Nikita Khrushchev recalled Joseph Stalin's kindness in dealing with a young diplomat who'd been bamboozled. Adolf Hitler was thoughtful and patient with his secretarial staff. Benito Mussolini could turn on the old charm and listen to jazz.
You know the stories and their appeal. There is a natural wish that people in history who did hugely evil things were not entirely evil and that somehow they could have been turned around. We tell ourselves that the positive anecdotes reveal at least an ounce of goodness.
But rather than making these characters less frightening, shouldn't the episodes of kindness and pleasantness make them scarier? These weren't mad dogs. They were human beings who could be moved by great music and literature, play with children, laugh at jokes, and then, on the same day, do absolutely terrible things and still think they were good people.
That goes far beyond the standard horror film.
2 comments:
Great point Michael. It is frightening that these monsters could seem very normal. Assad in Syria is a current day example--British trained physician who has bamboozled Kerry and others.
Bob,
The more "normal" they seem, the scarier they are. And look at the number of lawyers and engineers who were involved in planning the Holocaust.
Michael
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