With a world as wild and magical as the one depicted in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, adding in elements from the real world help connect the audience to the characters. In the case of the villains in the film, it was no accident that they all feature a contemporary haircut that has a darker history.
Set in the ’20s, which might make the haircuts seem out of place, the haircut was quite popular at the time, which is why you see it so often in shows like Boardwalk Empire or Peaky Blinders. Much like the popularity of Mad Men saw our culture embrace the styles of the ’60s, the popularity of shows set at the turn of the century could explain why the haircut is experiencing a resurgence.
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Then why do the villains rock it? Well, the shaved on the sides and long on top look was adopted by the German military in the ’30s and ’40s and was ultimately embraced by Nazis, earning it the moniker of the “Hitler Youth haircut.” Although it’s not explicitly stated that Colin Farrell’s character aligns himself with the Nazi party, some of his ideals feel familiar to what the Nazis aimed to do, so by giving all the villains the Hitler Youth haircut, the film’s hair and makeup teams could allude to real world villains with fascist ideals.
It goes without saying that since this haircut predated Hitler’s rise to power, not everyone sporting it is symbolically aligning themselves with fascist ideals, but credit must be given to Fantastic Beasts for incorporating subtle nods at historical trends to create a more believable film.
[H/T Revelist]
