An Analysis and Review of Casualties of War Movie by De Palma - Essay Example

Section/# An Analysis and Review of De Palma’s “Casualties of War” De Palma’s 1989 film, “The Causalities of War”,represents one of the last and perhaps most effective the Vietnam antiwar films that were released in the 25 years after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Although the movie is unbelievably brutal, graphic, and misogynistic, the fact of the matter is that the reality that took place on the ground was likely not much different, and in some cases even worse, than what was portrayed in the film itself. As a function of understanding this particular movie, it’s relevance, the interpersonal tensions between the characters, attitudes of the average soldier, interactions between Americans and indigenous people, as well as a baseline of understanding with regards to the soldiers attitudes toward women, this brief analysis will seek to shine a level of discussion and analysis into each one of these areas. It is the hope of this author that not only the film, but the Vietnam War as well as pervasive American interpretations of the value of native and indigenous people will help to be affected. Ultimately, the movie can be summarized, as with many Vietnam War movies, as concentric upon an analysis of a small squad of American soldiers. This is one of the most popular approaches that filmmakers take due to the fact that it allows the viewer the, acquainted with and personally knowledgeable regarding each of the characters; rather than integrating with an entire company, the viewer is able to simplify human emotions, personalities, and likely reactions based upon the means by which these characters are expected to behave. As with many other Vietnam War movies, “Casualties of War” represents a mixture of different individuals within the squad from various geographic regions as well as various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Firstly, the viewer is integrated with an understanding of the sheer misery, abstraction, and violence that the Vietnam conflict engendered. As a function of understanding this level of inhumanity, exhibited on both sides of the conflict, it unfortunately comes as little surprise that the soldiers themselves begin behaving as little more than animals. The line of no return is of course cross when one of the soldiers takes a young Vietnam means girl and suggests that the squad user as a sex toy. Even though this is initially resisted, the threat of violence subdues these objections long enough for the girl to be raped. Once she is raped, it becomes infinitely easier for the other members of the squad, with the exception of Erikkson, to engage in a similar behavior. At each and every juncture, Erikkson opposes the actions that the squad leader perpetrates upon the young girl. Ultimately, Erikkson risks his own life in an attempt to save the girl from being murdered by the squad members. Once she is murdered, Erikkson set out on a personal crusade to expose the crime to the superiors within the military. As one might expect, speaking truth to power was neither popular nor safe. After many months and years of trying, Erikkson was able to bring the issue to the military’s attention and seek a nominal degree of punishment for the individuals involved. With regards to understanding the underlying tensions that existed between Meserve and Erikkson, the viewer can and should integrate with the basic understanding of unrestrained selfishness and complete lack of respect for human life that Meserve exhibited as compared to Erikkson’s more traditional view. Rather than exhibiting all Vietnam veterans as baby killers and murderers, this film helps to differentiate the difference between those sociopaths in society that were drafted into the military and sought to further their own selfish ends as compared to individuals that retain a level of humanity and restraint regardless of the pressures and difficulties that combat placed upon them. A further dynamic is equally evidenced within the film is the level and extent to which the “grunts” integrated, understood, and acted based upon the events that were taking place around them. Always displayed with a situation in which the “grunts” were perfectly happy with following orders. Although it is of course difficult to express moral and ethical issues within the military, these grunts represented the complete antithesis. Rather than expressing any qualms or reservations with regards to the horrendous actions that were taking place around them, the grunts were merely satisfied to go along with whatever status quo existed within leadership. Accordingly, only Erikkson represented an individual who is unwilling to be pressured by the group and continue to display a strong moral, as with regards to what was and was not good within the current context. Another dynamic that is displayed within the film is the interactions and understandings that existed between American and indigenous people within Vietnam. Due to the orgy of killing and destruction that the American soldiers were responsible for carrying out upon those villages that were believed to support the Vietcong, it comes as little surprise that the respects and boundaries for human life that might otherwise be noted became more and more clouded. This development is of course noted in the film as the soldiers kill indiscriminately with regards to whether or not they are striking out at the VC or the Vietnamese villagers. Ultimately, these villagers are viewed not as human beings but merely as obstacles and collateral damage. In much the same way that the American Indians were treated in the latter half of the 18th century, the viewer is made aware of the fact that the Vietnamese population is dehumanized and devalued using many of the same mechanisms that were used to dehumanize and the value the Native Americans. Finally, with regards to the general attitudes toward women that the soldiers exhibited, this too can be understood with regards to the overall level of racial respect the Vietnamese were given by the American soldiers. One of the fundamental themes that was exhibited throughout the early parts of the film was discussed and anger at the fact that the squad’s leave had been canceled. With a bit of imagination, the reader can and should understand that this leave time signified the time in which the soldiers would engage in heavy drinking and activities with prostitutes. Even prior to the kidnapping and group rate that the young Vietnam ease woman suffered at the hands of the American soldiers, a baseline of disregard with respect to feminine virtue and sexual relations already existed within the group. Understanding the level to which the squad, with the exception of Erikkson, integrated with an attitude towards women, necessarily requires a comparatively strong discussion with the indistinguishable means by which racism and racial superiority complexes dictated the means by which the soldiers dealt with Vietnamese in general. It is the understanding of this viewer that one impacted upon another in an equally important manner. With regards to how “Casualties of War” helps the viewer to integrate with an understanding of the American past and the development of liberty, this hinges upon the degree of sacrifice that ethical individuals are willing to make in order to preserve liberty. Whereas it is not been the purpose of this film nor of this analysis to draw a level of inference with regards to whether or not the Vietnam conflict was ultimately just or unjust, the film, as well is this analysis, helps to point to the fact that liberty can only continue to be realized as long as individuals are willing to risk their own career, life, and future for its preservation. As Erikkson illustrated, this decision is not always easy and oftentimes comes at the risk of great personal arm and subsequent mental anguish. However, the risks of staying silent and allowing such injustice the take place before one’s very eyes would likely have been even more profound and rotten impact upon the future life that Erikkson and many others led after the conclusion of the Vietnam War. Reference Straw, M. (2010). The guilt zone: Trauma, masochism and the ethics of spectatorship in Brian De Palma's Redacted (2007). Continuum: Journal Of Media & Cultural Studies, 24(1), 91-105. doi:10.1080/10304310903419567 Read More