MovieChat Forums > The Indian Runner (1991) Discussion > Viggo Mortensen's Nazi tats

Viggo Mortensen's Nazi tats


It has always seemed so weird to me that his character in this movie is so racist but it is never once addressed.

He has a swastika tattoo on his back, an SS on his neck, and TWO Confederate flags hanging in his home. However, there is only one line in the entire movie referencing his racism, where he says "What am I, black?" to his girlfriend after he has to carry all their bags into their new home.

Also, his character is either shirtless or in a tanktop for virtually the entire movie. You would think someone would have eventually remarked about the tats PLUS it's also pretty strange he's so nice to his brother's Mexican wife.

I know this movie is set in 1968 in the Midwest so I'm not saying it's unbelievable that this character would be a racist, it's just weird that Sean Penn makes such a point of reminding the audience he's a racist without ever directly remarking on it.


Great movie, though. I'd give it an A and Penn's follow up, The Crossing Guard, an A+.




S.F.W.

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Nazi imagery was part of the biker/outlaw counterculture, often used superficially without necessarily indicating any strict racial beliefs (note this same practice ran into the punk movement). I suspect Penn was using it in this sense. Frank was hardly organised enough to uphold a political agenda; they're most likely tattoos he picked up in jail and from Hells Angel–types like Caesar.

If there's any reason he's civil with Joe's wife, it's that Joe's his brother and he regards Maria as family. Besides which, it's not impossible for someone to be racially intolerant yet interact with different races without making a point of it.

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Good answer PatrickGH91. I consider racist ideology to be repugnant but that said, I have also seen racists act in very reasonable, diplomatic and even kind terms in one-on-one interactions with members of the racial groups they profess to despise (I suppose they rationalise it with the 'one good black man' type argument), especially if they're in-laws.

Also, you're right in respect to your other point; some people end up with these tattoos because it's 'hip' within their cultural group (i.e. bikers) and not because they've given much thought to the racist implications. People might also sport such tattoos to be 'subversive' and rebel against so-called 'political correctness' which they perceive to be a form of government/media-sponsored tyranny, even though they don't actually believe in Nazi/racist ideology per se.

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Patrick nailed it right on the head.

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PatrickGH91 You could not have described the tattoos or reason for their semi invisibility better. Additionally the reason for "being nice" to his brother's wife. Because she WAS his brother's wife!
You see that today in families which have a minority has married into. They become family in most and their skin color disappears.
Patrick,
Have you considered reviewing films for a living or a blog?
I'd read them!

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Yup white in any federal prison you gotta clique up nazi loving before or not.. But the neck tattoo he had right out of the service from Nam' didn't fit, nobody had neck tat's back then let alone marines/sailors/grunts.

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