#aplitwar

[rachelconnell-blog]

Anti-War War Movie

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes places in Berlin during the Nazi reign. The film establishes a strong anti-war stance by focusing on the children of the war. Bruno's innocence in his perspective of the boy beyond the fence emphasizes how the actions of the concentration camps are so vile they can not be comprehended by an un-jaded, young mind. When Bruno is killed along with his friend at the end of the film, the anguish of his family is shown. The filmmakers illustrate the pain of war through this final scene, equating the pain of Bruno's family to the pain every parent in the concentration camp feels daily. We are all the same in death and the death of loved ones, no special treatment.

#aplitwar

[colleenvincent-blog-blog]

The Lion King

The Lion King is a good example of an anti-war war movie. Simba does not want to be king after his father dies so he leaves the pride land. Once he leaves the pride land gets destroyed and losses its food supply. The lions are being controlled by Scar and the hyenas. One of the lions, Nala, goes to search for help. She finds Simba and tells him what has happened and how they need his help. Simba says he does not want to go to pride rock and does not want to be king. He gets in to fight with Nala on whether or not he should go back. Simba finally chooses to go back hoping to not have to fight with Scar (his uncle) and the hyenas. He asks Scar to step down so he can take his rightful spot as king, but scar refuses. Simba gives him the option of doing it the easy way or the hard way. Scar still won’t step down, so Simba starts a war that he didn’t want to have.

#aplitwar

[ryandancingisntasportpeters-blog]

So my anti-war war epic was from the game fallout 3. The game takes place in a post-nuclear war scenario. Most of the game is based around fighting through the "wastelands" to do the generic hero role, helping people and what not. Although most of it is fighting, there are subtle notes of anti-war. The biggest one for me was the quote "War, war never changes."

#aplitwar

[jessicacreech-blog]

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

A good example of an anti-war war movie is The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  This movie is about a German boy who befriends a Jewish boy.  However, this is during WWII and the Jewish boy is in a concentration camp that the German boys’ dad runs.    The German boy is constantly taught how awful Jews are from a very young age.  His whole family hates Jews and it takes him a lot of thought and defiance to realize that what he is being taught is wrong.  Also, the movie shows how much pain the family of Nazis went through.  They had to deal with the killing and violence even though they weren’t directly involved in it. What makes this an anti-war movie is the different perspective that it gives the audience.  The audience is able to see how awful war is on both sides that are fighting.  They can also see how a little boy was able to overcome prejudice and see people for who they really are.   If he can do this at such a young age so can everyone else.       

#aplitwar

[erikkoberstein-blog]

Valkyrie

The movie Valkyrie is a great instance of an anti-war war movie because it shows the hardships of when a leader like Hitler comes to power. The movie is about a general, Tom Cruise, and a group of many high generals and captains within the Nazi army who try to kill Himmler and Hitler. After failing multiple times before then this is one of the last attempts to kill him. The movie shows us the hardships of fighting in different environments, from the city to the Sahara of Africa. While fighting inAfrica, Tom Cruise’s character loses an eye and a hand, this is significant because it shows the hardships and struggles in and after the war. Plus, Valkyrie shows how war and the wrong leader can lead to people hating the country and the leader. Because Hitler is the leader ofGermanyand nobody in the world likes him they are trying to kill him which represents the idea that nobody likes him and the country.

#aplitwar

[mr-samad-blog-blog]

Blood Diamond

Blood Diamond, one of my personal favorite movies, is an excellent example off an anti war movie. While the movie is full of action, blood, and gory scenes, it highlights the negatives of war and even makes everyday Americans who buy jewelry take a step back and think about the roots of a diamond. Even though that might have not been the main focus, the point of the movie was to show the negatives and horrible parts of war. It might be glorified as one thing but thousands of innocent civilians are killed and several children made soldiers just because of the greediness of a select few. The scenes in it are made bloody for a reason to show the audience the negatives of war. 

#aplitwar

[erinvansloten]

Avatar

Avatar is a recent version of an anti-war war movie. While it is fiction and computer animated, Avatar still highlights the dark side of war.  The local tribe is forced to go to war when their land is being used to find valuable minerals. While the tribe is adamant on peace and spirituality, they go into a war that not only kills many people but hurts their environment. Special effects do make fighting scenes entertaining but also showcase the damage and destruction of fighting. This movie is able to show the bad side of war in a situation that can be applied to life today.

#aplitwar

[amandahart08-blog-blog]

The Platoon

The Platoon is a great example of an anti-war war movie. Throughout the entire movie, there are repeated scenes of meltdowns due to the stress of the war and how it effects the fighters. It also illustrates the men in the platoon fighting against each other which symbolizes the harsh environment and “side effects” of war that outsiders may not understand.

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[baldwinliu-blog]

Anti-War Movie

Iron Man is an anti-war movie, although not explicitly. The movie centers around Tony Stark, the head of a weapons company turned superhero. Stark is kidnapped by terrorists who try to coerce Stark into making them a missile in exchange for his freedom. Stark instead creates his incredible, ass-kicking suit and escapes. Stark, after personally seeing what his own creations are doing to the world and other humans, shuts down his company's manufacturing of weapons. This is a clear example of anti-war sentiment as Tony Stark, a man who had created deadly, mass-destruction weapons, stops producing weapons after he first-handedly sees what war does. Furthermore, there is a scene where Stark flies over a village and unleashes his wrath just to punish a few terrorists. This scene portrays the mass-scale violence now tangible to armies and perhaps instills some anti-fear sentiment in the viewers.

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[sarahsonego-blog]

Avatar

As fictional as the movie Avatar is, is can definitely be classified as "anti-war". While almost two-thirds of the three hour long movie is the battle between worlds, we are kept in suspense through the Romeo and Juliet type love story. However, as the two worlds continue to battle for their homelands, they only destroy the land they were intending to save in the first place, and they lose the ones they love as well.

#aplitwar

[j-berg]

The Bridge on the River Kwai is an example of an antiwar war movie. The movie takes place during WWII in a Japanese POW camp, were British soldiers are imprisoned. The captains of the soldiers are extremely stubborn and full of pride, and will not cooperate with their Japanese leaders. One American in the camp, under much ridicule from the British because he doesn’t follow the rules set at the Geneva Convention, escapes. The British soldiers build a bridge for the Japanese after many negotiations. The American finds refuge in a British Hospital, and becomes enlisted into helping the British Army find and destroy the Japanese Bridge. Once they reach the bridge, the soldiers who built the bridge protect it. Both British Generals end up killing their own teams, because of their pride. The Generals kill their men, accidentally, because of their stubbornness in believing their rules are the correct way of living. It took the murder of their beloved battalions to show how when in combat, or in POW camps, it is not pride or breaking rules that is the priority; survival is the priority. The Bridge on the River Kwai is an antiwar movie because it illustrates how pride unnecessarily murders lives.

#aplitwar

[colleenvincent-blog-blog]

Anti-War

Mulan is an anti-war movie because Mulan only joins the war to keep her father, who is injured, from fighting in the war. There are little actual war scenes in the movie. Also, the commander fights for his father, to make him proud and later in the movie to avenge his death. Some "war scenes" are of the soldiers dressed as women to decieve the enemy. The main character throughout the movie is not even a real soldier, yet she brings pride to her family in the end when she helped save China.Mulan is an anti-war movie because Mulan only joins the war to keep her father, who is injured, from fighting in the war. There are little actual war scenes in the movie. Also, the commander fights for his father, to make him proud and later in the movie to avenge his death. Some "war scenes" are of the soldiers dressed as women to decieve the enemy. The main character throughout the movie is not even a real soldier, yet she brings pride to her family in the end when she helped save China.

#aplitwar

[tnowinski]

The Deer Hunter, set during the Vietnam War, is an example of an anti-war war movie. It is about a trio of friends who enlist and fight in the Vietnam War. The movie takes on the form of a typical war movie as there is a lot of action and fighting. Yet, throughout the movie, many of the negative aspects of war that are not normally showcased in a war movie occur. When the friends first arrive in Vietnam, many innocent civilians are slain by North Vietnamese soldiers. Later, one of the friends suffers amnesia because of the traumatic events during the war, and this eventually results in him taking his life in a game of Russian-roulette. Also, at the end of the movie, one of the friends can’t bring himself to shoot a deer while hunting, an activity he did many times prior to the war, because he can’t bear to take another life. These negative aspects to the war are rarely seen, if ever, in a war movie that glorifies war. A war hero never suffers from post-traumatic stress that eventually causes that hero to take his life.     

#aplitwar

[apoorva95gupta-blog]

This link in to the music video of Fun's new hit single music video. While it wasn't exactly a major-motion picture, the mini-movie does support the our discussion of human irrationality and the horrors of war. The mini-movie depicts scenes from a civil war showing footage from both the perspective of a young Union soldier and a more elderly Confederate soldier. While violent scenes are being flashed akin to the cinematography of Saving private Ryan, lead singer Nate Ruess repeats over and over the words "what do I stand for?". Although the meaning of the song isn't entirely focused on anti-war specifically, they do point to a serious questioning of the human condition and purpose. War is often can be considered an irrational and emotional affair in which the lines blur between what one wishes to be and what one is commanded to be. One of the stanzas during the song actually says "This is it boys, this is war! What are we waiting for? Why don't we break the rules already?", again questioning the real reasons for war, and why, if we must engage in it at all, should any decency be kept? For example, why should anyone take prisoners of war and keep them alive, if the whole point is to kill the other side? Where does moral values of a people begin and end? These are focuses of the song and other anti-war literature. They not only examines why we go to war, but values behind our actions, and how we justify them.

#aplitwar

[vkhatri-blog]

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Lockerrevealed the dark side of a war we are currently in. The Iraq war has obviously cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives. The movie portrays the dangers faced by the soldiers and the effects the war has on their lives. It follows a bomb squad in Baghdad and portrays their struggles with the war. Specialist Owen Elridge needs a psychiatrist because of the stress of the war, who is then killed, which is a heavy blow to Elridge. Also, one scene consists of the squad finding the dead body of a boy who was turned into a bomb. This horrific scene illustrates the extent of the terrible things done in war. One of the most interesting parts of the movie is that Sergeant James returns to the war after his tour of duty is over, as though war is his drug. It portrays war as an addiction, an addiction that has clearly prevented Sergeant James from returning to a normal life.

#aplitwar

[mate-ro]

The Patriot.

Although The Patriot is known for being one of the great war movies, it shows the dark side of war. The only reason why Mel Gibson's charcter, Benjamin Martin, Joins the war is because his son is killed by British soldiers. He is so overcome with emotion and rage that he sets out to kill the group of soldiers that is holding his other son as a prisoner. He forces two of his younger sons to help him kill the soldiers. They are forced to take away human life even though they are frightened. This strips them of any innocence that they had left. They watch their father, the man that they look up to, murder soldiers with an axe. These horrific and violent deaths just show how cold and cruel war is.

Another scence that makes this film an anti-war movie is the scene where the church is burned down with civilians inside of it. The people in this church had deep connections with the Martin family and they were killed because of it. This scene displays how war can take everything away from someone. War causes chaos and leaves destruction in its path. At the end of a war, the most that can be gained is monetary compensation. Is that enough to make up for all of the human life lost?

#aplitwar