The Truth About War Revealed in the Film, The Thin Red Line
Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line (1998) is a film that examines the Guadalcanal Battle of World War II, looking past the physical results of the violence, in order to uncover the deeper truths and ramifications of war. The film conveys themes and ideologies that are somewhat uncommon to war films, especially WW II films. In this dark, surreal, journey, Malick takes us inside the minds of soldiers experiencing this battle to capture a remote pacific island from the Japanese. We do not hear or see gruff, hardened soldiers, anxious to die for their country. In fact, there are no heroes in The Thin Red Line. There are only regular men, scared of fighting and scared of dying, who have been thrown into a situation that will forever change their lives. The fighting is not suspenseful or glorious just brutal. Using an ideological approach to the study of film, this paper will examine The Thin Red Line’s messages about the truths of war, and how it challenges our society’s stereotypical view of war as a valiant undertaking where brave men fighting for good battle the evil of the enemy. Consequently, the ideologies that are uncovered will then be used to look at The Thin Red Line as a war film, and how it fits and does not fit into the genre.
The Thin Red Line portrays war as a filthy, horrible, and emotionally destructive thing. The film seeks to show that we, as humans, have managed to create something that not only is physically destructive, but is mentally destructive to those who take part in it. James Morrison, in his review of the film in Film Quarterly, writes that: The Thin Red Line is an anti-war film, but unlike other anti-war films that it superficially resemb...
... middle of paper ...
...ness and emotional destructiveness of war. War is an unnatural thing, so The Thin Red Line, consequently, does not portray war in the “normal” fashion.
Works Cited
Basinger, Jeanine. The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre. New York: Columbia University Press, 1986.
Cull, Nicholas J. ìThe Thin Red Line (motion picture review).î The American Historical Review. v.104 no3 (June 1999): 1050
Fox Movies Homepage
Kane, Kathryn. Visions of War: Hollywood Combat Films of World War II. Ann Arbor: UMI Research Press, 1982.
Macnab, Geoffrey. ìThe Thin Red Line (motion picture review).î Sight & Sound.v.9 no3 (March 1999): 53-54.
Morrison, James. ìThe Thin Red Line (motion picture review).î Film Quarterly. v.53 no1 (Fall 1999): 35-38.
The Internet Movie Database.
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreKerner, Aaron M.. “Irreconcilable Realities.” Film Analysis: A Norton Reader. Eds. Jeffrey Geiger and R.L. Rutsky. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2nd edition, 2013. 462-83.
Even though the films “Battleship Potemkin”, “From Here to Eternity” and “Saving Private Ryan” are all movies based on military life during war time the variation in time periods and culture made each film very different. These differences did not take away from the impact the films had on their audiences at the time or the messages they were each trying to covey. The Horrific images and hear wrenching scenarios helped to evoke strong emotions and patriotic feeling from audiences allowing film makers to pass along their truths. Thru these films we are magically transported to several dark periods in the world history and left to experience the pain, fear, isolation and ultimately the triumph of these soldiers’ lives.
In this paper I will argue that understanding the context of a film is vital for a more in-depth understanding of it and I will accomplish this through a deep analysis of the following films: Flowers of War, Edge of Heaven, Battleship Potemkin, and the Big Heat.
The film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is a Steven Spielberg film released in 1998 which aimed to make a both shocking and effective portrayal of warfare. The film shows realistically the severities and horror of warfare. Spielberg admitted that he was ‘looking for realism the whole time’. A conventional war film aims to show fearless soldiers and frightened or brutal enemies. Spielberg wanted to show fear from both sides and highlight the terror felt by young men. I feel it is easy to become detached from the fact that many soldiers were young men with individual lives and varying views. The film uses de-saturated colour so that the audience feels the film is older. The effect of de-saturated colour allows audiences to feel that they have also taken the step back in time along with Private Ryan. Another effect is the use of handheld cameras which allows the audience to feel they are in the battle and moving up the beach or across ground. Spielberg saw the opportunity to use D-day as an opening scene. Not only would D-day be an action packed opening scene it would also show its many brutalities. This scene is the film’s selling point and almost trademark. Finally the film shows how ordinary men find themselves fighting on the frontline.
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
McCrisken, T. B., & Pepper, A. (2005). American History and Contemporary Hollywood Film. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press.
Through an image of a flag being raised, which meant little to the troops, was transformed into one of the largest bond drives ever, this dramatic change of route for the troops who raised the flag showed how many contrasts there are between the reality of a war and an image of war. Clint Eastwood intertwined through his characters inner-most thoughts the contrasts of what the realities of war are and a photo that was of an American flags being raised staking a claim to that area of the island which meant nothing of the significant proportion it was viewed as back in their homeland America.
Since 1968, there have been at least 25 films made that portray the events of the Vietnam War. Historians have to ask themselves when watching these films, "Did the fictional character represent historical figures accurately? Is this how a soldier would react in this situation?" The point of view of the director of the film can change with simple alterations in camera angles. For example, a view from the ground of a battle seen can show how the innocent people had the war in their own backyards. The view from a helicopter can show Viet Cong firing rounds at American troops and the troops can't tell the difference between the innocent and the enemy. The audience feels empathy and sympathy for the person from whose point of view the camera is showing. Historians compare the trueness of one film to the rest, and they have found that every film is at least somewhat fabricated, and at least somewhat true.
Fyne, Robert. The Hollywood propaganda of World War II. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1994. Print.
Change is actually one of the things in life that can never be avoided, no matter how hard we try; it is the one constant in life. When it comes to organizations however, change can often be difficult, if not impossible, depending on a number of factors including employee receptiveness. There have been many studies completed on the cause of resistance to change. In Coch and French’s research study (1948) they asked two important questions surrounding resistance, “(1) Why do people resist change so strongly? and (2) What can be done to overcome this resistance?” Most change program experts will certainly name resistance to change as one of the largest obstructions to successfully executing change programs.
Some people say that college athletes get paid by having a scholarship, but if you look at it a different way, scholarships might change your mind. Coaches try to get players who they think have the talent to make them win and to persuade them to come to their school by offering them scholarships. The whole idea behind a scholarship is to lure the athlete into coming to your school. Scholarships are nothing more than a recruitment tactic. They will give you a scholarship as long as you produce for them. It’s all about what you can do for them. Indeed these scholarships pay for tuition, room and board, and books, but these athletes don’t have money for other necessities. The NCAA doesn’t want friends or boosters to offer athletes jobs because they ...
College athletes should be paid for playing their sport. They do an enormous amount of work for their universities by bringing in a massive amount of money and should be rewarded with some of that money. They can struggle holding a job that will work with their busy schedules with having to practice and study for several hours a day. They leave school early in order to pursue a professional career in their sport.
Lewis, J. (2008). American Film: A History. New York, NY. W.W. Norton and Co. Inc. (p. 405,406,502).
The two films I have decided to compare and contrast is Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) and The Deer Hunter (1978). Letters from Iwo Jima is focused on the battle between Japan and the United States for the island of Iwo Jima during World War 2 where the island was invaded by American marines. Meanwhile, the Deer Hunter took place during the Vietnam War. This essay compares and contrasts the two films on how they represent the social and political attitudes of the characters towards war. Despite a common belief of sense of duty, some soldiers question the demand for them to fight. This analysis sheds light on the cultural, social and political views of these characters from different countries.
War has been present since the beginning of human history. Likewise, war movies have been present since the movie industry began. Just like most other genres of film, war films have been created as a form of entertainment to profit a person or organization. More people are willing to spend their money and time on a feeling of action, excitement, heroism, and patriotism than gruesome and horrid images of real and common human destruction. Propaganda has been used by governments for a very long time and when motion pictures came into existence, governments almost immediately saw the new medium as an opportunity to influence the public. Governments such as the United States of America, cooperate with the movie industry to use this influence to promote a positive perception about war in order to gain support for wars. The movie industry portrays war in an exciting, glorified, romanticized, and heroic light and often demonizes the enemies; this causes an unrealistic public perception of war which leads to greater positive public opinion and support of real wars.