Most compelling about Watkins’ film War Game, was its ability to deceive the viewer. Frequently throughout the film, I found myself questioning where, if at all, the line could be drawn between staged content and unscripted dialog. While the sequences depicting nuclear blasts and the ensuing injuries/fatalities were easily identifiable as fictional events, many of the interviews with the British citizens were much more difficult to evaluate. A prominent example of this is when various individuals–seemingly at random–are asked what strontium-90 is, a question to which none of them provide a correct answer. This scene is particularly difficult to decipher because there are no historical or contextual clues that indicate whether these are paid …show more content…
First, the fact that the cameraman is asking the question is unconventional. Considering that the encounter is being completely fabricated, it seems strange that the cameraman should be made to ask the questions. This approach creates an unprofessional tone surrounding the sequence, and in this way it also helps to reinforce the feeling of authenticity being communicated through its content. Additionally, the military soldier’s explicit mention of the camera further augments this authentic feel because people reacting to the camera is a normal part of filming unscripted scenes, and is not something viewers are used to seeing in fictional films. In summary, I was greatly impressed by the lengths to which Watkins went to make his film feel as though it were not depicting fictitious events. Through his effort to make the viewer feel as though they were witnessing firsthand the horrors of atomic warfare, Watkins was able to achieve a level of realism that was immensely successful in promoting his antiwar sentiments. As an aspiring film maker, War Game led me to expand the boundaries of what I consider to be documentary, and forcefully illustrated the effectiveness of documentary in persuasion, regardless of whether the content is entirely based in
O’Brien, Tim. “How To Tell a True War Story.” The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. Michael Meyer. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2003. p. 420-429.
... out of a 1950s woman's film. The melodramatic influences of the film continue to manifest themselves in the newer release, just as Apocalypse Now continues to influence the epic movies of contemporary filmmakers. The unison of operatic spectacle and personal conflict spawned an original genre in the 1970s that remains an effective method of addressing social concerns. As we enter another period of political unrest and social change, it is likely that a new wave of melodramatic films is beginning to form on the horizon; there are certainly parallels between a government that declares war on terrorism and the U.S. army in Vietnam, who "knew everything about military tactics, but nothing about where they were or who the enemy was" (Cowie 143). From Conrad to Coppola, nuclear family to nuclear terrorism; never get off the boat, unless you're willing to go all the way.
The truth to any war does not lie in the depths of storytelling but rather it’s embedded in every person involved. According to O’Brien, “A true war story does not depend on that kind of truth. Absolute occurrence is irrelevant. A thing may happen and be a total lie; another thing may not happen and be truer than the truth” (pg. 80). Truths of any war story in my own opinion cannot be fully conveyed or explained through the use of words. Any and all war stories provide specific or certain facts about war but each of them do not and cannot allow the audience to fully grasp the tru...
[1] Within the last few decades, we have generated a great number of “historical” films reaching the American public. With these “historical” films come the question of whether or not the film portrayed history in an accurate manner; if not, why were the facts manipulated the way that they were. Unfortunately, this question is usually answered in the negative, and the audience is left with a fictional account of a factual happening, thereby giving the viewing public mixed messages concerning the issues raised within the film. Film used in this manner can be a dangerous tool in the hands of powerful people with agendas and ulterior motives.
World War Z, written by Max Brooks, is an apocalyptic novel that follows an interviewer on a quest to piece together the global history twelve years after the zombie apocalypse that came to be know as “The Dark Years”. This novel is said to be an “oral history” because the plot is structured around the personal experiences around the world that is documented by an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission. For the majority, oral histories are seen as beneficial because they allow for a unique perspective in historical records that readers do not usually get a sense of in a basic textbook. In order for one to understand its critical influence in this novel and its plot structure, it is important for readers to fully grasp what exactly
O’Brien, Tim. How to Tell a True War Story. Literature and Ourselves. Sixth Edition. Eds.
We are first able to see this when they guy hesitates to launch the missile because he knows that many people will die. This scene shows one not only the hesitation by the man, but it’s a representation of the hesitation that many Americans face in the previous years with the Vietnam war. Additionally, when the Thermonuclear war game was shown it only gave to countries: Soviet Union and the United States. This was a representation of the tension that American and the Soviets had during the 1970’s. The fact that American and the Soviet Union were in such high tension also explains why in the movie they wouldn’t just talk to each other an explain the confusion. Throughout, the whole missile lunching crisis, both American and the Soviet Union were both ready launch missiles at each other. This is another example of how thin the string was between these two countries. Moreover, in one of the last scenes where they are unsure if the missiles are real or not we are able to see the effect that war has on people. In this scene we are able to see the emotions that these people felt when they believed that thousands of people were going to die. This is a great portrait of how people felt during the war years and the happiness they would feel when the war was finally over. Lastly, the biggest impact that the last line of the movie had on people was far more the most important one. The last thing that said was “the only winning move is not to play” which is how many American felt during the Vietnam war. This was just an emphasizes on this opinion that many Americans
In Hedges' first chapter of the book titled, "The Myth of War," he talks about how the press often shows and romanticizes certain aspects of war. In war there is a mythic reality and a sensory reality. In sensory reality, we see events for what they are. In mythic reality, we see defeats as "signposts on the road to ultimate victory" (21), Chris Hedges brings up an intriguing point that the war we are most used to seeing and hearing about (mythic war )is a war completely different than the war the soldiers and journalists experience ( sensory war), a war that hides nothing. He states, "The myth of war is essential to justify the horrible sacrifices required in war, the destruction and death of innocents. It can be formed only by denying the reality of war, by turning the lies, the manipulation, the inhumanness of war into the heroic ideal" (26). Chris Hedges tries to get the point across that in war nothing is as it seems. Through his own experiences we are a...
Basinger, Jeanine. The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
War games is a movie about a high school boy named David and how his deceiving and hacking nearly started a war. He can hack into computers and is great with machines. For David, hacking into his school’s computers to change his grades is a walk in the park. But sometimes doing bad can lead to worse. David simply tried to hack into an army base to play a game. The game he chose was Global Thermonuclear War. Hacking into this military game caused an unfortunate turn of events. Not until after he had started playing did David realize he might have started World War III.
The Last Legion is an intriguing fantasy film based on a novel, which holds the same name, by Valerio Massimo. The movie is based on events from the Fifth Century that tie the last Roman Emperor and the fall of Rome, into the legends of the Ninth Legion and King Arthur. The movie is somewhat based off of historical facts and makes a slightly plausible story line; however, the further someone would look into history, the more they would find the movie to be Hollywood fantasy. In the first paragraph, descriptions of the cinemas’ account of Romulus Augustus becoming Emperor of Rome, the fall of Rome to the Goths, and then the exile of Romulus compared to the historical account will be found. Next, The Roman’s journey to Britain and their encounter
On January 22, 2016, directors Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert premiered their comedy-drama film, Swiss Army Man starring Paul Dano, and Daniel Radcliffe at the Sundance Film Festival. Critics have positively received the film written and directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. Swiss Army Man has received numerous accolades including, a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award Best Featured Film, and the Best Director award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. Although Swiss Army Man is a comedy about a flatulating corps, it has a very profound message encoded into its context. The movie Swiss Army Man seamlessly presents the power social restraints have on people’s self-image, and the shame associated with not fitting into society’s standards
The movie I chose to analyze for historical accuracy was War Horse. This movie was set in the First World War, starting in Britain but the story also explored France and Germany during this time period as well. Three scenes will be analyzed: the trench warfare scene between the British and the Germans, the scene where the British soldiers were gassed, and the scene where the British were getting patched up and nursed. War Horse does well to stick to the historical accuracy of what happened during the First World War due to the fact that the three scenes that I have chosen to analyze are not embellished and are close to what really happened.
Tony and Elizabeth Jordan thought they had it all – a beautiful daughter, great jobs, the best cars, and their dream house, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors their marriage is falling apart, and they are constantly fighting, pushing away from each other and hurting their daughter emotionally and mentally in the process to the point where she says to her friend ¨I wish I lived at your house, my parents are always fighting.¨ Tony and Elizabeth are typical churchgoers who have become self-righteous and, in Tony case, even hostile towards the God who created him for his glory. Elizabeth is a real estate broker, and Tony is a salesman who is always traveling. While Tony relaxes in his professional success and flirts with temptation,
There is an intellectual discussion over the accuracy of war films and whether or not these should focus more on telling the truth or decorating it a little. Indeed, the narrative of war films has change throughout the years because the purpose of such films has evolved, especially those representing the World War II years and the aftermath. At the time of war, films were employed with diverse objectives for example to urge the public to support the war, to narrate the latest events, or to rebuild the image of the heroes. Most of the times the perspectives of films could vary depending on the country the film was produced in or which side of the story was being narrated. The plot of most war films might not be real, but they were necessary