Patriotism in War Films - Research Paper Example

? Patriotism in War Films and Section # of Introduction Patriotism is a natural feeling of lovefor one’s ancestry, culture or homeland. It cannot be developed by forcing one to love his country. It comes naturally in the form of inspiration to do something for the country in order to make it a better place to live in. Patriotism is not only expressed by joining the military and going for war to protect the honor of the country. It can be expressed by following the laws of the country with devotion and loyalty. Military officers are not the only patriots. Any person who loves his country is known as a patriot. A flower seller, a nurse, a sales man, doctor or teacher all can be patriots if they obey the laws designed by the government of that country. However, patriotism does not mean to stand by the president or other government official if their plans for the government are against the rights of the country. A country is formed from the people residing in it therefore love for one’s country automatically leads to the love for the citizens of that country. When there is love between the citizens and they stand united to protect the rights of each other against the evil eyes on them, such countries succeed because of the will power to fight for themselves and for their country. Ways to Awaken Patriotism in a Person There are various ways to awaken the feeling of patriotism in a person. Some of those ways are through patriotic movies, novels or documentaries. Another way could be to celebrate the events when important steps or actions were taken to protect the country’s territories from intruders or for instance when the country achieved independence after fighting vigorously for it and losing a lot of precious lives. These events can take place in schools and publicly to inform and teach the youth about the sacrifices people had given for their country and to remind the elders of the difficult situations the country had to face when they were young. Patriotic movies can very beautifully play the role of increasing or developing patriotism. Such movies are based on war against enemy countries and involve the army, navy or the air force. Movies present close resemblance to the events which occur in wars at the border front and allow the audience to experience it with their eyes what it is like to be on the border front. The audience feels as if they are present in that situation or wish to be present with the military officers to play their part in preserving the honor of the country. Patriotic war films encourage the youth to enroll in the military because the youngsters are very enthusiastic about their country. They believe what they see. In patriotic war films they get inspired by the personality of the officers and soldiers. The discipline portrayed by them inspires the youngsters and the aged alike so much that one just wants to stand up for them and salute them even though they are just actors portraying the character of the real heroes, the heroes who leave their families and safe boundaries of their houses to secure the future of their people and the next generation to come. The only way to be a true patriot is by being sincere with the country. The citizens must keep their personal interests behind and be more concerned about the demands of the country. A country is a home land; it is not just a piece of land with a collection of mountains, rivers and valleys. A country is a heritage of one’s dreams, aspirations, culture, traditions and religion. A country provides a platform for fulfilling one’s dreams and hopes for the future. So horrifying is the image of someone not having a nationality, no country to call their own; where ever that person will go people will see him as an intruder; that person will not be loyal to any country he visits because he would be like a traveler without a home. The love for home cannot be compared to anything in the world. Patriotism is an active virtue. A true patriot, who loves his country dearly, will try to do everything with the power he possesses for the welfare of his country. A person cannot develop patriotism until unless he feels for his fellow citizens. Patriotism plays an important role in making a person a good citizen who performs his duties honestly and devotedly. A good citizen in return would always be ready to serve his nation with the best of his talents and would always be available and willingly to make sacrifices for his nation. Patriotism is a sacred passion, a passion which helps a nation to be strong and honorable. It is therefore, the duty of every citizen to enlighten their hearts with this passion to show the true spirit of patriotism. The greatest wars of the world were won by the passion present in the hearts of the soldiers and the citizens who supported them and prayed for their success. It is this extreme sense of patriotism which has achieved prosperity for the nations. The nations whose citizens have a positive sense of patriotism are the ones who have found to be successful in history. They have survived the brutal wars and distinguished themselves not with the power of weapons alone but with the extreme power and sense of patriotism. A country is bound to become a strong country when the citizens of that country prove themselves as patriots in the real sense of the world. Patriotism verses Nationalism Patriotism and nationalism are two words having the same meaning. Both the words express the relationship of an individual towards ho or her nation. However, there are various differences between patriotism and nationalism. Nationalism refers to the importance of freedom through a cultural background, including language and heritage whereas patriotism is the love for a nation with a strong emphasis on values and beliefs. George Orwell quoted nationalism as ‘the worst enemy of peace’ because according to him, nationalism develops feelings of superiority for one’s country over others while patriotism represents feelings of love for a way of life. Nationalism tends to be aggressive and militant in nature as it expresses rivalry and hatred while patriotism is passive as it is based on peace. Nationalists believe their country to be the best and superior to all others and take criticism as an insult; on the other hand, patriots accept their country to be one of the best and ready to accept improvements or its welfare which is why they are open for criticism in order to learn new things from them. Patriotism raises the feeling that all the people in the world are equal unlike nationalism which only believe the people residing in one’s own country to be equal to one another. This is the reason why patriots believe in friendly relations with other countries which is difficult for the nationalists since they do not consider anyone to be equal to them. Movies on Patriotism Some of the movies based on world war 1 are Sergeant York (1916), West Front (1918), A Very Long Engagement, The Lost Battalion, All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) and (1979), Saving Private Ryan (1998) and many more movies which have motivated the youth to get enrolled in the military and the ones who are not capable of doing that, they encourage the ones who can. Movie: Sergeant York (1916) The movie Sergeant York was released in the year 1916. This movie portrays the story of Sergeant Alvin C. York who was an ordinary person. He fought in World War I and became its greatest hero. At the time of release it inspired the public tremendously as it changed the concept completely that only uniformed and armed officers or soldiers can do something for the country. Sergeant York conveyed this message through the character of Alvin, to the American public that anyone who has hope and the motivation to stand up for the country is a patriot and hence a hero. Some are exposed to the world while others are hidden, yet true patriots of their country. They do not have to get famous for fighting for the country because than that is not patriotism but merely means of getting famous. This movie gave various eye opening lessons, such as the power of love, what love for a person can make the other person do and how far he can go to prove his loyalty to the person being admired. The next lesson is of religion, how a person’s style of living and thinking changes when he enters a religion. The third lesson is that even if a person has a bad past he can always change his future to make himself and others forget the mistakes done in the past. The fourth lesson is that no matter if a person is an alcoholic or a law breaker, he should be given a chance to show his loyalty for the country since nobody is born as a hero or criminal. It is in the hand of a person to make or break himself. The fifth message is that religion does not prohibit saving the honor of the people, including children and women who have no reason to be killed in war. This patriotic war film surely is an eye opener for the people who have given up on life because of the hardships they have to face. This movie gives a clear message that a person can achieve anything if he has the will to do it. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) All Quiet on the Western Front is one of the most influential war films about World War 1 that was created in 1930, directed by Lewis Milestone. The concept of the film is based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque who is a German veteran of the war. The movie played a huge part in adding to the audience’s knowledge what life was like during the war and what circumstances the soldiers had to face during the fight at the battle field and the after effects of war on the soldiers. Joining the military is not just about winning medals and honor. It is a big accomplishment to achieve them but it takes courage to leave the shelter of one’s home and the affection of his family to share tents or trenches. The movie revolves around a few German boys who are brainwashed and literally forced by their teachers to enlist their names to go and fight during the war. The movie focuses on the horrors at the battle field and how the life of the soldiers is affect. The audience’s beliefs on war are sure to change after watching this movie because it beautifully captured the horrifying moments of war which are close to reality than what other movies show to the audience making them believe, the military is a means of getting famous by collecting badges. The German boys were not too fond of serving in the war but they wanted to experience it as they thought of it as an adventure. The realities of war came in front of them when they were sent to the battle field and had to live in trenches with rats here and there, experienced starvation and lost their normal civilian life. The worst part was being shell-shocked after the war. This movie gives a beautiful message portrayed by the German boys that war is not a way of expressing patriotism for one’s country. They writer and manager managed to convey this message through the movie by showing how lonesome the boys had gotten when they saw the real face of war. The movie gives another message of humanity when Paul who survives from the battle field decides to supports the family of the French soldier he killed. War is killing and dying. Countries do encounter problems and conflicts but it would be better to solve them peacefully instead of calling off wars. Glory (1989) The movie Glory was directed by Edward Zwick in the year 1989. The story of this movie was based on the letters sent by Colonel Shaw during his command of the 54th Regiment during the civil war. Colonel Shaw was a white union army officer. This movie illustrates his efforts to raise the African-American regiment to fight in the United State’s civil war. It continues to raise awareness of the hardships Colonel Shaw faced in achieving this accomplishment in 1860’s America when racism was at its peak and he had to face prejudice of his own fellow citizens. The movie Glory is an example of true patriotism represented by the African-Americans who after being ill treated and being rejected, fought against prejudice and successfully fulfilled their desire to prove themselves in battle for the country they considered their own. In this mission, numbers of African-Americans who took part in war died while fighting for prejudice. The movie leaves behind a message of patience portrayed by the African-Americans in proving that they were also Americans and America was their homeland. Their devotion of serving the country even when they knew their efforts, their blood and even their lives had no value in front of the white men. Yet even then they continued to be true citizens of America. This is how they eventually made their place in the United States, by striving for the better and not turning their backs to their homeland even when the government was unfair to them with their salaries, in giving them their rights and by not treating them humanly. Saving Private Ryan (1998) Another patriotic war film is “Saving Private Ryan” which was directed by Steven Speilberg in 1998. It is one of the best American war movies ever made. It was produced and released at the end of a century which managed to witness two World Wars and at a time when the people were starting to forget the sacrifices of the ones who were a part of these wars. Thus, Saving Private Ryan took the initiative to act as a reminder of the sacrifices of the great generation of Americans, with their Allies who fought and defeated Hitler in Europe, and accomplished freedom for the generations that came after them. The director did not leave any chance at any point of the movie to remind the audience what real war is like, from bloody images of bodies being cut by explosion, limbs blowing off, spilling out of entrails to bullets piercing the soft flesh of a human body. The movie gives a message that even the military officials and the soldiers are not enthusiastic on serving in war as they all have feelings and desires to live happy lives with their families. This movie has removed all curtains from the real war and the unrealistic war scenes produced in movies as it shows a lot of violence and many disturbing scenes which in real life occur as a result of war. “Saving Private Ryan” immediately and brutally dispels the belief that war is nothing but inhuman act, demoralizing violence that disrespects the human body and spirit. Although the film is based on a true incident, it is hard not to accept these characters and events as real. Conclusion The patriotic war films mentioned above and many other such films produced, play an important role in portraying different forms of message to the audience. Some words and some messages are very convincing and people do start to believe on those messages. Therefore it would be beneficial for the directors and producers to make more of these movies in order to awaken the society. The citizens of every country should know that patriotism is love for one’s country, but it does not mean to develop hatred for other countries. Patriotism should always be differentiated from nationalism in order to maintain peace among the different countries of the world. The people residing in other countries are also human beings. Their lives are also important. They also have families. War raises stress and creates a feeling of uncertainty among innocent people. Therefore, war should always be discouraged in order to develop good will among countries otherwise severe consequences are bound to arise. No country teaches one to shed blood of innocent lives and war does affect the whole society, it is the government and their decisions that provoke the occurrence of war, hence one should not join the services of war until unless the country’s honor is in real danger. Therefore the citizens of a country should give supreme importance to the demands of their freedom since a country is the heritage of one’s dreams. Reference Beinart, Peter. “The War Over Patriotism.” Time Magazine, Thursday, June.26, 2008. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1818195,00.html Bodnar, John. Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration, and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. JulyPrinceton University Press, 27 December, 1993. Canby, Vincent. “Glory (1989). 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