Thin Red Line: Glory of War

While discussing Thin Red Line we talked about the role nature plays in the movie. The director emphasizes nature in this movie. During battle scenes there would be some visual cut away to some aspect of nature. The focus would not be on the tactics of the battle or the soldiers' heroics. One point i have been thinking about since that class discussion, is the indifference of nature shown by those cut aways.

Nature does not care about which humans win or lose the day. Nature will simply live on. While some of the soldiers discuss awards and medals during the heat of battle nature continues on. People are dying and a bat hangs from a tree, or a bird flies over head. There is no glory in killing in nature. Killing happens and then nature moves on.

Another point is the separation of humanity and nature. We separate ourselves from nature. Taking pride in our humanity and civilization. This movie could be both thought of as breaking that norm by having nature be shown during battle or it could be further separating humans from nature. It depends on your point of view.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Film Techniques

The short film Bunny used many high angle overhead shots to depict the point of view of the moth. This perspective puts the audience in the position of the moth so we feel more sympathy when the bunny starts trying to kill it. Dutch angles, or canted angles were used primarily during the oven sequence to promote confusion and uncertainty since this is uncharted territory for the bunny and the audience. I thought that maybe the moth was the spirit of the bunny's husband because of the close-up of the moth on their wedding photo and the fact that the moth is so persistent in trying to get the bunny's attention.  In Harold and Maude, the first scene we viewed starts off in deep focus since we can see both the mother and young women talking in the foreground as well as Harold's "suicide" in the outside garden. The camera interacts mainly with Harold during this scene especially when he breaks the fourth wall by looking at it directly. This act acknowledges the pr...
Read more

Exploring Film Techniques

“Bunny” is a short animation that depicts the transformation of the earthly body to the celestial form as the protagonist transitions into the afterlife. The moth symbolizes the guide, and we get this perception because of the different techniques used to portray the moth. The moth has a musical theme that has a driving and whimsical rhythm, giving the viewer an association of mischief with the insect. The shots portray the moth interfering with the bunny who is hard at work. The viewer resonates with the bunny’s reaction that the moth is an annoyance because the bunny is often in the side of the frame, with an open space for the moth to appear. The viewer expects that the moth will enter the frame to fill that space, yet when it does, the viewer still gets the sense that the moth is an unwelcome presence because of the bunny’s reaction as well as the presumed stupidity of the moth. The moment of truth happens when the bunny enters the oven and the moth’s spiritual significance is rev...
Read more

Dead Man

Cold Fever and Dead Man both heavily rely on funeral rituals. Both main characters are slowly headed towards performing one, whether they know it or not. What struck me about William's Blake character is that he never seems to be aware of his slow approach towards death. He does not seem to realize he is mortally wounded, and perhaps if he could get back to civilization, he could survive. At the end of the film, William is still alive during his own funeral, making him an active participate in the ritual similar to Hirata's participation in his parents' burial rites. Both protagonists are in denial about something. For William, he is denial about his mortality, whereas Hirata is in denial about the importance and sacredness of a funeral ritual. Their journeys parallel each other in that regard, as they come closer to realizing what is truly important in their respective lives. By having Johnny Depp's character named after a famous English poet, it lets the character b...
Read more