I'm a big fan of War movies but often wonder about the propaganda and dogmatic nonsense that infests them. Some US movies such as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Platoon" agitate me to breaking point with their xenophobic, partisan, good vs evil bullshit story lines. Yeah, the writers/ directors/ producers try to show that War is not for the feint hearted but in the end, it seems the good guys always win i.e. the Western Superpowers. Is this the reason why most people in the Western World support the doctrine of War? Probably not, but I'm pretty sure propaganda through the media and film industry has a big influence, as patriotism seems rife amongst the weak minded citizens of the World Superpowers. In my opinion, Patriotism should be celebrated softly without the need for violence. I'm happy with my nationality, but I belong to a bigger grouping... HUMANITY!
I don't watch many war movies due to a lot of the reasons you cite above plus there's too much rewriting of history, especially in American war movies.
As I say, I love War Movies even though I'm a pretty peaceful guy but the bullshit that goes with them is often too much. They are there to stir up the population into thinking War is a good thing
Some are, some aren't. Saving Private Ryan was a bit of a propoganda excercise in parts, but what do you expect? Steven spielberg wanted to pay tribute to a generation whose sacrifice basically saved civilisation from fascism, before they all died out.
War should never be humanised... although it did make for a good movie Also, D-Day was one of the biggest mistakes in political history - over 20,000 people killed
Yeah, that is a good movie (Come And See). So are The Deer Hunter and Full Metal Jacket, neither of which can be called a glorification of war. Best War movie of all time imo is Inglourious Basterds. "Bwaan Giornoo".
When they actually go to war in Full Metal Jacket, you can see the poltical agenda as the Americans seem to think they are heroes (Joker aside) whilst singing the Mickey Mouse theme tune. Although, I agree that it does portray the horrors of War and the inhumane mindsets instilled into soldiers at bootcamp
"The Beast of War" is a pretty good war movie. About the Russians in Afghanistan. Detals: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094716/
When The Wind Blows is actually one of the most haunting war films there is. Desperately sad and moving.
Braveheart was one of the most spine-tingling movies ever made and was crticially acclaimed by historians and critics alike for a fine adaptation on a controversial point in history.
The movie about the rape of Nanking was chilling. My grandfather was captured in Singapore by the Japs, so perhaps the movie meant a bit more to me.
Apart from that, at least they got an actor to play Wallace who empathises with our community Bealey.
