The film Kokoda, directed by Alistair Grierson, portrays a fairly accurate representation of the hardships and battles fought in Kokoda in 1942. This is shown through its alikeness between the terrain, conditions, disease, mateship and courage. The budget and plot of the film do limit the capability to show some important details such as the Australian’s khaki uniforms and the intentions of the Japanese. Grierson’s portrayal of the terrain and conditions of Kokoda is a great depiction of what it was like for soldiers fighting in 1942 as evidenced by a firsthand account and a diary of a soldier walking the trail. The environment of the Kokoda trail is described as having “heavy rain and cold [weather]” by Private John Stewart Clarke. In his diary, he mentions particularly the “muddy track” and the fact that with “no dry clothes”, he was “wet . . . all night”. Similar conditions are shown in the film as the men face spontaneous bursts of heavy rainfall. The Australians do not change clothes throughout the film suggesting that they too, had no spare clothes. The mud on the Kokoda trail, is clearly highlighted in the film when one particular soldier is lying face down in a large pool of mud. When …show more content…
the man is helped up by a passing soldier, he is covered head to toe in mud with only his eyes visible. Furthermore, in an interview with Norm Pfoefer, an Australian Soldier that walked the trail, Pfoefer recounts “it was . . . pouring rain all the time” and that “you’d sink down in the mud and then you’d go two steps forward and come back one it was that slippery”. This description resembles the environment depicted in the film well as the men struggle to climb the uphill muddy land. In particular, one Australian Johnno asks “does it ever end?” which coincides with Pfoefer’s use of the popular phrase, taking two steps forward and one step back. This phrase refers to something that seemingly never ends as every time some progress is made, something cancels it out. Thus, the never ending feeling paired with muddy conditions occurs in both real-life and the film. Therefore the environment of the Kokoda Trail is portrayed historically accurate as proven by Private Clarke and Norm Pfoefer. As determined by Norm Pfoefer and Laurie Howson, Kokoda conveys an authentic portrayal of the disease and sickness soldiers faced when in Kokoda.
Soldier Norm Pfoefer states he “had scrub typhus and malaria” and was “flown back to Port Moresby and went into the hospital there”. The symptoms of these diseases also appear in the film, For example, fatigue, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms such as diarrhoea and blood in stools are all conveyed. Laurie Howson recalls that “most of the fellas were crook with dysentery” . Many soldiers in the film also suffer from dysentery. In particular, one Australian jokes that it “feels like me guts are coming out of me bum” in reference to his dysentery. Hence, Kokoda gives a historically correct depiction of the disease faced in
Kokoda. Kokoda creates a realistic illustration of the courage and mateship the Australian soldiers had for each other and the Papuans as proven by a nurse that was in Kokoda and a poem written Bert Beros. Firstly, nurse Helen McCallum recounts her time at Kokoda as having “a wonderful atmosphere” as she had such a “great admiration for [the] men”. She describes the men as being “very supportive of each other” which is a common theme from the film too. For instance, an Australian ‘choco’, Max, is injured in a surprise attack. The other soldiers (including his brother, Jack) refuse to leave him to die and instead create a stretcher for them to carry him on. Ergo, the mateship between the Australian soldiers was conveyed accurately. In addition, the director also shows the importance of the ‘fuzzy wuzzies’ to the injured Australians. In the film, when soldiers were injured, the Papuans would carry the wounded to the ‘hospital’ for the little treatment they could offer. Also, in the scene where Max is alone in a hut with minimum capability to defend himself against the enemy, a Papuan walks in to Max’s relief. The use of the papuan in a high intensity scene is shown to put the viewer at rest, associating the ‘fuzzy wuzzies’ with safety. A poem written by Sapper Bert Beros also associates the Papuans with safety when he refers to them as “angels” who “treat [the soldiers] like . . . saint[s]. Through these examples, it is evident that the film accurately demonstrates the mateship between the Australian soldiers and the Papuans. The film Kokoda, although portrays many accurate details about the Kokoda campaign, dismisses many vital parts to create a plot that focuses on one particular part of the campaign instead of the whole battle. There are a few discrepancies in the plot as the director strives to develop a more suspenseful, commercially popular film. Although facts about the Japanese’s intentions and the Australian’s uniforms differ from real-life, it is a great resource for viewers to understand the Kokoda trail in an in depth way. To conclude, Kokoda is a great educational resource for evidence on the environment, conditions, sickness and mateship. However, to gain full knowledge of the Kokoda campaign, it is advised the audience have other sources of information to brief on facts missed or changed in the film.
Kokoda track campaign was one of the most important battles in WWII. There are several reasons why this battle was so significant. Firstly, Kokoda track campaign stopped the invasion of Australia. Secondly, the Kokoda track campaign lead to the victory of WWII with the defeat of Japan. Lastly, the conditions that all the troops at the Kokoda campaign had to go through was atrocious and against the ally troop’s odds. This battle leads to the development of the nation. It was an important aspect in WW2 because it leads to Japan’s defeat. This is why Kokoda was the most important battle fought by the Australian’s in WWII.
Rolf de Herr’s 2002 film The Tracker represented some human beings in the past who have been extremely naïve, barbarous, and bigoted when it came to dealing with Indigenous Australians. This film portrayed white racism in the characters of the Fanatic, the Veteran, and at first the Recruit until he becomes stronger and eventually changes his demeanor towards the Aboriginal people. Even though the Tracker experiences immense hardship throughout the movie he was always two steps ahead of his bosses since he was very familiar with the land and was also able to outsmart his superior officers. The Tracker is a gloomy film which presents the dark past of Australia that must never be forgotten.
middle of paper ... ... After I was disposed of, the corporal then made the majority of the 27 sufferers march with the rest of the troops. Most of the men, including an Australian chaplain, died during succeeding weeks, largely as a result of this calculated brutality.’ (Iggulden, 2009, p.22)
The Kokoda Battle occurred from the 21st July 1942 to 16th November in 1942, during World War II. It was a campaign which resulted in an aggressive fight between the Japanese and the Allies. I believe that, based on my research, the Kokoda Battle in World War II was a significant battle for Australians to a great extent. I believe this for three reasons: firstly, the battle was culturally significant to Australia: secondly, the battle was strategically significant to Australia: and thirdly, the battle was of military significance to Australia. I will argue that these reasons are three strong reasons.
In his documentary Classified X, Martin Van Peebles describes three areas where African-Americans could be receive some sanctuary from the racism that pervaded almost all Hollywood films. These three places were: the Hollywood version of an all-Black film, the church, and entertainment. Black culture and music is prominent in mainstream society, but the people behind this culture don’t always receive recognition and respect for their creations. Mainstream White pop culture excitedly consumes and appropriates Black culture, but disrespects the source.
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
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.
The film ‘Saving Private Ryan’ is a Steven Spielberg film released in 1998 which aimed to make a both shocking and effective portrayal of warfare. The film shows realistically the severities and horror of warfare. Spielberg admitted that he was ‘looking for realism the whole time’. A conventional war film aims to show fearless soldiers and frightened or brutal enemies. Spielberg wanted to show fear from both sides and highlight the terror felt by young men. I feel it is easy to become detached from the fact that many soldiers were young men with individual lives and varying views. The film uses de-saturated colour so that the audience feels the film is older. The effect of de-saturated colour allows audiences to feel that they have also taken the step back in time along with Private Ryan. Another effect is the use of handheld cameras which allows the audience to feel they are in the battle and moving up the beach or across ground. Spielberg saw the opportunity to use D-day as an opening scene. Not only would D-day be an action packed opening scene it would also show its many brutalities. This scene is the film’s selling point and almost trademark. Finally the film shows how ordinary men find themselves fighting on the frontline.
Back to more agonizing death, in the chapter “In The Field,” the platoon is hit with a devastating loss of life, and one of the men suffers very deep shame and guilt for the part he played. The platoon makes camp in a field along the river, despite the locals warnings to stay out. It’s raining and within a short time, they realize they’ve made camp in the village’s toilet. As the water rises, the field becomes deep muck. During the night, Kiowa’s best buddy, a young soldier, clicked on his flashlight to show Kiowa a picture and within a millisecond mortar rounds started exploding all around them, Kiowa was wounded, went under the water and muck, and drowned. O’Brien himself stated, “There were bubbles where Kiowa’s head should’ve been” (O’Brien
When an individual looks at war they often think of physicality. Yet if soldiers have insufficient resources, these physical challenges they must face, become or seem almost impossible. Through Roberts time as a soldier, he encounters a barbarous gas attack. Robert solicits the men to take out their handkerchiefs if they want to live: “we’ve got no handkerchiefs” […] (124). The men have no gas masks, nor did they have handkerchiefs to give themselves an alternative solution. Therefore, Robert advocates
Lee Mun Wah is a documentary filmmaker, educator, author, therapist, and diversity trainer. He is also the founder of Stirfry seminars and Consulting which is a diversity training company. On January 31, 2017, Lee Mun Wah came to Iowa State University to host an interactive session on diversity in the Sun Room located in the Memorial Union.
"Baraka" exemplifies everything Emile Durkheim referred to as sociological functionalism. This is the perspective that various parts of a society or social system affect other parts within that system, and how they function in the overall continuity of that system. Durkheim showed that all the aspects of human society work together much like the parts of a machine. The concept of social solidarity - ties that bind people to one another and to society as a whole- play a major role in the lives of humans. This film reflects these ideas.
In the film Kokoda, the Japanese were illustrated unjustifiably, and the film was biased as it did not explore the film from Japan's point of view, and thus was an unreliable historical source of Information. The film depicts the Japanese as ruthless, and their faces are hidden in the film. In the scene where Wilstead played by Ewen Leslie is bayoneted in the eye the by Japanese soldier, the Japanese has disguised his face and covered his body in a ghillie suit to camouflage himself. Although, this is historically inaccurate as in reality the Japanese soldiers actually look like the people in Figure 1. Therefore the soldiers in the film were clearly not interpreted as well as what they really were. This could be due to poor funding of the film
I chose to analyze Despicable Me, an animated film geared towards a younger audience, because I was interested in examining underlying theories and messages that this film would be relaying to its viewers. Often times, when watching animated films, children are not aware of these messages, as they are absorbed by the characters, special effects, and humor. But as we have learned throughout this semester, our brains are subconsciously primed by the various surroundings we are exposed to. Since we also studied the impacts of entertainment, such as television and video games, on children, I wanted to see how a popular children’s film might also affect them.
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence is a Steven Spielberg science fiction drama film, which conveys the story of a younger generation robot, David, who yearns for his human mother’s love. David’s character stimulates the mind-body question. What is the connection between our “minds” and our bodies?