By Bill Friedell
New Zealand writer/director/actor Taika Waititi is one of the most unique filmmakers working today with his mixture of humor and heart. But one of the more underlooked aspects of his films are the acting roles he takes in them. Ranging from small cameos to critical roles, Waititi has appeared in nearly all of his own films. After watching all of his films, a pattern emerged from examining his various roles. Most of his roles are people in a position of power or leadership. In this analysis, I will examine Waititi’s roles in Boy (2010), Jojo Rabbit (2019), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), exploring how each role he takes plays an instrumental role in the themes of their respective films as commentaries on the idea of role models and leadership.
Jojo Rabbit tells the story of an aspiring Hitler Youth named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) who has an imaginary friend named Adolf (Taika Waititi) who encourages Jojo’s ambitions to become more and more entrenched in Nazi ideology. This begins to change as he discovers and befriends a Jew in hiding named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). While Waititi brings a level of childish humor to the role of Adolf, using it to make fun of how blissfully full of himself he is. But what’s interesting to note about Waititi’s performance is that as Jojo’s faith in the Nazis begins to fade, the fun facade of Adolf begins to waver. He becomes more of the image we think of Hilter as, authoritative and angry, in a way that towers over Jojo. The deliberate transition between comedic and dramatic drive the idea across that Jojo is beginning to understand the problems with Nazi ideology, noteably, its hate. In doing this, Waititi’s performance is a perfect demonstration of Jojo’s arc. It's an ingenious idea to allow for an imaginary character to be used as a measure of character development. What begins as a childish idea of war and glory through a child’s eyes (shown in the first clip below) becomes a pathetic death rattle that sounds like a pathetic, abusive lover who tries to prey on insecurities and desperation in order to get what he wants. And in this depiction, he not only creates and parody and satire of Hitler, but Nazi ideology itself. By showing the petty, childish, but also intimidating aspect of Nazism, Waititi’s performance becomes a synecdoche of the entire film.
Jojo Rabbit tells the story of an aspiring Hitler Youth named Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) who has an imaginary friend named Adolf (Taika Waititi) who encourages Jojo’s ambitions to become more and more entrenched in Nazi ideology. This begins to change as he discovers and befriends a Jew in hiding named Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie). While Waititi brings a level of childish humor to the role of Adolf, using it to make fun of how blissfully full of himself he is. But what’s interesting to note about Waititi’s performance is that as Jojo’s faith in the Nazis begins to fade, the fun facade of Adolf begins to waver. He becomes more of the image we think of Hilter as, authoritative and angry, in a way that towers over Jojo. The deliberate transition between comedic and dramatic drive the idea across that Jojo is beginning to understand the problems with Nazi ideology, noteably, its hate. In doing this, Waititi’s performance is a perfect demonstration of Jojo’s arc. It's an ingenious idea to allow for an imaginary character to be used as a measure of character development. What begins as a childish idea of war and glory through a child’s eyes (shown in the first clip below) becomes a pathetic death rattle that sounds like a pathetic, abusive lover who tries to prey on insecurities and desperation in order to get what he wants. And in this depiction, he not only creates and parody and satire of Hitler, but Nazi ideology itself. By showing the petty, childish, but also intimidating aspect of Nazism, Waititi’s performance becomes a synecdoche of the entire film.
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Boy follows a young New Zealand boy who goes by the name “Boy” (James Rolleston), who is taking care of the children of his family, as their grandmother is away for a funeral. At the same time, their absentee father, the self named Shogun (played by Taika Waititi) returns in hopes of recovering money he hid nearby the family house. Because of the absence of his father in his life, he has allowed the images and memories of his father to become inflated to an inhuman level, usually placing him as either an over the top hero or placing him in Michael Jackson music videos (Michael Jackson is Boy’s hero).
At first, Boy sees his father as a figure to look up to (despite being obviously not together and immature), but as the movie goes on, Boy realizes that his father isn’t there to do everything he thought he would and isn’t the man he thinks he is, at least not anymore. His father represents all that he desires; a unified family. But he comes to realize that his father is more of a child than he is. Boy is shown (reluctantly) looking over his cousins and younger brother, unlike father takes advantage of his family is unable to take on responsibility.
But once again, Waititi doesn’t simply make Shogun a simplistic deadbeat Dad. He has a deluded self confidence and sense of self that is both funny and sad. He’s a man who clearly lost his way after the death of his wife. He regressed into a childish persona who’s a renegade who leads a “gang” and demands his son call him Shogun. His mix of childish likeability allows us to see what Boy sees in him and how it feeds into his sense of wonder over his father. They are similar spirits, but where one is a child tasked with responsibility, Shogun is a man running away from responsibilities.
Despite Hunt for the Wilderpeople being the briefest role Waititi has held in these films, it still holds relevance for the overall themes of the film. Waititi plays a priest who speaks during a funeral for Bella (Rima Te Wiata), the woman who takes in orphan Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). At this point in the film, juvenile delinquent and foster child Ricky Baker is taken into a new home out by the Bush in New Zealand. However, the woman who took Ricky in dies suddenly, and he is left with her husband Hector (Sam Neil) who doesn’t truly want him around. As Ricky and Hector sit in silent mourning, Waititi as the priest gives a monologue about two doors.
But once again, Waititi doesn’t simply make Shogun a simplistic deadbeat Dad. He has a deluded self confidence and sense of self that is both funny and sad. He’s a man who clearly lost his way after the death of his wife. He regressed into a childish persona who’s a renegade who leads a “gang” and demands his son call him Shogun. His mix of childish likeability allows us to see what Boy sees in him and how it feeds into his sense of wonder over his father. They are similar spirits, but where one is a child tasked with responsibility, Shogun is a man running away from responsibilities.
Despite Hunt for the Wilderpeople being the briefest role Waititi has held in these films, it still holds relevance for the overall themes of the film. Waititi plays a priest who speaks during a funeral for Bella (Rima Te Wiata), the woman who takes in orphan Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison). At this point in the film, juvenile delinquent and foster child Ricky Baker is taken into a new home out by the Bush in New Zealand. However, the woman who took Ricky in dies suddenly, and he is left with her husband Hector (Sam Neil) who doesn’t truly want him around. As Ricky and Hector sit in silent mourning, Waititi as the priest gives a monologue about two doors.
He delivers it with his trademark deadpan delivery and dialogue pointing to him being out of his depth. He speaks of two doors being a metaphor for the different paths life leads us, but struggles to communicate this. There is also a sense of Waititi’s priest being out of his depth when it comes to giving the community and those grieving a sense of comfort. The film gives multiple views on those with authority. The child services agent Paula (Rachel House) carries herself as a police officer more so than a child services employee, and even compares herself to the Terminator. The two scenes that show this misplaced drive is shown during a TV interview and when she reads Hector his rights, even though she isn’t a cop or an American cop. Waititi works as an introduction to this concept in a single, funny scene.
All of these roles point to the ideas of authority and the kind of people who tend to inhabit them. They tend to be flawed figures who often boil down to immaturity and childish displays of their authority. And these tendencies can go across multiple types of people from various walks of life, whether it be hateful tyrants, well meaning priests, or a deadbeat Dad who is struggling with grief and responsibility. Taika Waititi not only displays his talents as a director in his films, but his acting is one of the greatest tools in his arsenal. He doesn’t just have a mastery of comedy, but he can also utilize his acting to enhance the themes already present in his films.
Works Cited
Waititi, Taika, director. Boy. Amazon Prime.com / Boy, Unison Films, 2010.
Waititi, Taika, director. Hunt for the Wilderpeople. Hulu.com / Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 2016.
Waititi, Taika, director. Jojo Rabbit. Fox Searchlight, 2019.
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