War Movies Still Matter
They touch us with their realism and intensity, they encourage us to think and become engaged citizens due to the gravity of conflict, and they force us to consider such virtues as sacrifice and courage while touching upon ethics, morality, and family.
War movies have been a central draw for the motion picture industry since the very beginning of the medium, starting with early blockbusters such as The Birth of a Nation (1915) and The General (1926) which focused on the American Civil War era, a conflict which happened to still haunt the memories of many American film-goers of the time. There were also movies based around World War I, however, due to technological limitations and the public’s unease with exploiting the recent experience of total war, most of these movies were unable to seize the attention of a public that was flocking to theaters in order to escape the fresh and festering reality of the just-ended war rather than relive it on the silver screen.
Nevertheless, regardless of impact or experiences within certain conflicts, the ubiquity and success of warfare within America’s new entertainment option was unmistakable, and its presence still looms large today.
The visceral feelings aroused by scenes, characters, and situations in these films touch our lives and speak to us much more forcefully than the latest frat house comedy or space opera.
But what is it, exactly, that makes battle so alluring to the public that war movies or war-themed movies remain box office juggernauts? And how is it that these films are so well made as to perennially garner the acclaim of Oscar voters and film critics?
For one, there is no denying that a host of the most well regarded pictures in cinematic history are set amid or against the backdrop of war. Gone With the Wind, Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypse Now, Patton, and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly along with recent hits such as American Sniper and Gran Torino, wherein Clint Eastwood’s character deals with his Korean War past, all introduced the viewing public to war and the human detritus that it leaves in its wake.
In a sense, these are the most emotive and evocative of films due to the human element that is present, as well as their ability to portray the sacrifice of these — historically — men, and now men and women. Every day for over 15 years, with our conflicts in the Middle East, we have seen the tears of separation and reunion along with the inconsolable grief of loss. With the loss of each soldier and the fracturing of each family on the silver screen, we can instantly visualize the faces we see on the evening news, in the papers, or those of our own neighbors. The visceral feelings aroused by scenes, characters, and situations in these films touch our lives and speak to us much more forcefully than the latest frat house comedy or space opera.
In essence, it is the same moral groundwork that made the Star Wars films so popular, despite how completely dissimilar they are from the typical American war movie. Many of these films represent the love and craving for freedom and liberty.
Even while Hollywood floods theaters with films set in the alien locales of Afghanistan and Iraq, movies that touch upon past wars within living memory are just as apt to affect and move audiences due to the connections and relationships that viewers have with the warriors who stepped foot on the battlefields of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Those aged souls still traverse our lives, and those who do not physically inhabit this world do so in spirit as well as within the memories of those whose lives they have touched. They are our grandfathers, fathers, and uncles, and to see their harrowing efforts and the hellish existence they led depicted in a motion picture is heartrending and potent.
It can be said that movies of a recent vintage featuring more historically distant conflicts can have just as profound an effect on moviegoers. The reason for this is not due to any type of personal connection or nostalgia factor, rather it is in the philosophical foundations upon which these films are based, and, because of this, the battles or wars featured in certain films attract much more fanfare and adulation than many independent films and summer blockbusters. In essence, it is the same moral groundwork that made the Star Wars films so popular, despite how completely dissimilar they are from the typical American war movie. Many of these films represent the love and craving for freedom and liberty.
For example, it is in cinematic efforts such as 300, The Patriot, and Braveheart (forgiving historical inaccuracies) that audiences find these principles lauded and celebrated, and they, in turn, lionize such films for the fact that they touch upon their belief in liberty, independence, and self-ownership. A typical moviegoer feels the force of these powers; they would never be able to achieve their dreams or have the opportunity to achieve their full potential without the concepts of freedom and liberty that are promoted in such films. The notion of freedom is timeless, from the age of the Greeks, through the era of revolutionary colonists, within the hearts of mid-19th-century abolitionists, and within all people who shuddered to think of the harsh boots of tyranny and authoritarianism choking off the western way of life. These movies, showcasing the triumph of freedom and liberation over a potential dark age of totalitarian conformity, are just as important and compelling to individuals as when they watch a war movie and consider a soldier as a mother, father, grandfather, sibling, or pioneering and principled ancestor standing up for such cherished values. Liberty, it can be said, is quintessentially American, just as this genre of a motion picture is.
Alternatively, the world of cinematic warfare is not as pure and patriotic as a Memorial Day parade. Movies, especially since the Vietnam War, now bring into focus the shadowy and less focused-upon side of the conflict — the politics.
War movies celebrate the sacrifice and valor of men and women in uniform, but they are doing a greater service by shining a light on the political aspects that precede and accompany combat. Depictions of politicians prevaricating over motivations for war, the reasoning behind certain grand strategies, and the ramifications of military use, i.e. “good war,” or “bad war,” are now fair game in the cinematic arts. The soldiers are acknowledged, but the decision makers are being held much more accountable by filmmakers. In this regard, highlight films would be Michael Moore’s documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 — though it has issues of its own, the principle of holding government accountable for putting lives in danger is noble — as well as The Ides of March. Though the latter is focused on politics and campaigning in general rather than military decisions, it is certainly a film that allows viewers to see the dirty side of politics as well as how decisions are made by politicians and elected officials whether in terms of domestic policy, monetary policy, or foreign affairs, and therefore is a decent film to consider in this context.
Due to the controversy that continues to dominate any conversation around the U.S. invasion of Iraq during the Bush administration, many military movies are focusing on the bad decisions and how they affect the soldiers, their families, and the nation (the concept of “blowback” is very strong and persuasive, as is the astronomical monetary cost of war that politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, willfully ignore). Some reviewers and critics herald such films because they reinforce their perspectives, and yet others excoriate them or an unseemly political bias, but neither side is right, nor is either wrong. In a sense, these films force viewers to participate at a higher level, to think. Warfare without forethought is reckless insanity, and the military successes and failures of history are available to us to study and then to apply lessons learned to our modern times, such as the idea that a military should be purely defensive except for when offensive action has been taken against them. While it is not optimal, especially considering the large amount of money that the United States spills into education, if it takes a movie about World War II, Afghanistan, Operation Desert Storm, or the Mexican War to inspire a previously unthinking moviegoer to learn more, become a better informed citizen, and to become engaged with how the elected officials of the country handle such issues, so be it.
Presently, many film-goers grouse that many movies are either sequels, remakes, or within the scope of the endless stream of superhero and comic book movies. It doesn’t seem so hyperbolic to state that there is a dearth of smart, original, and engaging features arriving in theaters. In that case, the stories and cinematography of military films are fresh as well as an opportunity for self-reflection. They touch us with their realism and intensity, they encourage us to think and become engaged citizens due to the gravity of conflict, and they force us to consider such virtues as sacrifice and courage while touching upon ethics, morality, and family.
So long as warfare exists, and politicians believe that the option of sending our volunteer army into conflict is the correct course, war movies will survive and matter to our culture because the connections, the narratives, and the principles of the men and women involved are our stories and history. War movies are not produced as pure adventurism and escapism, for they are much more than a two-hour diversion on a Saturday afternoon. War movies tell the story of history, of people, and that while no one ever desires war, sometimes combat is a necessary means to preserve and provide liberty and freedom through the sacrifice of everyday people.
