21st Century War Films: The New Pathos of the Genre - Research Paper

Introduction

War films are films that derive their power from the return of an oppressed history on war revived on the pathos formula of the genre ( Bronfen 2012).Unlike in the twentieth century where war films involved battlefield wars where soldiers would fight over territories, films in the twenty-first century brought about a new strategy in war whereby the use of homemade bombs and the use of satellite surveillance and drone attacks are more common. the materially inferior actor will pursue strategies that bypass his opponent's military superiority. (B Schuurman2010 ) The writer of this article explains how war films can be used to bring about two different and contracting cultural meanings in society about the body genre. The body can be used as a sacrificial object in war or as an agent of violence to win a war. In the former case the body is being used as a sacrificial object in the war, like in the case of a suicide bomber or be used as an agent of violence in war. In the modern world this is the case of terrorists. This is a form of heroism. The latter is where the soldier takes part in the war but protects his life in every possible way. This way the soldier is being used by his country to fight the enemy by risking their life but should protect their life. Bulletproof gear is usually used as a protection measure. The body can be either dead or alive.

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The article uses two movies to bring about this contradicting cultural meaning. The first movie Paradise Now (Abu-Asad 2005) is about a Palestine resistance fighter. The Palestinians are forced out of their territory and they feel as if they have been denied what is rightfully theirs. In this case the Palestinians are oppressed and the only way to fight the Israeli government is by sacrificing his life and using a homemade bomb to attack his enemies. In this case the Palestines body id the human bomb. Said who is the main character is a young man whose father was killed by the Israeli government is convinced that sacrificing his life for the greater good of his country is the best thing to do. The Palestinians view this as an act of vengeance for the injustices against his country. To the Palestines this is an act of martyrdom. A ritual is carried out first to cleanse his body by washing his body and shaving his hair. This is because they believe that the suicide bomber is a hero who is guaranteed a place in heaven. Said is also supposed to say prayers which he does continuously as a way of cleansing his body. The suicide bombers also give a speech in the video as a sigh if redemption explaining why they have done what they have done. To his people Said is a hero but to the Israeli government this is an act of terrorism as even the innocent are hurt in the process of the mass bombing. Here Said's body is interpreted as a sacrificial object to fight the Israeli government. T

The other movie is the HURT LOCKER where the main characters now take the fight their neighbors' backyard and they have to risk their bodies by deactivating bombs. The risk is vividly represented by the heavy protective gear worn by the soldiers in this movie. Here the use of supreme and better weapons than used in Paradise Now weapons are portrayed. In this case bodies are portrayed as vulnerable unlike in the other case where they are portrayed as weapons .those involved in the war should now take care of their bodies as much as they want to hurt the enemy. The war in this case is morally accepted as they only target the people responsible for the war and not just anyone in society. William James who is the main character in this movie is a bomb deactivator expert.

The article compares William James to Said where Williams does the opposite of what said does. Whereas, Said is a suicide bomber Williams deactivates bombs. Whereas Said aims at achieving mass deaths William aims at6 saving mass deaths by risking his life in the process of deactivating the bomb. The soldier in this movie have very personalized experiences of war and as they are not willing to die just yet but the situations that they experience are very risky to their lives so they have to be very careful. They have to survive in environments that are not so much friendly for their survival. The soldiers end up being addicted to the life of fighting in the war, unlike the suicide bomber who has only one chance to mark the decision whether to be a suicide bomber and once he is decided, the bomber takes his own life and those of the enemy .Therefore unlike the suicide bomber who only has one chance of fighting the enemy William James is given a chance to do it day in day out. He kept evidence of bombs he has deactivated as a remembrance of the number of times he has risked his life in an attempt to save the lives of many more people who would have otherwise lost their lives.

The article brings about a clear comparison of the different types of the war fought in the world. One that involves the oppressed people in the society who have to result to using suicide bombs as the only way to fight their enemies. Some would interpret this is an act of terrorism but this particular society of the Palestinians does not view this as an act of terrorism but as an act as martyrdom and heroism. The Hurt Locker movie on the other hand does what is morally correct to do and fight against those attacking the public by the use of bombs. In this case both parties believe that they have should fight for their rights and so the war is justified.

The article suggests that due to the changing times of the war films the most important thing is how the body is used. The vulnerability of the body of the actors in a movie can be used to commonly classify body genre movies. In the films The Hurt Locker and Paradise Now both have illustrated that the use of bodies in these films can be lead to a conclusion that since both bodies are exposed to death this represents a new era of war movies. The most important thing is the presence of vulnerability to the body of the which now collectively represent a new era of modern war.

My Opinion

Modern films have changed how they view wars as compared to how traditionally viewed war. Traditional films viewed war as a battlefield whereas modern wars involve a lot of technology therefore intense use of bombs mostly homemade bombs commonly used by the oppressed to attack the oppressor. They, therefore, did not have a wide variety of options that modern films have to use war files as a boy genre. In battlefields the body is used to represent vulnerability but in the modern film industry the body can be used both as a weapon and as a medium of experience. The Hurt Locker has been able to use the body of William James as a medium of experience and also as the suicide bomber in the movie shows how the body has been used as a weapon when they find a bomb hidden in a body.

The film also explored the body genre further by using a suicide bomber as a victim of suicide bombing. The man in a suicide vest is a pleads to be removed from the vest with the bomb. The modern war film industry has therefore revolutionized in a very exemptional way and thrilling ways.

War films are also affected by the culture of those featured in the film. The suicide bomber in Paradise Now believes that by becoming a suicide bomber he is a hero. He is celebrated as a national hero to his community .in the preparation of his mission ha is cleansed by washing his body and shaving. The Palestine community believes that this is an act of martyrdom and the who sacrifices himself will be glorified. Their belief, therefore, glorifies the act of suicide bombing. The suicide bomber takes revenge on the Israeli people for oppressing them and their rights.

However, one would argue that the war of the oppressed and that of the oppressors should not be compared because they are very different. (Hardt and Negri 2005). The oppressed people view bombing the enemy's territories as the only way to fight. They use strategies that the superior nation cannot use and that will damage the superior nation. They use their bodies as weapons in committing mass murders using bombs that they wear in their bodies. On the other hand, the oppressors attack the enemy's territory using a better weapon. The oppressors usually use technology such as drones to attack even from miles away. This, therefore, brings a clear distinction between the two wars and its only fair to distinguish these two types of war films.

Conclusion

In conclusion war films are among the best films that represent body genre. The body is used as a weapon by suicide bombers and they regard this as an act of bravery to save the nation .on the other hand soldiers use their bodies in combat military are regarded to using their bodies for experiencing what they go through. In this case the soldier feels the urge to take part in the actual war and risks his life. Most war films have combat but its not a necessity for a war film to have combat action. This is the new reality of modern war and it all relies on the fact that the body is used in very risky situations by both parties in the war.

References

Abu-Assad, Hany (2005), Paradise Now, Occupied Palestinian Territory: Augustus Film.

Bronfen, Elizabeth (2012), Specters of War: Hollywood's Engagement With Military Conflict, Chapel Hill, NJ: Rutgers University Press

B Schuurman - Parameters, 2010 - clausewitz.com

Hardt, Michael and Negri, Antonio (2005), Multitude: War and Democracy in the Age of Empire, London and New York: Penguin Books

Burgoyne, R. (2012), '"Embodiment in the war film: Paradise Now and The Hurt Locker', Journal of War & Culture Studies, 5: 1, pp. 7-19