardy, N. (2015). The Contingencies of Power: Reformulating Foucault. Journal of Political Power, 8(3), 411–429. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2015.1099210

Haugaard, M. (2022). Foucault and Power: A Critique and Retheorization. Critical Review, 34(3–4), 341–371.

Macey, D. (2009). Rethinking biopolitics, race, and power in the wake of Foucault. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(6), 186–205. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409349278

Mahendra, Y. I., & Amelia, D. (2020). Moral Values Analysis in The Fault In Our Stars Novel by John Green. Tekno Statistik: Linguistics and Literature Journal, 1(7), 55-61.

Manias, E., & Street, A. (2000). Possibilities for Critical Social Theory and Foucault’s Work: A Toolbox Approach. Nursing Inquiry, 7(1), 50–60. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1800.2000.00048.x

Ni, W., & Wang, T. (2022, December). The Absurdist Doctrine of Jojo Rabbit and Absurdism in Personalized Characters. In 2022 5th International Conference on Humanities Education and Social Sciences (ICHESS 2022) (pp. 1984-1990). Atlantis Press.

Ramdhani, A. R. (2020). Representasi Rasisme Dalam Film Jojo Rabbit Karya Taika Waititi Dalam Kajian Analisis Semiotika Roland Barthes (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Komputer Indonesia).

Siregar, M. (2021). Kritik terhadap teori kekuasaan-pengetahuan Foucault. Jurnal Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, 1(1), 1-12.

Skiles, W. (2024). Imagining Friends and Foes: The (Re)Education of Jojo Rabbit. CINEJ Cinema Journal, 12(1), 284–318. https://doi.org/10.5195/cinej.2024.601

Downloads

Published

2026-04-01

Citation Check