William Taylor

HUNTERS is a 2020 knockoff story of the very successful series THE BLACKLIST (or better yet a TV streaming series that reminds one of the movie INGLORIOUS BASTERDS) — but instead of hunting down shadowy master criminals , “hunters”, are looking for ex-Nazi’s hiding in America in the late 70’s. Now think of the plausibility of this — a legion of former Hitler devotees, who realistically would be in their 60s and 70s, hiding in the US and plotting destruction and mayhem. It gets better. Each episode is sure to contain memes attacked by antifa and other anti-racism and anti-ultra right protest groups. So we get a parade of images, dialogue, actions portraying all the prejudices of targeted covert Nazi’s — anti-Semitic, anti-black, pro-confederate old south, anti-big government, etc. For example in episode 5 of Season 1, we have not only the anti-semitism and racism of the hidden Nazi’s on full display, we are treated with a not-so-subtle criticism of the U.S. post WW II use of German scientists for our missile and space programs. According to this episode, all of these scientists who were given sanctuary in America were Hitler followers. Since this episode ends up in Huntsville, Ala (home of the MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER), we have the obligatory prominent display of the “Stars and Bars” while the “all white” gathering sings patriotic songs at a 4th of July BBQ. It is an accepted truth that in 1977 in any southern state (and this is in Alabama) every Caucasian, every morning, saluted the “Stars and Bars” and swore allegiance to the Confederacy. Even though no character in this series can speak more than 2 sentences without the “f-bomb” and a diatribe against Nazi’s (a frat bro must have been one of the writers for the series), the main actors (Al Pacino “et al”) deliver fine performances which makes the series watchable. Also the dress, automobiles, etc. clearly evokes the Jimmy Carter 70’s (the president is usually called “the peanut farmer”). One other huge plus of this series in the inclusion of numerous, very realistic, “flashbacks” and other references to the Nazi death camps, the Nazi-conducted “scientific” experiments “ (a euphemism for “torture”) on Jewish prisoners, the “gassing” of Jews delivered to the camps, the Nazi plundering of Jewish wealth. If anything, this series will provide some education to viewers who might entertain thoughts denying the validity of the Holocaust, or to viewers from the younger generations for whom the study of “history” stops at the year of their birth.