American Cinema Before class begins, turn in your Comedy units: Unit Notes Young Frankenstein The Princess Bride The Truman Show We will begin War and Cinema today

War and Cinema

War Films Basics Explosive action sequences Superhuman feats of bravery Displays of mass destruction Hellish no-man’s land of violence and death Slightest actions can end in death (own or of friends) Life is lived moment by moment

Morality Laws, beliefs, behavior and morality are suspended Not just permitted to kill, characters must kill Might makes right and the ends justify the means mentality Good guys (usually “us”) fight fair Bad guys (usually “them”) torture and kill innocent civilians Good guys break the rules for moral or compassionate reasons

Group Goals Traditional Hollywood films focus on the individual War films focus on the group Needs of the individual give way for group needs Individuals will do whatever it takes for the good of the platoon, squadron, division, etc.

Gender roles Women roles are infrequent Women threaten male roles by introducing emotion – man’s essential vulnerability Psyche of male soldier reshaped to repress feminine traits – must be ruthless, unemotional, fighting machines – in training often refered to as “ladies” Machismo is presented as the key to survival on the battlefield

Back from the front Focus on the difficulty of returning to “normal” life WWI and II this was shone as possible Vietnam changed this idea – more traumatic – over-masculinization of soldiers Showed uncontrollable potential for rage and violence Some showed as vulnerable due to disabilities and injuries Others shown as becoming outlaws or social outcasts

Modern examples Vietnam created desire to explain the war’s outcome and even rewrite it Films showing rescue missions of POWs became popular redemption Approach to combat as a source of personal trauma Toll of war on soldiers and their families – post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Videos shot from the soldiers perspective (phones and web footage)

Our unit films Glory – 1989 – Edward Zwick The Monuments Men – 2014 – George Clooney Lone Survivor – 2013 – Peter Berg