To begin with, this paper was written with the intent to provide a full analysis on the movie Black Hawk Down. Over the course of the following paragraphs, I will establish a base as to why I think this movie is important to history, as wells as provide an in-depth overview of the narrative, and the translation of the story into a film. Since there are many different characteristics that make up a great film, the following text will provide what I think to be the strongest elements of the narrative, mise-en-scene, character development, and overall reception of the audience. First of all, Black Hawk Down is a film by Ridley Scott that tells the story of an ill-fated U.S. military raid that went catastrophically wrong when optimistic plans were met with unexpected guerilla resistance. Operation Gothic Serpent took place on October 3, 1993 in Mogadishu, Somalia. The mission was supposed to be a textbook style raid in order to apprehend lieutenants loyal to General Muhammed Farrah Aideed, a powerful warlord who had appointed himself president of Somalia after overthrowing it’s current president, and murdering many high level government officials. In all, 18 Americans lost their lives, 70 more were wounded, and approximately 3,000 Somalis were killed. Days after the disastrous events of the raid, the U.N. task force orchestrated by then President Bill Clinton, pulled out all of U.S. troops from Somalia, ultimately disbanding the task force, and ending the mission in failure. The conflict was a controversial matter fueled by the media, and openly displayed how gravely underestimated U.S. intelligence reports were of General Aideed’s power. The events left a stain on President Clinton’s foreign policy, and ended up being a critical fail... ... middle of paper ... ... and Randy Shughart requested, knowing it was a suicide mission, to be inserted to the crash site of downed helicopter Super Six Four, where they find Durant still alive. The crash site is eventually overrun, Gordon and Shughart are killed, and Durant is captured and taken to Aidid. This scene marks the lowest point in the film for the Americans, and this is the moment you realize that even though the mission is a huge failure, it wasn’t a complete loss because the mission objective ultimately became to just survive. The power of this sequence is amazing, and it captures the heroic actions of these men giving their lives as they adhere to the brotherly code of “leave no man behind.” The movie's implied message is that America on that day lost its resolve to risk American lives in distant and obscure struggles, and that mindset weakened our stance against terrorism.
In conclusion, while books, photos, movies and other historical documentation can portray information or a message about wartime events, they will never be able to produce the feelings of those that were personally involved in wars have experienced. Yet, it is incorrect to criticize these writers. The information they reveal is still very important historical information. Even if a reader or viewer of this media cannot feel exactly the same emotions as those involved, they still often experience an emotional connection to the events being depicted. This is important, not only for the historical knowledge gained about wars, but also to understand the nature and futility of their occurrence.
The Iraq war fiercely changed life in Iraq and in its neighboring countries. The war started in March 2003. The united states joined the war because of 9/11: an attack of mass destruction in New York city by a terrorist group named Al-Qaeda, which killed almost Three thousand people. The united states getting involved in the war; made it worse, and withdraw from the war on December 2011. During the war, life was difficult to survive emotionally for the soldiers, especially for those who are new. The historical fiction book Sunrise over Fallujah, by Walter Dean Myers, is set in Iraq. Robin "Birdy" Perry, a recruit from Harlem, NY, showed that war needs emotional readiness. Throughout Sunrise over Fallujah, the author uses
... 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.
[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.
In the movie, “Saving Private Ryan,” by Steven Spielburg, it begins with a veteran of WWII returning to Normandy to visit the burial ground for those Allied servicemen who were killed on D-Day. He is looking for a particular grave, and when he finds it, he takes a knee and starts sobbing. Captain John H. Miller has a flashback to June 6, 1944 in Omaha Beach, Normandy, France.
The novel is told by Amir, one of the novel's main characters. Amir is an Afghan man living in Fremont, California remembering his childhood in Kabul in the 1970s.
This article uses the technique of scholarly questions and answers to help readers understand the context of the article. One question raised in relation to the primary source the song of Roland is, “But are such pieces of literature – medieval though they are- reliable for their military history’? This question is asked after examining the primary source. The question asked was then explained by recalling “basic methodology pertaining to the primary source”. By the article raising questions it allows the reader to think deeper into the topic by allowing them to relate prior knowledge to what is being asked, making a correlation between given information, and prior understanding of the topic. Burkholder’s also uses primary sources, which could help develop a research paper. The use of primary sources in the article strengthens the author’s arguments. Some primary sources used are the song of Roland, Paul Davis’s 100 Decisive Battles, and De Re Militari. For each primary source Burkholder breaks down particular quotes and makes arguments with relevance to the thesis. This helps readers to check the reliability of the article, and use the primary sources to better understand how the information relates to the over all thesis. Additionally, the author cites with using primary sources specific movies such as King Authur (2004) and Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002), deconstructing how the two films relate directly to history and how accurate specific scenes in the movie are. One interesting technique used by the author is a critical analysis of how the entertainment industry is beneficial for history, and how it’s non-beneficial. In one interesting example Burkhodler provide three compelling reasons to illustrate how films are beneficial to an accurate appreciation of historical events. These points of view
Menace II Society, a film about a young Black man who has lived the “hustler” lifestyle and is struggling to leave it, is a perfect example of deviance as the main character, Caine Lawson, and the characters around him violate many of society’s norms. Throughout the film, the characters swear incessantly, carry around guns and drugs as most people would carry around cell phones, commit street crimes, especially burglary and mugging, on a regular basis, and beat and kill people unscrupulously. The following quote captures just how deviant Caine and the other characters in this film were, “[Caine] went into the store just to get a beer. Came out an accessory to murder and armed robbery. It's funny like that in the hood sometimes. You never knew what was gonna happen, or when” (Albert Hughes). Why would Caine consider these crimes “funny”, or rather, so insignificant? What caused Caine to become so deviant? The answers to such questions were woven into the plot of the film and will be discussed in the following paragraphs.
This part is divided into two sub-topics. The first sub-topic offers a summary of the book and contains spoilers. The second sub-topic summarizes the film. Both summaries incorporate key events in both form...
The film, which is set in 1968, is structured in two main parts. The first takes place in a Marine boot camp, while the second shows the situation on the battlefield in Vietnam. The movie is quite atypical. In fact it does not homologate to the convectional conception of the classic war film. This particular aspect is evident once that the stylistic elements, both aesthetic and thematic, are analyzed. First of, it is pretty much impossible to identify a single protagonist, the hero whose
June 6th 1944 is known as the day that turned the tides of World War II. Allied troops both Para dropped and landed on French occupied territory via the English Channel. For Captain John Miller, the beach was enough, but after only three short days of recovery, Miller and his squad of men are sent in search of what has become a very important soldier. Receiving his orders from the “very top”, Miller and his men set out in search of a James Francis Ryan from Iowa. Along the way, Germans kill two of Miller’s men, provoking the question, “How many men are worth one man’s life?” As the movie progresses, Captain Miller’s team finally finds Private Ryan, the man they were sent to save. John explains to him that all three of his brothers were killed in action, and as a result of this, James Ryan, the last surviving brother of the Ryan family, is ordered to be returned home so that he may carry on the family name.
The book I read and am doing a presentation on is called Saving Private Ryan by Max Allen Collins. Saving Private Ryan is about the heroism of soldiers of soldiers and their duty during wartime, World War Two. This story is to remind you, the reader, that war is nothing but hell, orders on the front line can be brutal, and absurd. The story is set in Europe of 1944, as the Nazis are still advancing and taking over cities and countries. On June 6th, 1944, Captain Miller, and hundreds of other men leave Europe to accomplish one mission, Operation Overlord, also known as D-Day. When they get there, there will be a new task awaiting them.
While hundreds, even thousands of excellent movies have been made over the years since motion pictures were invented, there are some movies that stand out among the best. There are various reasons for these standouts, sometimes incredible acting, sometimes impeccable story lines, but in many cases, it is the issues addressed by the movie. Most of the greatest movies contain commentaries or analyses of certain issues, be they moral, social, or otherwise. John McTiernan directed one of these films, The Hunt for Red October, based on the similarly titled best-selling novel by Tom Clancy. The Hunt for Red October, a product of the anti-communist attitudes of the 1980’s, is above all a commentary on morality. It follows a critical moral decision made by one man, Soviet Captain Marko Ramius, portrayed by Sean Connery, and follows the consequences of that moral decision to their conclusion. While this is not the only instance of morality being questioned in this movie, it is the most important, as it is the decision upon which the story is based. Other characters, like Alec Baldwin’s character of Jack Ryan, and Scott Glenn’s character Captain Bart Mancuso also have to make moral decisions that will have important effects on Ramius’ decision.
Top Gun is an American film from 1986. The “Top Gun” is the label given to highly adept fighter pilots who consist of the “best and the brightest” in the American air force. The film portrays the young men who fly these machines as highly competitive, skilled, and highly confident. Maverick, the main character, believes he is the best of the best and often takes daring risks and puts his own life, and the lives of his fellow pilots in danger. Unfortunately, the film leaves the implication that his daring maneuvers costs his best friend, Goose, his life. Overall, the film gives a fine analysis of America’s perception of the United States’ armed forces as it attempts to influence the audience to view America’s military might as unmatched, powerful, and exceptional.
“Entertainment has to come hand in hand with a little bit of medicine, some people go to the movies to be reminded that everything’s okay. I don’t make those kinds of movies. That, to me, is a lie. Everything’s not okay.” - David Fincher. David Fincher is the director that I am choosing to homage for a number of reasons. I personally find his movies to be some of the deepest, most well made, and beautiful films in recent memory. However it is Fincher’s take on story telling and filmmaking in general that causes me to admire his films so much. This quote exemplifies that, and is something that I whole-heartedly agree with. I am and have always been extremely opinionated and open about my views on the world and I believe that artists have a responsibility to do what they can with their art to help improve the culture that they are helping to create. In this paper I will try to outline exactly how Fincher creates the masterpieces that he does and what I can take from that and apply to my films.