“The rush of battle is often a potent and lethal addiction, for war is a drug.” This quote is the first thing that flashes across the screen as viewers begin their journey into The Hurt Locker, a critically acclaimed war movie written by Mark Boal and directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Hurt). The quote was written by former New York Times war correspondent, Chris Hedges and it perfectly sets the stage for a story that depicts just how potent and addicting war can be (Corliss). The 2008 movie won six Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Actor in a Leading Role (“Nominees & Winners”). The Hurt Locker is an exceptional movie that contains everything one would expect from an award-winning film: an intriguing plot, heart-wrenching tragedy, breathtaking visuals, top-notch acting, believability, and even a bit of controversy.
An intriguing plot is the first thing people look for in a movie. War is a complicated subject so in a film about war, while it is important for the plot to be interesting, it is even more important that it is sensible and flows smoothly. This allows the audience to be entertained and keeps them from getting lost in too many complicated details. The Hurt Locker is the story of three men who are part of a United States Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (E.O.D.) team stationed in Baghdad in 2004. Sergeant First Class William James is a daring specialist who knows everything there is to know about bombs, inside and out. He begins his rotation with Bravo Company after the former team leader is killed while attempting to disarm a roadside bomb. Bravo Company has just 38 days left on rotation and since James has arrived, those days are fraught with tension. James d...
... middle of paper ...
...es." Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Web. 01 Mar. 2011. .
Ryzik, Melena. “A Lawsuit for ‘Hurt Locker,’ in Time for Oscars.” The New York Times. 04 Mar. 2010. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Schmidt, Michael. “Fatal Bombs in Iraq Seemed Aimed at Militia.” The New York Times. 09 Feb. 2011. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
Seal, Karen H., Daniel Bertenthal, Christian R. Miner, Saunak Sen, and Charles Marmar. "Bringing the War Back Home: Mental Health Disorders Among 103 788 US Veterans Returning From Iraq and Afghanistan Seen at Department of Veterans Affairs Facilities." Archives of Internal Medicine 167.5 (2007): 476-82. Print.
Zoroya, Gregg. "In 'The Hurt Locker,' war is like a drug." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 24 Feb. 2011.
Brian Turner's "The Hurt Locker" captures his personal and painful experiences during his time spent in war and furthermore, express the tragic events he witnessed. Brian Turner's poem is miraculously able to gather multiple first hand accounts of tragic, gory, and devastating moments inside a war zone and project them on to a piece of paper for all to read. He allows the audience of his work to partially understand what hell he himself and all combat veterans have endured. Although heartbreaking, it is a privilege to be taken inside "The Hurt Locker" of a man who saw too many things that should not ever be witnessed by anybody. Turner's words bring to life what many have buried deep inside them which subsequently is one of the major underlying problems facing combat veterans today. Reading this poem, I could not help but wonder what the long term effects of war are on a human being, if it is worth the pain, and how does a combat veteran function properly in a society that is unfamiliar with their experiences?
An article called, “The Real War,” written by Roger J. Spiller, begins with a quote by Walt Whitman, “The real war will never get in the books.” The author writes about an interview with Paul Fussell, who was a soldier in World War Two and has written many books about World War One and World War Two. Fussell is very opinionated and critical about other books written about these wars, asserting they are not realistic or portray the true essence of what really occurred by soldiers and other people participating in the wars. I claim that it is impossible to convey the actual personal feelings and emotions of those involved in a war in books or any other forms of media.
...this really portrays the realism of war. Overall the use of de-saturated film and handheld cameras is an effective way of portraying the film. It does not only portray the film but also realistically portrays war. Scenes which are sometimes horrific or disturbing to watch give us a tiny insight in to the horrific scenes of war. I feel this is the most realistic war film without actually being there. Spielberg successfully took this film to new levels with not always showing brave and noble men. Spielberg has reached the limits of modern film with his effects and constant persistence to find realistic effects. The opening scene is like a starter of a meal or a taste of what is about to come. It shows how these men are brave but scared. I think the film portrays the diversities of emotions experienced by the men. Overall I think this is a realistic and effective film.
“War is nasty; war is fun. War is thrilling; war is drudgery. War makes you a man; war makes you dead,” (80). In the fiction novel The Things They Carried, the author Tim O’Brien reminisces fighting in the Vietnam War and the aftermath of the war with his platoon mates through short stories and memories. He goes in depth about the emotional trauma and physical battles they face, what they carry, and how Vietnam and war has changed them forever. O’Brien’s stories describe the harsh nature of the Vietnam War, and how it causes soldiers to lose their innocence, to become guilt-ridden and regretful, and to transform into a paranoid shell of who they were before the war.
...tures. One of this winter's mostly eagerly awaited releases is Lord of the Rings, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's brilliant books about warfare and other adventures in a mythological Middle Earth realm. Fans may not pigeonhole these as war films, but part of their appeal comes from their place in a long tradition of war-centered fiction stretching back at least as far as Homer, whose Iliad and Odyssey have been cited as sources for Apocalypse Now and other combat films. It is sometimes seen in movies that they do not own up to being a true war movie, but there is a basic sense of what a war movie is. In The Things They Carried , novelist and Vietnam vet Tim O'Brien wrote that “if at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been the victim of a very old and terrible lie. As a first rule of thumb, you can tell a true war story by its absolute and uncompromising allegiance to obscenity and evil. You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you.” That is Memento; a movie that exposes all of the realities of its own story and leaves the audience ashamed of rooting for their fallen hero.
The Hurt Locker is a war film that is set in Iraq during the Iraq War and fits in the adventure and action genre. The plot is about a three man bomb defusal team consisting of James, Sanborn, and Elridge finding themselves is extreme, life-threatening situations where they must defuse explosives over the violent conflicts. The director, Kathryn Bigelow, has done a good job with the mise-en-scene, making the setting overall extremely believable, giving a sense of realism in the film. The film’s mise-en-scene creates a believable Iraq War settings with the use costumes, weaponry, and all the grime and dirt present in places which sells the idea. Sounds and symbolism is used to show heavy tension amongst the soldiers .The film also contrasts James’s time in Iraq and his life back in America using the Supermarket scene. The idea portrayed in this film is the addiction to war which can be seen in James.
Oliver Stone is best known from his portrayals of Vietnam in film. His movies “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July” have won him Academy Awards for best director. These movies not only depicted the violence of war, but also the cultural and psychological issues that the soldiers in these wars had to endure. The majority of his earliest and best known movies center around the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone’s experience in the military gave him a special insight that made his movies feel more authentic and convincing to audiences. These movies portray the struggles that soldiers and veterans of the Vietnam War had to face on and off the battlefield.
War has been a constant part of human history. It has greatly affected the lives of people around the world. These effects, however, are extremely detrimental. Soldiers must shoulder extreme stress on the battlefield. Those that cannot mentally overcome these challenges may develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Sadly, some resort to suicide to escape their insecurities. Soldiers, however, are not the only ones affected by wars; family members also experience mental hardships when their loved ones are sent to war. Timothy Findley accurately portrays the detrimental effects wars have on individuals in his masterpiece The Wars.
Thesis Statement: Through multiple stylistic elements including similes and metaphors as well as extreme scenes of gore, Thomas Keneally shows how a war experience can bring out extreme emotion and create bonds that will never be broken between humans.
In 2006, a film directed by Clint Eastwood was released in theatres around the world titled Letters from Iwo Jima. Unlike most war movies that are produced for the American public, this film entirely captures the World War II battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the enemy. For a rare change, Letters from Iwo Jima shows the cultural aspect and daily life the Japanese soldiers experienced during the war. Although the film was given many positive reviews and was noted as one of the best films of 2006, it still received mixed emotions from both the Japanese and American public. One of the main ideas of the film focuses on the idea that good and evil exist on both sides, and that although we share different ideas, thoughts, traditions, and customs, we are all human and share more in common than we think.
Mental health conditions, traumatic brain injury, and suicide risk are significantly higher in recent wartime veterans, especially when compared to veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf War periods. The “healthy soldier effect” used to mean that veterans had lower overall mortality rates compared to the general population. However, suicide risk is not included in this effect any longer. Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn
“Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!” Most famously quoted from the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, this black and white satiric film produced and co-written by Stanley Kubrick in 1964, is a prime example of Kenneth Waltz’s Realist theories in regards to International theory.
One of the worst things about war is the severity of carnage that it bestows upon mankind. Men are killed by the millions in the worst ways imaginable. Bodies are blown apart, limbs are cracked and torn and flesh is melted away from the bone. Dying eyes watch as internal organs are spilled of empty cavities, naked torso are hung in trees and men are forced to run on stumps when their feet are blown off. Along with the horrific deaths that accompany war, the injuries often outnumber dead men. As Paul Baumer witnessed in the hospital, the injuries were terrifying and often led to death. His turmoil is expressed in the lines, “Day after day goes by with pain and fear, groans and death gurgles. Even the death room I no use anymore; it is too small.” The men who make it through the war take with them mental and physical scarification from their experiences.
The influx of women in the U.S. veteran population and their health services use led to more gender-related studies in the veteran population. In response to this influx, VA researchers examined gender differences in mental health and outpatient services utilization of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans (Maguen, Ren, Bosch, Marmar, & Seal, 2010; Maguen et al., 2012; Wolfe, 2011). These studies were also broad in scope not intended to reveal small aspects of a particular clinical condition such as
The movie begins as many war films have, on the battlefield. Lieutenant Colonel Nat Serling (Denzel Washington) finds himself in an impossible situation, under heavy attack at night in the middle of the Iraqi desert. He is being assaulted by the Iraqis and in an instant loses his long time friend to the horror of "friendly fire.'; He has ordered his crew to fire on another American tank under his command. Back home, the government is eagerly searching for Gulf War heroes and as a result, Serling is decorated for his bravery; yet, deep inside, he really knows that it is all a sham. He is drowned in his medals and awards and handed a desk job in the Pentagon, all to keep him quiet. Serling becomes intensely burdened by his guilt. He has become an alcoholic, his marriage is falling apart, and the government, which is covering up the incident, has not offered a means to assuage his battered conscience.