Be it books, movies, documentaries, or even music. I feel like I have people around me whom wish to fight violence with violence, with mentalities like “we should just counter-invade and show them who’s boss” or “I’m not afraid to fight for what I believe in”, showing a clear intent against an “enemy”.
“The enemy” is such a dehumanizing perspective, and only breeds further animosity. I wish for them to see that we all manage to find justifications for our actions, but that doesn’t make it worthy of just any sacrifice.
I recently saw the Norwegian movie Max Manus, which is about real events during WW2.
Tap for spoiler
He survives, but with almost none of his friends, and after the war he struggles with alcoholism and nightmares for the rest of his life.
It left me with a feeling of despite “victory”, many people paid with more than just their life. And this is the feeling I wish others to feel, just for a bit, and ponder if “doing the right thing” really is the best thing.
No one should want conflict, and I wish to emphasize just how much we really should try and avoid warmongering. I’ve seen uncensored videos from modern wars, been in the military, had a great grandfather who fought in WW2 (who also struggled with nightmares and PTSD until his natural death), and all of it makes me dread the potential of the horrors that happen to everyone involved in an armed conflict, especially the innocents and the kids…
So, any suggestions for media that conveys this in a way that makes one really reflect?
You must log in or # to comment.
MAS*H the 1970 Robert Altman film is a dark comedy following battlefield surgeons in the Korean war. Based off a semiautobiographical book with a similar premise.
Essentially the surgeons try to keep themselves sane in an insane environment by playing practical jokes and generally making light of the darkest situation imaginable.
Books: Forever War the homophobia is strange though. I’m not gay so I won’t say it isn’t offensive, but it is strange.
The ender’s saga. Starts off questioning “what is an enemy”, ends questioning “what is life”. Author is a cunt though, acquire through other means than purchase (such as borrowing) if you can. Strange someone so bigoted can write a series so… not bigoted.
Bill the galactic hero. “It’s always bowb your buddy week”. A bit immature, maybe the jokes are dated now.
Films: Jarhead
Platoon
Full metal jacket
No write ups, I think the films are well enough known.
My own thoughts on war are defensive wars are to be supported. Ukraine, Palestine, Venezuela, all to be defended from their aggressors. Rogue states are to be handled in other ways up until war. Which, to criticise my own position, is to say it was fine while Hitler was only killing Germans.
All quiet on the western front (movie from 2022) feels like your example a bit without the post-war consequences. Grave of the firefly (anime) is on my watch list and is very anti-war from what I understand. Catch 22 maybe. The Wars by Timothy Findley felt very anti-war but is a tough read. The cruel sea was a good read. Vinland sagas first season is very good, lots of action but some really hard hitting scenes for an anime.
Vinland Saga
“I have no enemies.” It’s an anime with two seasons so far. The manga is getting close to complete. Takes place around 1000 ad with the wars between the Vikings and the English. Basically the first season is about revenge while the second pivots hard to redemption. It’s ultimately a story about pacifism.
Wow. I dropped it too early then.
I kinda rolled my eyes and was like “Is EVERY Viking story just an endless circle of killing fathers killing sons killing fathers again?”
Maybe I should give it another chance…
pretty much every war movie
the classics have got Saving Private Ryan, Nolan’s got Dunkirk, Best Cinematography’s got 1917, Ghibli’s got Grave of the Fireflies (released same day as Totoro even)…
for anti-war that’s not depressing, there’s also AFAIK the over-the-top Helldivers
for things that feel “clean” instead of bloody there’s the elegant video game Nier: Automata
Pretty much every war movie glorifies war haha. Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk, and 1917 are famous because of their awesome looking action scenes. All those films glorify war and convey a sense of heroism, urgency, and righteousness for people involved in a war. If the director’s wanted to make a film that didn’t glorify war, they would’ve focused on the shitty parts of war instead of showing the audience all the cool heroic things soldiers get up to.
Grave of the Fireflies does not glorify war. Thin Red Line is maybe the only movie about soldiers that doesn’t make war seem cool.
I would compare the action scenes in Saving Private Ryan to the “action scenes” of Schindler’s List. It tells you how hard all of this is, how everybody’s confused, how nobody knows what they’re doing, how it’s all a hellhole. I would not describe Schindler’s List as “glorifying” the plight of the Holocaust victims. It tells you how horrid this all is, not that you should be part of it.
(FWIW, Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line are often put in the same category of “glorifying the people who fought in WWII”. But in my opinion, “glorify” here means “elicit sympathy for their effectively-forced situation”, and not “glorify”, which I would say is something like La Grande Vadrouille (1966).)
I agree that Saving Private Ryan action scenes are supposed to show what you’re talking about, but that’s not what they do. To an American audience (which the film was made for) the chaos and horror is justified and honorable. The audience has been taught that America is always on the right side of history, they have to honor soldiers at every sporting event, they have a general riding a horse into battle in the middle of their town square, they had to pledge allegiance to war every day as a kid, etc etc. The title Saving Private Ryan tells you everything; war is heroic and necessary.
I’m not sure what film of which you can’t claim specific lenses would color them contrary to their intentions.
Appreciate this post. I’d welcome any suggestion to help deglorify guns to a kid, too
NSFW, but you can youtube a number of firearms accidents. Blown barrels peeled like bananas, exploded chambers etc…
Guns are fascinating to some boys, until they see the accidents of simple range use. Blinded. Dead. Near misses of dead. Lost hands and faces. Gun safety vids serve as a warning to not fuck around.
Careful with age appropriate. Seriously nsfw nsfl.
This is a good suggestion because even if you’re unable to dissuade the interest in guns, you might at least make the kid think twice about safety before they eventually handle one and thus prevent a tragedy.
I certainly speak about this. But, yeah, haven’t gauged when to expose them to graphic depictions, yet.
I benefited from watching that type of content. Not just with guns, but physical violence in general. What was that subreddit that eventually got banned? watchpeopledie? Obviously that was much more out there than just gun safety content, but stuff like that. Helpful as it might have been, it has probably warped my sense of what’s standardly age appropriate, though, so I err on the side of caution with that
This may not be the approach you have in mind, and it kind of depends on the kid’s personality, but one of the ways to de-glorify and de-romanticize something is to de-mistify it, to take it out of fantasy and make it real (to the point of being mundane).
To that end, consider Forgotten Weapons on YouTube. Ian will discuss a single gun, its design history, manufacturing, intended use, disassembly and cleaning, along with regular reminders about gun safety. Ian will even talk about the political and financing decisions that led to a particular gun being made (accounting is of course the height of glory).
If the kid finds the history, engineering and basic maintenance discussion to be boring, they might lose interest in the topic altogether. Alternatively, if they find it interesting, you might steer an unhealthy interest in violence toward something productive (history and/or mechanical engineering).
Keep in mind that forbidding access to something just adds to the mystery and romance around it and can have the effect of increasing the desire for it.
I think this is a wonderful suggestion and actually has a good chance to align with their interest. I’ll make a point to watch a few with them
Das Boot, it is the classic movie about German Uboats from the perspective of the Uboat crew.
It does not glorify, it does not condemn, but the one thing that stays with you is the feeling of futility.
They did all the terrible and heroic things, cheered at hitting convoys, let allied seamen drown because of their orders, escaped again and again, showed fanatism and self-reflection, panic and comradeship, and in the end, when they come back to their home base, it just doesn’t matter.
spoiler
As they arrive, half-afloat, battered, relieved and enthusiastic about being home, while a marching band plays in the background, they get hit with an air raid. Bombs fall, all die, only the narrator (war reporter) survives to tell the tale. All for nothing. All of it completely futile.
