Flag of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood’s “Flag of Our Fathers,” is a genre of drama, action, history and war movie about three of the six servicemen who survived and fought in the battle to take the Island of Iwo Jima in Japan. It starred John Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Ira Hayes (Adam Beach), and Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford).
It was in the Era where the conflict in Europe is about to culminate. One of the most critical and bloodiest battles of the war was the scuffle for the island, which ended with what would become one of the most symbolic images in history. Thousands of Marines assault the monopoly maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the carnage on both sides is dreadful. Near the beginning of the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, where a photograph was taken who soon becomes an American cause to celebrate. Yet, the battle for Iwo Jima raged on for another month with three of the marines being killed in action. For quite sometime, the photo became America’s icon of patriotism, and the men who lifted the second flag, the three of the six who endured the battle on Iwo Jima – became immediate, and in some cases unenthusiastic, heroes. As a powerful motivation to war-sick Americans, the photograph becomes a symbol of the Allied cause and became one of the most renowned images of the United States of yet another triumph in a battle during World War II.. The three surviving flag raisers, Ira Hayes, Rene Gagnon, and John Bradley were taken out of battle and flown back to the states.
The Essay on The importance of this particular war in American history
1. The most important historical event that occurred between 1492 and 1865 was the American Civil War. Sparked by issues such as states’ rights and the many aspects of slavery, it was a four-year war in which the country split in two and fought against each other for principles each side strongly believed in. The importance of this particular war in American history cannot be emphasized enough. ...
They were dispatched home to receive deafening adoration across the country. Their return to civilization helped raise resources for the war effort. A public relations crusade that purposefully ignored much of the truth, were required to commit for war contributions and the government used these new heroes to uphold the selling of war bonds on the War Bond Tour. But the honor for heroism heaped upon the three men are at probability with their own personal realizations that thousands of genuine heroes are lifeless on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only emblematic and not deserving of the adoration they are receiving and experiencing. Each of the three must face the honors, exploitation, and grief that they are drawn simply because for being photographed. Yes, the photo made these men instant heroes but they did not believe they were heroes, even though the American public did. Maybe all it takes to win is the right picture, but still, the real heroes are the ones left on the island.
Born on the Fourth of July
Oliver Stone’s “Born on the Fourth of July,” is psychologically moving and cinematically compelling. As the film opens, we find a young Kovic imagining himself to be a soldier with his friends. This is a time when the thought of being a soldier was valiant and heroic since their father’s had been heroes in World War II. The movie then follows Kovic as a popular athlete in secondary school up to his recruitment as a Marine. The movie evolves on Ron Kovic (played by Tom Cruise), a good old-boy-type of an American kid who is determined he wants to engage in a battle for his country in the Vietnam war even if he has to die for his nation. Kovic rationalizes his reasons for joining up as Communists, have missiles pointed at every now and then, and a must to save the country from its threats. He fights, witnesses horror and makes a tragic mistake and comes back home a crippled from the waist down veteran, who has to endure the emotional and physical pain of just being a veteran of Vietnam in a country where they are put down more than revered. He spends the first few months in a veteran hospital, which in this case, was a slum. To make the matter worse, the doctors inform him that he will never be able to use his legs again, and that he no longer has the ability to have children.
The Essay on War Horse from Book, Movie and Play
Have you ever witnessed a well-adapted animal thriving in its environment? Well similarly when a book is transformed into a movie or play it needs to be adapted so that it can thrive in its environment. For example if you read a great book and when you watch the movie you see every scene that you read in the book, the movie won’t be so good. There are many examples in which we see a movie or play ...
When he returns to his home, he realizes that the world has changed. People protest the war, sometimes protesting against the soldiers themselves. Kovic’s life becomes a series of confusions: self-pity, bar-brawls and war of words with women he will never be able to make love with in the ordinary way. His own family is indifferent to the war, so as his old friends. His parents love him but are frightened by his rage. In the long run it is suggested that he leave home. Kovic rejects God and his family, starts drinking and misuses his time whoring and boozing with other veterans in Mexico, Wasted and consumed with self-pity, self-denial, he officially hits the rock bottom before making amends with his recent past. Where he realizes that an innocence lost — courage was found. As quoted from Rovic, “I served my country – and they just want to take from it – just take, take! Love it or leave it, that’s what I think.”
Comparison / contrast of the characters and settings of the two movies
The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the great compliment for heroism heaped upon the three men are at conflict with their own personal realizations that thousands of Americans – the real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the praises and honor they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph. The setting of the movie is in Japan in the early 40’s. As for the biography of Ron Kovic, a marine paralyzed in the Vietnam war during the 70’s, he becomes a pro-human rights political activist, and an anti-war after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for. It’s interesting to note that the characters of the two (2) movies question what it means to bear that label of being a hero, whether they depict the established ideas of heroism, and whether they consider themselves worthy of it. However, the characters differ in the way they have faced the conflict consuming them. The three flag-raisers confronted their guilt and dilemmas in a constructive and positive manner.
The Essay on Fight Club Review Movie Tyler Character
Fight Club Review The movie that is being reviewed and analyzed is Fight Club, which stars Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. Fight Club is in a genre on its own, but falls into the categories of action and mystery. We will be looking at the subdivisions of plot, character, setting, and focus. By analyzing these points of the movie we can see why Fight Club belongs to the certain genre it is placed in. ...
On the other hand, Kovic was filled with rage, frustration and self-pity after he finally came in terms with himself. Overall, the movies were realistic and very compelling by not glorifying war. Although both film have vast amounts of pain and bloodshed and suffering, the message of philosophical core is clear — the movies are not about battle or wounds or recovery, but about American Soldiers who changed their mind and whole being about the war. The films strongly emphasize the importance of ideology, played out in the personal experiences of the characters who paid dearly for what they have learned. “There is something about coming back less than whole that is worse than not coming back at all that eats away at our consciousness,” (Littrell, 2003).
And yet in the end, the movies displayed the triumph of the human will and how a man might find redemption in the most deplorable of circumstances. Surely both films are eye opening and thought provoking. “Haunting, disturbing, but ultimately redemptive.”
References :
“Born on the Fourth of July (1989) – IMDb user comments.” 2000. Internet Movie Database Inc. 11 Mar. 2007
“Flags of Our Fathers – Movie Details – Yahoo! Movies.” 2000. Yahoo! Inc. 11 Mar. 2007
“Review: Flags of Our Fathers.” 2006. James Berardinelli. 26 Feb. 2007
