If I sat here and attempted to list every great war film, the entire Gulf War would have passed by the time I finish.
War movies plague the film industry in the same way that fast food engulfs the culinary industry; it's completely unavoidable. Being the history buff that I am, I completely embrace this reality. Although many might find this genre to have become tedious and innately cliche, I believe that it acts as the only viable way to bridge the gap between soldiers and civilians.
The numbers and battle descriptions you hear in history class mean nothing to you, and you may not even realize it.
You hear a number... "19,000 British died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme."
"6 million Jews were killed."
"7 million tons of bombs were dropped during the Vietnam War."
...and also a description. "Soldiers would sit at the top of the trench counting down their minutes until death."
"Every step taken in the Vietnamese jungle was a chance at death."
People have a difficult time visualizing large amounts (whether it be casualties, bombings, or the unforgiving number of times that you've failed to maintain a diet). Similarly, when the conditions of a situation that were are largely unfamiliar with are described to us, it is nearly impossible to properly imagine experiencing it. The most authentic (and safest) way for us, as civilians, to get a grasp on war is through film.
Video is inherently the most engaging form way to communicate an idea. Unlike literature and music, it is able to blend an image with sound, allowing for it to convey information much more clearly. The way in which we, the viewer, interact with a novel differs greatly from the way we interact with a photograph. As I said, film takes the greatest aspects from all forms of media and combines them, forming an experience unlike no other. The effort that goes into creating these films is often unprecedented, as in the case of films such as Saving Private Ryan; a Steven Spielberg film famously known for featuring 'one of the most historically accurate battle scenes of all time' according to veterans.
The massive success that the movie achieved single-handedly transformed the public's conception of the Second World War and the men who fought in it. The action depicted on screen seemed largely incomprehensible in text; visual storytelling allowed for it to become real. War is one subject where it is truly much more effective to show, not tell.
Although war films have the potential to discredit soldiers and their actions, I believe they possess an educational role, the ability to humanize soldiers, and the power to create sympathy for combat veterans that is not only wildly positive, but is necessary to the lives of many.
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