Gallipoli is a historical film released in 1981 (directed by Peter Weir) which chronicles the lives of two young Australian men, and their journey through enlisting in the Australian Army and serving in the Battle of Gallipoli, of the First World War. The film itself represents the past through three main aspects. Firstly, the film both reflects and influences societal values and attitudes, and in this way mythologises aspects of history, specifically when considering the ‘ANZAC legend’. Simultaneously the film is able to shape societies knowledge of parts of history, looking at the futility of war in conjunction with a partial shift in blame for the immense number of casualties (26,000 Australians) of the campaign. Finally, in the films representation …show more content…
of the past it does possess an ability to be used as a source. Keeping in mind, it is still a Hollywood film, and consequently has limitations in accuracy due to it being purposed for entertainment, hence the heavily romanticized nature of Gallipoli which obstructs historical accuracy. Weir’s Gallipoli can be classified as a historical film as, it has both a historical background and setting in an important period. In addition to this, the plot of the film is established around a particular historical event. The films background and setting take place in the First World War (1914-1918) and assumes the Australian perspective of the Allies, who were battling the Central Powers. Furthering the historical context of the film, it is specifically based around the events of the Dardanelles Campaign (also known as The Battle of Gallipoli/Çanakkale), and follows the fictional plot of two main protagonists, Frank and Archy, who enlist in the Light Horse troop and the infantry to be sent abroad and fight for Australia. Gallipoli is a film which both reflects and influences the societal values and attitudes towards both Australia’s nationalism and the Anzac spirit. Through this influence on the Anzac spirit especially, the film has an ability to mythologise already present aspects of history. When watching Peter Weir’s Gallipoli today, it very clearly reflects Australia’s current sense of nationalism and pride from our history. The two young men who enthusiastically enlist in the army to be sent abroad to fight for their country, one loses their life, however not without displaying the well-known ‘Anzac spirit’. The film also possesses an ability to shape and influence societies knowledge of history, specifically looking at the futility of war (particularly the Gallipoli Campaign), as well as undertaking a new perspective of who the responsibility of the mass loss of lives fell on. This shift in blame can also be contributed to the re-construction and memorialisation of Gallipoli & the Anzac legend (as explored above). As a whole, the film blatantly shares its view of the Battle of Gallipoli, and war generally. Regardless of the war scenes taking only a third of screen-time, the untraditional ending of the death of main character Archy Hamilton , shocks and surprises the audience, who traditional expect him to live ‘Happily ever after’ as in most Hollywood movies. In this way the abrupt and unexpected ending to the final scene, of Archy being shot dead whilst running unarmed over the trenches comments on the unnecessary loss, and almost a waste of life caused by the Battle of Gallipoli. Meanwhile the film utilizes this powerful statement on the futility of war, to enhance the underlying theme of a shift in responsibility of the death and casualties caused by the uncoordinated and unsupported Gallipoli campaign. Throughout the film the British are constantly portrayed in an unfavourable light, with the Australian soldiers first refusing to salute them, then following that impersonating them riding on their horses, with monocles through the markets of Egypt. Both these representations of the British show them as posh elites who show disdain on the Australian’s discipline, further opening the distance between the two nations perspectives. However, the main comment made about the British comes in the final scenes, where they are described to be ‘Drinking tea on the beach’ whist the Australian soldiers are being ‘…mowed down from afar and slain like cattle’ . Although this representation is untrue, as the British were landing at Suvla at the time , the film’s portrayal of the inconsiderate and unsupportive nature of their British allies (who they were fighting for) directly shifts the blame from the Australian soldiers and army themselves onto the British. Both of these powerful messages about the senselessness and British responsibility had impacts on societies knowledge of history, being one of the few every-day sources about Gallipoli that the average person would come in contact with. Through the film’s large influence, it can certainly be said that it contributed to the enhanced memorialisation, and re-construction of the sense of pride in the Anzac’s. Furthermore, through the representation of the past in the film (as a Hollywood production), it’s historical accuracy can be diminished in an effort to sensationalise the plot for entertainment, which reduces its ability to be used as a source in most cases.
Although Hollywood movies are able to encourage interest into topic areas, which previously would have been less accessed by the average person for example the Gallipoli campaign, it still has its limitations. The main limitations of Weir’s Gallipoli include primarily that it was made for entertainment purposes, and thus cannot be qualified as being an accurate source, due to a strong romanticized nature. Gallipoli does remain correct throughout most of the film, in recounting order of events from the first landing at Gallipoli, the follow up landings and the Battle at the Nek, even to the food eaten on the peninsula including Bully beef and the “Anzac wafer” . However, the film loses this concrete history through bias and perspective. As explored in the above example of the English “Drinking tea” whilst an attack was underway (which was untrue) it illustrates a strong Australian perspective which decreases authenticity. Another aspect of the film is that there are rarely any scenes from the perspective of Turkish army, who they were fighting against. Not only does this very clear “Us vs. Them” distinction enhance the lack of recognition of the Turkish army’s losses (almost 70,000) , but also fails to admit that through the Turkish perspective, Gallipoli was a success. The Turkish army were forced to defend their land under attack and suffered immense loses, yet they were able to defend their nation and thus, celebrate March 18th, 1915 as the victory in the Battle of Çanakkale. This neglected understanding of the Turkish army again diminishes the historic accuracy and usefulness as a source. This neglect of multiple historical views is the second limitation of the film, which are important to identify, as they
can have ramifications. This is due to many people gaining their historical knowledge from films and media, and when they are incorrectly (or narrow-mindedly) portrayed, they can influence a large majority of people’s views on the particular historical event. This indirect use of a film as a source unfortunately can lead to misconstrued views and overall decrease it’s accuracy as a source. In conclusion, Weir’s Gallipoli is a film which has had a significant role in shaping Australia’s cinema and wider cultured perspective of the Anzac’s participation in the First World War. Not only does it reflect Australia’s current sense of pride and nationalism, but it also is partially responsible for enhancing it. This was through shaping societies knowledge of history of the Battle of Gallipoli, as well as mythologising the Anzac Spirit of mateship, larrikinism, endurance and courage. Despite the heavily romanticized nature of the film, it still holds some historical accuracy, however, entertainment is still the objective of this Hollywood film, and thus interprets aspects of history to suit the plot which obstructs complete accuracy. Overall the film’s representation of the historical event of the Gallipoli Campaign from the Australian perspective is one of nationalism, loss and the sheer futility of war.
“The war correspondent is responsible for most of the ideas of battle which the public possesses … I can’t write that it occurred if I know that it did not, even if by painting it that way I can rouse the blood and make the pulse beat faster – and undoubtedly these men here deserve that people’s pulses shall beat for them. But War Correspondents have so habitually exaggerated the heroism of battles that people don’t realise that real actions are heroic.”
The soldiers are remembered for maintaining courage and determination under hopeless conditions. The ANZAC legend owes much to wartime correspondents who used the Gallipoli landing to generate a specifically Australian hero. Among the many reports, which reached Australia, were those of Ashmead-Bartlett. His Gallipoli dispatches described Australians as a 'race of athletes ... practical above all', whose cheers, even in death, 'resounded throughout the night'. Ashmead-Bartlett helped in...
Aboriginal soldiers returned to their country where they had no citizenship rights, controlled by the government policies which prevented them from living in towns, socialising with other Australians and voting. This is evident in phrases such as, “He returned to the outback, no mates did he find. If he had a beer he was jailed and then fined,” and, “Confused and alone he wandered around, Looking for work though none could be found. The Anzac marches he badly neglected, Would show to his comrades how he was rejected.” This informs the reader about how the Aboriginal soldiers did not receive the same benefits as the European soldiers did, even though they made the same sacrifices during the
Peter Weir re-created one of the biggest historical events in New Zealand through the tragic tale of Archy Hamilton, an innocent boy who lost his life in Gallipoli during 1915. The audience is emotionally weaved into the film by use of music, dialogue, tracking shots and close ups to create a climax of a despairing ending to the film Gallipoli. Courage was the main theme communicated by Weir throughout the film. The film exposes an underlying message for teenagers, to be brave in our everyday lives when wanting to achieve your goals
The novel All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, the poem, “In Flanders Field,” by John McCrae and the film, Gallipoli, Demonstrates how war makes men feel unimportant and, forces soldiers to make hard decisions that no one should half to make. In war people were forced to fight for their lives. Men were forced to kill one another to get their opinion across to the opposing sides. When men went home to their families they were too scared to say what had happened to them in the war. Many people had a glorified thought about how war is, Soldiers didn't tell them what had truly happened to them.
Here is a question — how did the ANZAC legend develop? The legend of Anzac was born on 25 April 1915, and was reaffirmed in eight months' fighting on Gallipoli. Although there was no military victory, the Australians displayed great courage, endurance, initiative, discipline, and mate-ship. Such qualities came to be seen as the Anzac spirit. The ANZAC book written and illustrated in Gallipoli by the men of Anzac —- The Anzac book became the finest “trench publication” produced during the Great War, and was an instant bestseller when first released in 1916. Created by soldiers under enemy fire and in extreme hardship, the illustrations, stories, cartoons, and poems were intended as a Christmas and New Year diversion for soldiers facing a harsh winter in the trenches on Gallipoli.
I will also discuss how the young, naive soldiers arrived at war, not knowing what warfare entailed. They were shocked by the conditions and the casualties. I will also discuss the bravery shown by the ANZACS in the most dangerous conditions. I will conclude with my reasons for why the Gallipoli campaign holds such value and importance in Australian history and ideology. Australian men were very keen to get involved in the war because they felt that it was their duty and if they didn’t go to war it would make them look cowardly.
All Quiet On The Western Front and Gallipoli are two stories independent of each other that chronicle the experiences of two separate young men in the same war. Paul Baumer, a nineteen-year old German soldier, narrates the story of All Quiet On The Western Front. This tragic story begins with Baumer in training camp and concludes with his untimely death. Archy, an eighteen-year old Australian athlete, is the main character in Gallipoli. Gallipoli, a peninsula in Turkey, becomes the background for another account of a young life wasted. Although these two young men are from opposing forces of the war and lived on opposite sides of the equator, they are alike in every way else.
Lewis, R. (n.d.). The Home Front - World War 2. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from www.anzacday.org.au: http://www.anzacday.org.au/history/ww2/homefront/overview.html
Walking with the enemy is a movie that is based on World War II during the 1940s when a young boy named Alec disguises himself as a Nazi to get his family out of the concentration camp that they are in. This movie was very moving because it showed what happened during World War II and how brutally the Jews were treated. This film was historically accurate, many critics and historians believed this because of how close to life this was. His film was based on a true story and that probably drew many people. Walking with the enemy is a fantastic way to learn about World War II and what happened during it. Walking with the enemy focuses even more on the Holocaust because the main character was a Jew trying to save his family. The movie walking with the enemy is a very good choice for a movie because of all the accurate and real-life events that it depicts.
Peter Weir’s 1981 film Gallipoli can in every sense of the phrase be called an ‘Australian classic’. The impact and effect this film has had upon the psyche and perspective of several generations of Australians has been significant. Whilst it can be argued that every Australian is aware of the ANZAC legend, and the events that occurred on the Turkish beaches in 1915, Weir’s film encapsulates and embodies a cultural myth which is now propagated as fact and embraced as part of the contemporary Australian identity. The film projects a sense of Australian nationalism that grew out of the 1970’s, and focuses on what it ‘means’ to be an Australian in a post-colonial country. In this way Gallipoli embodies a sense of ‘Australian-ness’ through the depiction of mateship and through the stark contrast of Australia to Britain. A sense of the mythic Australia is further projected through the cinematic portrayal of the outback, and the way in which Australia is presented in isolation from the rest of the world. These features combined create not only a sense of nationalism, but also a mythology stemming from the ANZAC legend as depicted within the film.
In Paul Fussell’s book, The Great War and Modern Memory, he discusses some of the ways in which World War I affected the men who fought in it, specifically those in the trenches. One of Fussell’s main points in his book as he tries to characterize World War I was the widespread irony that spread in its wake. Even though the focus of his book is based upon the British perspective of World War I, Fussell also briefly mentions the effects of the war upon other countries involved in the war.
The water diviner is one of Australia’s most famous cultural artefact as it thoroughly explores all aspects of The Gallipoli Battle from all perspectives. The film exhibits cultural representations through characterisations and settings. The accents and slang of the characters in the film display a strong Australian heritage, which educates the audience about Australian’s and their culture. Throughout the initial stages of the movie the setting of the scenes is placed in the rural Australian outback. The Outback is a common name in Australian culture that represents vast, unpopulated and mostly parched areas that are apart of Australia’s remote regions.
1. General Overview- The miniseries ANZAC Girls, set in World War I, displays the harsh conditions and extraordinary stories of nurses in the time of war. The miniseries deeply explores the war efforts of five nurses working for the Australian Army Nursing Service in Egypt, the Dardanelles and Lemnos. The action begins in 1915 as the nurses arrive in Cairo, Egypt. With no time wasted, all had little time to get to know one another, and the women are immediately faced with gruesome jobs of newly injured soldiers. During the Gallipoli campaign, sisters Olive Haynes, Alice Ross-King, Hilda Steele, Elsie Cook and Matron Grace Wilson moved far and wide providing the best possible care for the Australian Diggers, which then all the nurses experience the horror of front line, fighting without weapons. The series starts
Throughout the course of this essay I will be discussing whether or not we should continue to commemorate wars, I will be mainly referring to Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday as my examples because these are the biggest commemorations for any of the wars in British history.