Section: Stau 1990/2020

Lord of the Toys

Pablo Ben Yakov

Germany, 2018, 95 Min

Max Herzberg was busy on YouTube under the pseudonym Adlersson. The film follows him and his clique for a year, some of whom have up to 300,000 followers. The result is a gloomy picture of the first generation of young adults who no longer know a life without the Internet; dubious role models who make crude jokes at the expense of the weak and find fans among the right. Typically East German?

First the champagne bottle is put into the melon and you are covered in the pulp, then you celebrate within the confines of your own four walls. This is where the last of the pickles is fished out of the jar, sausages are warmed up in the oven and that which used to be called alcopop is downed as a bet. There is screaming, bullying, throwing up and a whole bottle of deodorant spray is emptied in the face of a friend as a means of gassing them. This supposedly comment-free depiction of youth subcultures from the right-wing milieu continues to meet with resistance; at the DOK Leipzig Film Festival in 2018 LORD OF THE TOYS came under heavy criticism for propagating right-wing ideas and not taking a clear position on the featured material. Yet the allegations speak above all of an increased intolerance of ambiguity. Nowadays the desire to be on the right side often leads to the exclusion of the uncontrollable. Keeping silent on these matters doesn't lead to progress however. RB

Pablo Ben Yakov -

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