Pearl Harbor Movie Analysis

President F. Roosevelt once stated, “December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy -- the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan”. On December 7, 1641, Japanese planes attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, killing more than 2,300 Americans many of them military personnel. The attack left the base destroyed and the people in shock. This incident lead to the United States’ participation in World War II. Michael Bay was selected as the director of the film Pearl Harbor, a film which captures this historic day in American History. In the film, Pearl Harbor, director Michael Bay kept some of the events of the attacks on Pearl Harbor the same, but changed

Specifically, in the film Rafe joins a European Military Squadron. However, during the time of Pearl Harbor, “active duty US military personnel could not serve with a belligerent nation whilst the US was neutral” (“FAQ for Pearl Harbor”). In addition, the locations in Pearl Harbor that were attacked were altered in the film. To illustrate, in the film the hospitals were depicted as being under attack by the Japanese. Yet, in reality the hospitals were never targeted in the attacks. In an interview, Pearl Harbor Nurse, Harriet Moore Holmes, recalls that, “A Japanese pilot flew low over the hospital, He waved at us. We felt lucky he didn't want to bomb a hospital” (Warren). Although parts of the film were altered from historical events, Bay’s film still shows the horrifying events that took place on December 7,

For instance, by keeping the actions of the nurses during the attacks the same, the audience was able to see the reality of the situation. When the nurses are seen running around trying to take care of everything, the viewers get to see how appalling the situation was during the attacks. It would be of disservice to the women who helped treat the many wounded soldiers if these scenes were to be cut from the film. Furthermore, by adding some locations, attacked by the Japanese, Bay added suspense to the film with how some of the characters were going to survive. Viewers got to see how people reacted to being attacked and how they reacted to those who were wounded. By making these changes, Bay hoped to attract a larger audience to tell the story of Pearl