The Fog of War Movie - Essay Example

Exercise representing the life drama, especially when it comes to public persons, demonstrates the evolution of human consciousness.
Reflecting upon the autobiographical milestones Robert McNamara makes direct connections to significant events such as the end of World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the bombings of Japan, the raise of post-war capitalism while working at Ford company, an appointment for the Secretary of Defense and Cuban missile crisis, the war in Vietnam, and subsequent awareness of the situations and actions during the conferences with principals from Cuban crisis and Vietnam War. It is interesting how he applies the statistical method to analyze the sequence of events talking about the proportionality of civil casualties and military efficiency (The Fog of War).
The most prominent part of McNamara’s life that left a footprint in American history was the period of his appointment for the position of the Secretary of Defense under the Kennedy and later Johnson administrations. By the time he was asked to join the cabinet in November 1960, he had already made a career at Ford Motor Company. Advancing rapidly to top-level management positions McNamara become the first company head selected outside the Ford family. Probably due to his uncommon ability to immerse in the subject and learn quickly, he achieved such outstanding professional success. Although not having any special knowledge about the defense, McNamara quickly begins to play an active role, introducing several innovations into the ministry and stimulating progress (“Robert S. McNamara”).
Strategically both Kennedy and McNamara opposed the idea of massive retaliation making an emphasis on increasing the limited warfare capabilities through the training and equipment of the American and allies’ military personnel. McNamara argued that the principal military objectives should follow the “no-cities” concept aimed at the destruction of the enemy’s military forces and not his civilians in the case of both nuclear and conventional warfare. In the Fog of War, he states: “proportionality should be a guideline to war” (The Fog Of War).
Due to the huge public resonance with Vietnam War McNamara as a person that embodied the entire system became an object to blame for the failure. It is quite common to demonize a single person and truly believe that only this single person has a responsibility for the suffering the people face because of the war.
Morris’s film is called the Fog of War to express the usual uncertainty inherent to the war. This term precisely describes the situation of mutual deterrence of the Cold War in general and numerous political incidents between two superpowers in particular. Also, I think the term can be applied to express the uncertainty on the personal level considering assumptions, logic, and posterior awareness of the individual who took a direct part in those events.
Like in many of Morris’ films, Fog of War intends to put across a message that the situation tends to go out of control. It is never under rational actors’ control. The example of the Cuban missile crisis from McNamara’s story demonstrates this point. The statement can also be referred to the overall uncertainty not only in the war but in life in general (Anderson, “the Fog Days”). The human factor is unpredictable and difficult to control. In this sense, I would probably agree with Morris that the world is out of control or say more complex than any individual can imagine. However, the conscience and awareness of the actions and assessment of probable circumstances is the solution to save the world from the recurrence of another missile crisis or war.
The film gives eleven lessons about the war from Robert McNamara. However, I think there can be found several more profound lessons that address wider human nature topics. ‘Never say never’ is the basic statement of this lesson, it is hard to anticipate the conduct of the individual in various circumstances. Therefore what is evident, that is what one probably sees or believes in, can turn out to be something completely different. Hence one should always be prepared to reassess his reasoning. In other words, doubt and healthy skepticism are inherent parts of the consciousness. Read More