Omri Flaisher
2-10-2012
Political Undertones in The Human Centipede

In general, film and media (more specifically, independent film and media) tend to revolve around a central theme of political and social undertones, which in turn create consumer value and worth. However, many times these undertones are not consciously processed and retained. This may be due to the fact that many do not approach such activities with eyes open to such undertones, or perhaps it is merely due to the depth of the given undertones themselves. Regardless, a lack of awareness does not correlate to a lack of existence. Whether it’s the institution of imperialism in Avatar, or the relation of the later Star Wars films to the U.S. wars in the Middle East, political and social slant remains a driving factor for producers, as it allows those very producers to preach their personal views through their work. While it may be easy to write many movies off as purely visual stimulation, many times it takes a keen eye to delve further into the reason the movie was made in the first place. This supposition can be pulled into play in the case of The Human Centipede, a graphic independent horror film written by Dutch filmmaker Tom Six. Despite the general presumption that the movie was produced for shock value and shock value alone, a deeper look into setting, themes, and casting reveals a film that holds much greater social value than recognized by most.

The movie begins chronicling the ventures of two American women, visiting the country of Germany. After their car breaks down in the middle of a virtually uninhabited forest (typical), the women end up finding their way to the isolated house of Dr. Josef Heiter, who ultimately sedates and binds the women. Around the same time, Heiter captures a Japanese man, and holds him captive with the women in his basement. While at this point it is still relatively unclear as to what direction Six is trying to take the film, the presented casting of characters is somewhat leading. Given the prior knowledge that writer Tom Six is Dutch, an interesting link is created that draws the viewer to a possible linkage between America, the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan (World War II). Following further research, this link is confirmed in an interview with Tom Six held by Stuart O’Connor. In the interview, Six acknowledges the fact that the World War II relation has a large influence over the nationalities of all the characters (O’Connor). While this may be seen as a minor detail that can easily be overlooked, it plays a role in the overall scene created by Six.

Through casting and setting, Six enables himself to establish a base upon which he can develop his politically-fueled plot. As the movie progresses, the crazed doctor describes his plans of using his victims as lab-rats for medical experimentation. By sewing the three together, ass-to-mouth, Heiter explains that he will be able to create his own “human centipede”, which will live and die in accordance with each other. In Six’s plot development, he directly links the movie to fascist Nazi-Germany during the World War II era. On the DVD Extra which comes along with purchase of the film, Six explains in an interview his desire to create as close of a relation between Dr. Josef Heiter and German doctors who experimented on the generally Jewish-Dutch and German inhabitants of the concentration camps by the Nazi regime (Bounty Films). Throughout the movie, Six chronicles the “progress” made by Heiter in achieiving his “medical” goals, in accordance to Nazi-German doctors making similar “progress” on past Jewish captives. However, as anyone with a brain knows, ultimately the downfall of Nazi-Germany represented a downfall of their grotesque and dehumanizing medical experiments. While two out of the three members of the centipede end up dying, with the third left alone in the middle, destined to die perhaps the most brutal death, the movie ends in Heiter’s downfall and death as well.

One of the most telling examples that relates The Human Centipede to the fascist German medical experimentation is the name of the doctor himself. Dr. Josef Heiter combines the names of three Nazi-Germany doctors into one. The surname ‘Heiter’ comes from the combination of Nazi doctors names Fetter and Richter; the first name ‘Josef’ is a direct link to infamous German doctor Josef Mengele, who gains most of the notoriety regarding the Nazi experiments. In an interview with Six and the actor playing the role of Dr. Heiter (Dieter Laser), Laser states “...under the surface I discovered why he chose a German. Hello, Dr. Mengele! I regard the film as a grotesque [parody] about the Nazi psyche” (Bierly). Ironically enough, Laser is in fact German, and his father was a Nazi soldier.

Ultimately, movies are made for a reason. Any film worth watching has some sort of social/political/economic undertone, and if it doesn’t, the viewer is blatantly wasting their time. While the argument can be made that The Human Centipede is not anything close to what could be considered a “quality movie”, one cannot claim that it lacks any sort of depth. Despite the grotesque and deranged nature of the subject at hand, Six is in reality pretty creative, utilizing human emotion and fear by incorporating the remote possibility of such an event being deemed possible. In addition, relating the film to a pre-established villain in Nazi-Germany, a good portion of Six’s job was done for him. Instead of having to develop a character from scratch, he was able to build upon a character already in place. The real emotional stress that is expressed in the movie is better understood by those who have a hold of the vastness of suffering that the Natzi-Regime spread throughout Europe. I don’t know if you know that I’m Jewish but this paper strongly correlates with stories that my parents and grandparents have shared with me throughout my life. FUCK NATZIS!

Bibliography:

Stuart O'Connor, FrightFest Interview, 0:30–1:15 (O’Connor)

Bierly, Mandi. "'Human Centipede'" PopWatch.EW.com. June 2010. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/04/30/human-centipede-tom-six-dieter-laser/>. (Bierly)

Tom Six, Dieter Laser (2010). Q&A with Tom Six and Dieter Laser, The Human Centipede (First Sequence) DVD Extra (DVD). Bounty Films. (Bounty Films)