War+Movies

toc = = =**War Movies**=



War movies can be simply defined as the movies that chronicled the great battles of our times, dating back to its emergence as a movie genre during the first and second world wars, the Vietnam war, and contemporary battles such as the Cold war and the crisis that had occurred and is occurring in Iraq. This movie genre has been very popular in depicting the hardships facing the soldiers that entered the battlefields, but what is a little less apparent is that most if not all movies documenting these battles were influenced by such factors as propaganda and patriotism.

The Beginning
When analyzing the history of the this movie genre, it should be noted that although war movies were being made as early as 1898, which chronicled the Spanish-American War, it was until after the first world war, specifically during the peace time of the mid-1920’s, did accurate movies be produced which exposed the horrors involved on the battlefields. (Dirks, 2006) The movies were called “The Big Parade(1925)” and “What Price Glory?(1926)” and worked to clearly paint an explicit picture in terms of what really happened during the first epic World War of our times. (Dirks, 2006) One great consistency between all these movies being produced was the strong patriotism and heroic morale the characters possessed, and this, in a way, pulled the country together and brought upon great support for what the government, through the army, were accomplishing. Another important aspect that was finding its way into the movies in this genre were the combining of other movie genres such as romance, comedy, and suspense thrillers. (Dirks, 2006)



Before WWI
As time progressed, more WWI movies were being produced, however a great amount of the content was coming from British directors and many of them attempted to warn the U.S.A. of the forthcoming conflict with Germany and their allies. (Dirks, 2006) The U.S.A. decided to follow suit by directors who had begun producing movies portraying the future, obviously the next WWII and classic hits such as the “Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)” and “Waterloo Bridge (1939)” were created to portray the struggles faced by America and its people towards the upcoming clash with the Nazi regime. (Dirks, 2006)



During WWII
By the time the United States entered the Second World War, the British cinema had already created movies depicting the current war at hand, and great patriotism and heroism were being portrayed in hits such as “In Which We Serve (1942)”, and “Mrs. Miniver (1942), which was crowned the best picture of the year. (Dirks, 2006) The American directors followed suit by releasing historical movies such as “Casablanca (1942)” and “Since You Went Away (1944)”, and these movies brought about the same effects the British cinema brought to their country, greatly increasing the support of the nation towards their government and involvement in the World War.



After WWII
After the conclusion of World War II and all the way up to the 1970’s, movies were being produced that chronicled the many famous battles that occurred during WWII and epic films were produced such as “The Longest Day (1962)”, “The Great Escape (1963)”, and “Patton (1970)”, which had Oscar winning George C. Scott surprisingly refuse the Oscar for the movie, explaining himself with the notion that he was not in competition with his fellow actors. (allexpert, 2006) This era for the war movies genre during the 1960’s and 1970’s brought many famous actors together in bonding roles to triumph through the WWII atrocities occurring around them. (Dirks, 2006)



Korean and Vietnam Wars
After WWII, the Korean and Vietnam Wars drew the attention of the movie directors of the time, and soon more productions and more money were being made through depictions of the battles, triumphs, and struggles faced by the soldiers bravely fighting the righteous war, and this era in movie genre was emphasized by classical heroes such as the ones portrayed in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam trilogies, and Sylvester Stallone’s heroic Rambo Trilogies. (Dirks, 2006) Many things stayed consistent throughout the progression of the movies during time in this genre, including the high attitudes of patriotism and good morale, the army’s reputation as a righteous force traveling across the world saving lives, and finally the successful propaganda the government was providing the people of the country, banding them together and in full support of the country’s actions and beliefs of the politics of the world. (Dirks, 2006)



Present Day
In our contemporary times, this movie genre has seen themes such as the American Civil War, spy/espionage, and Holocaust being brought to the viewers with movies such as “Gettysburg (1993)”, “The Sum of all Fears (2002)”, and “The Schindler’s List (1993)”. Dirks, 2006) The list continues on to our present time with epic movies that go to great extents, through technological advancements and effects, to clearly and accurately depict the battles that have been fought and these movies are: “Behind Enemy Lines (2001)”, and “Black Hawk Down (2001)”. (Dirks, 2006) With the existent of these films found in this movie genre, every generation has been able to visually capture an idea of how the war has been and will be for the brave individuals that choose to protect and represent their homeland.



**Elements**
War movies have specific elements embedded in their structure and this is largely due to comply with the demands the consumer has in terms of what is desired and appropriate. One of these elements is specific topics or environments the plot is based on, and some these include:


 * “POW camp experiences and escapes
 * Submarine warfare
 * Espionage
 * Personal heroism
 * “war is hell” brutalities,
 * Air dog fights,
 * Tough trench/infantry experiences
 * Male bonding buddy adventures during wartime.”



(Dirks, 2006)

Another element in these action packed movies are themes that stay consistent through the plot in order to allow the consumer to understand and appreciate and some of these include:


 * “Combat, survivor and escape stories
 * Tales of sacrifice and struggle
 * Studies of the futility and inhumanity of battle
 * Effects of war on society
 * Intelligent and profound explorations of the moral and human issues.”

(Dirks, 2006)

**Propaganda Influence**
The movies present in this genre have had two major types of impact: propaganda influence and genuine patriotism. The government has had a great amount of involvement in terms of the movies that were being produced on the topic of the battles being fought around the world. Productions such as “Operation Hollywood (2004)”, “Guts and Glory (2002)”, and “The WWII Combat Film (196, 2003 ed) all aim to expose the heavy influence the Pentagon has had on the media and go as far as saying that although film makers are allowed to create their productions freely as they want, it was much more convenient to deal with the Pentagon. (Rank, 2004) When a director receives approval of their scripts from the Pentagon, costs are drastically reduced in terms of military equipment from weapons, planes, to local settings, and even troops. (Rank, 2004) In terms of the Pentagon’s approval one key factor is prominent and that is the production must “enhance recruiting and retention of military personnel”, and if this cannot be sustained by the producers, they would be subject to making their own props for the set or rent heavily expensive equipment. (Rank, 2004) This is just one deterrence out of many that are placed in front of the producers by the government to ensure that the army is looked upon through the views of the Pentagon. The genuine patriotism came from the viewers that watched these movies throughout history and supported the characters in the productions to victory and allowed their minds to be conditioned to believe the movie’s output of war as a reality. At the same time, these supporters were indirectly supporting the actions taken by the government in the past, the present, and the future and this support is one that is going to continue for many generations to come.



=Picture References=


 * **Image** || **Website Link** ||
 * Confessions of a Nazi Spy || [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_a_Nazi_Spy] ||
 * Waterloo Bridge || [|http://imdb.com/title/tt0033238] ||
 * In Which We Serve || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * Mrs. Miniver || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * Since You wet Away || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * The Longest Day || http://imdb.com/title/tt0056197/ ||
 * The Great Escape || http://imdb.com/title/tt0056197/ ||
 * Patton || http://imdb.com/title/tt0056197/ ||
 * Rambo Trilogies || [|http://imdb.com/title/tt0056197/] ||
 * Oliver Stone Trilogies || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * Gettysburg || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * The Sum of All Fears || http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html ||
 * The Schindler's List || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * Behind Enemy Lines || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * Black Hawk Down || [|http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms.html] ||
 * War Image (first image on page) || __[|http://www.cfpeople.org/military/040903] [|/capt.1049657554.iraq_britain_iraq_war_nywd140.jpg__] ||
 * Submarine || http://optimism.cc/personal/images/submarine.gif ||
 * Dogfighters || http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/sparkes/images/aspitix.jpg ||
 * President Bush Image || http://www.iranian.com/Shorts/2004/April/Images/bush.jpg ||
 * President Bush Image || http://www.iranian.com/Shorts/2004/April/Images/bush.jpg ||

=Article References=
 * **Article/Website** || **Link** ||
 * War and Anti War Film || http://www.filmsite.org/warfilms4.html ||
 * Hollywood and War Movies || [|http://webserve.govst.edu/users/ghrank/] [|Political/Cause%20Groups/hollywood.htm] ||
 * Hollywood and War Movies || [|http://webserve.govst.edu/users/ghrank/] [|Political/Cause%20Groups/hollywood.htm] ||