#thomas berger

[drpeppercreamsodaa]

swing kids x purple rain

@whoa-axel-chill i finally made it :D

[proffesionalmeower-45]

Was thinking of writing a swing kids beach day type fic but I think realistically they’d all just try to drown eachother

[makeyoumine69]

I recently rewatched Swing Kids (1993), and I honestly forgot how good it is. If you haven’t seen it—this is your spoiler warning.

Christian Bale’s Thomas Berger struck me differently this time. There’s something unsettlingly familiar about him. And maybe this sounds silly, but he gave me strong Patrick Bateman-in-his-college-years vibes—if Bateman had grown up in 1930s Nazi Germany.

Thomas comes from wealth. His father expects perfection. He’s charming, sharp, and privileged enough to float above consequences—until he isn’t. His arc is admittedly cliché: the “good” character who slowly corrodes and becomes something darker. But what makes it interesting isn’t the what, it’s the why.

Thomas wants to fit in. With his friends, he performs moral distance—disdain for the Nazi regime, sympathy for Jewish people, disabled people, “ordinary” people. He doesn’t seem obsessed with supremacy. Not at first. But propaganda doesn’t target obsession—it targets belonging. And the promise of being part of a “higher” group is intoxicating, especially to a generation still figuring out who they are.

That’s where my mind wandered:

Would Patrick Bateman have become a Nazi if he lived in that era?

I think yes. Not out of ideology, but out of ambition. Because Nazism offered status, power, and an upper hand—and Patrick always craved power. He was exactly the type to absorb propaganda, especially when it’s massive, constant, and presented as inevitability. Brainwashing works best when it feels like the default.

Anyway—sorry for the rambling. I just needed to get these thoughts out.

If you haven’t watched Swing Kids, I really recommend it. It’s one of those films that lingers. It makes you think. It refuses to let you stay comfortable. And that alone makes it worth watching.

[chickens0u-p]

everyone should watch this movie like right now, 'cause it’s SO good

[inked-ir1s]

happy late birthday to my beautiful husband christian bale :)) 🤎

30/01/26

[coneygoil]

How did Christian Bale score two movies back to back with similar story structure? In both Newsies and Swing Kids, his characters (Jack and Thomas) have a sensible best friend with a little brother (David and Les, Peter and Willi), a disabled third friend (Crutchy and Arvid), and they're fighting a higher system that holds all the power (newspaper industry and nazis). Also, there's singing and lots of dancing and betrayal between the best friends. Even with all those similarities, the vibes for both movies is staggeringly different.

[comfortlesscharacter]

watching Swing Kids and muttering "why, white boy, why" whenever Thomas does anything

[slowburningechoes]

Stills and promo shots from Swing Kids (1993). Robert Sean Leonard as “Peter Müller” & Christian Bale as “Thomas Berger”.