The Valley of Elah

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In The Valley of Elah is undoubtedly one of the most realistic depictions of a modern soldiers experience during the war in Iraq. This film exposes the challenges that many soldiers face upon returning home from duty. In the Valley of Elah follows a detective plot as Hank Deerfield tries to find his AWOL son, Mike, who has just returned home from active duty in Iraq. As Hank pieces together the events that lead to his sons death, the viewers see how traumatized the returning soldiers are. This film submerges the viewer in very powerful and gruesome incidents, which is seen through the photographs and cell phone footage that Mike records while in Iraq. Throughout the film, Mike’s mental state progressively degrades through the photographs and footage that Hank unveils. The lack of support that Mike receives from his father, and the traumatizing events he witnessed in Iraq contributed to Mike’s Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mike’s fellow soldiers Corporal Penning, Spc. Bonner, Spc. Long and Private Ortiez all show visible signs of mental trauma from duty in Iraq as well. Living in such an intense and horrific environment makes it difficult for soldiers to adapt to normal life when they return back home. Paul Haggis’s use of these images and clips helps shed light to a topic (PTSD) that has gone largely unnoticed for returning soldiers.
In the first few minutes of the film, the audience is in Iraq with Mike and his unit. Mike says he will be making “history” by throwing an American football to Iraqi children (In the Valley of Elah 2007). In this scene Mike attempts to bridge the gap between “them and us,” he’s trying to lighten the mood by interacting with people who are supposed to be seen as the “enemy.” The side of Mike that ...

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...fter living in constant fear and “war mode,” it is difficult for soldiers to lose the habits they developed in Iraq. They are on constant alert and when alcohol is added to a heated situation, some soldiers have a difficult time holding back their military instincts to fight and kill. Even though Mike’s story might be glorified by the film industry, it is not completely out of the realm for a soldier to experience a similar incident and have resulting mental health affects. Paul Haggis does an exceptional job of bringing PTSD and stress disorders to the public.

Works Cited
In the Valley of Elah. Dir. Paul Haggis. Perf. Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron, and
Jason Patric. Warner Independent Pictures, 2007. DVD.
"PTSD: National Center for PTSD." Mental Health Effects of Serving in Afghanistan and
Iraq -. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.

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