Religion in Pop Culture
Final Essay
Platoon, directed by Oliver Stone, and "Saving Private Ryan," directed by Steven Spielberg, are two movies flush with Christian Symbolism. Both films feature scripture, Platoon opens with it, and in Saving Private Ryan, there is a character that often quotes scripture. While there are some similarities between the two movies, like having a Christ Figure, and a conflict between good and evil, there are metaphors that make the films different from one another. Platoon features more complex metaphors, and focuses on a power struggle between two characters that represent good and evil. The Metaphors in Saving Private Ryan are obvious, and more focused on the lost returning home, then on a struggles between good and evil. Saving Private Ryan heavily features the theme of "Gods work" and "god's will" while Platoon addresses the greater struggle between good and evil, and more so the chaos of war; though both films display Christian metaphors, the films differ in the presentations of their Christian themes.
"Saving Private Ryan" directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 1998. The film, set in France during World War II, follows a small squadron of men led by Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) on a mission to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon.) and send him home. Ryan has three other brothers that have been killed in combat, and the U.S government has issued orders for his return.
The dichotomy of good and evil is a common theme in both Christianity and the Bible, and plays a large role in this film. World War II was a conflict between the Allied forces (United States, United Kingdom, etc.) which represent the "Good" pitted against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan,) which represent the ‘Evil." ...
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...ated. There is no aspect of "Gods Work" in Platoon, as there in in Saving Private Ryan. Both movies present Christian metaphors, but both movies handle it in different ways.
Works Cited
1. Avent, Beck. "The Christian Allegorical Structure of "Platoon."." . Salisbury University, 1 Jan. 1992. Web. . .
2. Hollydood Jesus. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
3. "The Role of Religion in Saving Private Ryan." Brianboyleshistorythroughfilmblog. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
4. Allbritton, Jay M. Religion and Politics in FIlms About the Vietnam War. Thesis. University of Flordia, 2003. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Web. .
The Vietnam War has become a focal point of the Sixties. Known as the first televised war, American citizens quickly became consumed with every aspect of the war. In a sense, they could not simply “turn off” the war. A Rumor of War by Philip Caputo is a firsthand account of this horrific war that tore our nation apart. Throughout this autobiography, there were several sections that grabbed my attention. I found Caputo’s use of stark comparisons and vivid imagery, particularly captivating in that, those scenes forced me to reflect on my own feelings about the war. These scenes also caused me to look at the Vietnam War from the perspective of a soldier, which is not a perspective I had previously considered. In particular, Caputo’s account of
The Vietnam War is one of the most controversial issues in American history. It is no secret that the American public was not in favor of this war, which is why the government’s decision to keep the US involved for over ten years created such a disconnect between America’s people and their government. In the third verse the Temptations sing, “People all over the world are shouting 'End the war.'” The Temptations bravely attack the government, addressing their continuation of a war no one wants. Although The Temptations avoid explicitly naming the war, or the government as the guilty party, it is evident that this is a criticism, or at least an acknowledgement of a predicament America found itself in.
Fellers, Carla A. "What A Wonderful World": The Rhetoric Of The Official And The Unofficial In Good Morning, Vietnam." War, Literature & The Arts: An International Journal Of The Humanities 17.1/2 (2005): 232-241. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
In A Tactical Ethic, Moral Conduct in the Insurgent Battlespace, author Dick Couch addresses what he believes to be an underlying problem, most typical of small units, of wanton ethical and moral behavior partly stemming from the negative “ethical climate and moral culture” of today’s America (Couch, D., 2010, p. 15). In chapter one, he reveals what A Tactical Ethic will hope to accomplish; that is identify the current ethics of today’s military warriors, highlight what is lacking, and make suggestions about what can be done to make better the ethical behavior of those on the battlefield and in garrison. He touches on some historic anecdotes to highlight the need for high ethics amongst today’s military warriors as well as briefly mentions
...and wounds soldiers but murdering their spirits. War hurts families and ruins lives. Both stories showed how boys became in terrible situations dealing with war.
Using the title of the book to say that the soldiers are killer “angels” is an excellent description. They were people who fought for a cause, which was not always understood by some. In the introduction of the novel, soldiers from Lee’s army are described as most...
imperialism, ethnocentrism, and sexism. Conflict in the commentary is deliberately deceptive, “the objective of The Things They Carried, like other Vietnam War narratives, is not to open a traumatic event to multiple, vying interpretations, but rather to consolidate a satisfying mythic meta-narrative of American sin and redemption" (Clarke 135). The book underscores contending viewpoints which taken separately would be assumed on reliable. The contending viewpoints produce contending truths. Therefore there is no single narrative that is solely about depravity and evil or about salvation (Clarke 135).
BBC. "Christianity and the ethics of war." BBC - Religion. N.p., 3 Aug. 2009. Web. 14 Jan. 2012. .
YORK, LORRAINE. "Wars, The (1977)." Oxford Companion To Canadian Literature (1997): 1168. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Apr. 2014.
Fifty-eight thousand were killed, a pair of thousand captured, and three hundred fifty thousand; maimed and wounded, just about everyone throughout this country still feels the results of this conflict. Today, the kids in the country rest uneasy in response to the senselessness of this struggle. A different generation of school students, staff and young parents bring a singular perspective to the analysis of the implications of this specific war. These square measure the sons and daughters of the boys that fought to their death inside the jungles of South East Asia..
...pherd", only the agony of total defeat. Sheppard's epiphany comes too late and the stark contrast that once distinguished him from the dark object of his alms turns into the faded realization that he is no better than the beleaguered beneficiary. Through O'Connor's strategic literary devices, deft character contrast, and parody of entrenched Christian values, the reader is left to digest and dissect the fact that maybe the entire flock [comment15] isn't worth one black sheep. Between the black and white islands of moral certainty, good and evil, there lies a sea of ironic grey.
Kurt Vonnegut's novel Slaughterhouse-Five; or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death is, as suggested by the title, a novel describing a crusade that stretches beyond the faint boundaries of fiction and crosses over into the depths of defogged reality. This satirical, anti-war piece of literature aims to expose, broadcast and even taunt human ideals that support war and challenge them in light of their folly. However, the reality of war, the destruction, affliction and trauma it encompasses, can only be humanly described by the word “war” itself. Furthermore, oftentimes this term can only be truly understood by those who have experienced it firsthand. Therefore, in order to explain the unexplainable and humanize one of the most inhumane acts, Vonnegut slants the hoarse truth about war by extrapolating it to a fantasy world. Through this mixture of history, reality and fantasy, Vonnegut is able to “more or less” describe what he believes truly happens in war yet, at the same time, reveal a greater truth about humanity's self-destructive war inertness. Vonnegut's use of fantasy in Slaughterhouse-Five unveils mundane war misconceptions as it rallies action against war through a comparison and contrast between the Tralfamadorian world and philosophy and Billy Pilgrim's existence and war experiences.
Sears, Stephen W. "Onward, Christian Soldier." NY Times. NY Times, 16 Mar. 1997. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. .
Doherty, Thomas. Projections of Power-Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II. New York City: Columbia University Press, 1993. Book.
Tony and Elizabeth Jordan thought they had it all – a beautiful daughter, great jobs, the best cars, and their dream house, but looks can be deceiving. Behind closed doors their marriage is falling apart, and they are constantly fighting, pushing away from each other and hurting their daughter emotionally and mentally in the process to the point where she says to her friend ¨I wish I lived at your house, my parents are always fighting.¨ Tony and Elizabeth are typical churchgoers who have become self-righteous and, in Tony case, even hostile towards the God who created him for his glory. Elizabeth is a real estate broker, and Tony is a salesman who is always traveling. While Tony relaxes in his professional success and flirts with temptation,