The film industry contributes to a country’s status. It improves the economy through its earnings and also maintains culture. Additionally, provide employment to some portion of the environment. Moreover, they also provide entertainment and serves as a media for education. However, its management should rely on people with the right expertise to avoid its negative impacts manifest (Wells 11). For instance, if poorly managed, it can lead to moral decay. Pornography is one of the products of the industry, and when accessed by minors it ruins its purpose. Often, concepts that movies relay are different. However, some movies share themes. For instance, love is one of the common topics in movies. It has been a key subject both in the past and present (Wells 18).
Moreover, survey in the industry reveals that it will still reign in the future (Wells 37). Films sharing topics does not mean that it has lost its originality. Different stories share themes, but the lesson and the intention of the movie are the same. Also, movies with similar concepts promote competition as the consumer would choose the ideal movie that will warrant both entertainment and passage of the message intended the producers (AMC 3). Film production began in the 18th century, and like other industries it developed with the introduction of technology. The film business began with silent movies, and now it has reached a level of computer generates images that provide entertainment to viewers and reduce the production cost ((Sobczynski 16). Therefore, the paper discusses two movies that share themes. The movies include; Paths of Glory and Fury. It analyzes the movies individually, and then discusses the common themes.
Paths of Glory
The movie is about the war in France between them and the Germans in 1914. The enemy has set attack and forced the residents of the land far from their homes. The movie is two-faced, the first section describes the resilience of French soldiers to hold ground and defeat the German Troops at river Marne. The other front of the film is about the plot and the attack of French soldiers on a German stronghold referred to as the anthill (AMC 11). To take the site, more than one troop has to combine and form a single assault.
However, a majority of the other troops are afraid of advancing with the mission as they consider it a suicide mission. According to some, they do not even have the capability of holding the site lest attacking and displacing the Germans. The French Military Camp is at least 10 miles away. Therefore, they will have insufficient artillery because they have to rely on what they have transported (Ryan and Lenos 37).
Corps Commander General George Broulard proposes the idea to invade Anthill and engages on a mission to rally enough support from other commanders and establish a strong force that would defeat the enemy. He tries to convince General Paul Mireau to join on the impossible mission. At first, Mireau considers the mission madness but after persuasion he yields (AMC 2). They two proceed to enlist another senior officer, Commander Colonel Dax to enlist his troops. He is also reluctant but the other two generals threaten to report him if he does not enlist. They prelude to report that Dax is a traitor if he fails to enlist. Finally, the three agree and proceed with the attack that proved fruitful after loss of thousands of lives in the battlefield (Wells 17).
While on the attack to Anthill, mistakes occurred and even some soldiers killer men from their platoon. However, commander Dax sought not to report the issue because it would portray recklessness. When the private failed to provide information that they discussed earlier. Failure to respond made the sergeant to hurl a grenade that they later realized killed their scout (AMC 5). Since the other two commanders threatened to report him of he failed to enlist, such a mistake would only graven the situation. They would consider the incident an attempt to derail the success of the mission (Wells 17).
Fury
The movie is about a war between the Americans and Germans in Germany in an effort to defeat Hitler. The advancing troops retreat after an ambush by the resident army ((Sobczynski 15), 2016). The movie focuses on a single crew that runs a tank. The crew consists of five namely; Wardaddy, Boyd 'Bible' Swan, Norman Ellison, Grady Travis and Trini 'Gordo' Garcia. With an exception of Norman, the four have been together from Africa where they engaged the Nazzi. Norman is a recruit who has never been on a mission and has never killed. In the first incident where he is required to kill, he panics and in forced to shot by Wardaddy. Later He masters courage and begins to shoot.
The Sergeant rewards him with an opportunity to lay with Anamaria Marinca a German lady (AMC 13). Their love story is cut short by an attack by Germans. They venture for vengeance but the other troops are squashed in the field of battle. Their tank runs into the SS troops that consists of more than 300 soldiers, but rather than to flee they face them with a single damaged tank. It was a fight between the 300 and the 5-men crew that availed a breath-taking survival expedition for the tank crew.
They engage the enemy for at least, 12 hours when they ammunition runs out. The rest of the crew perishes in the attack with Norman remaining as the sole survivor of the ambush. Later in the morning, friendly troops rescue him, and he goes home (Ryan and Lenos 12).
The two movies share war as a common theme. The main characters in the movie are in pursuit to liberate their communities through any means possible. However, majority of the soldiers are lost in all of the attacks that are meant to dislodge the enemy (AMC 3). For instance, in the Paths of Glory movie, more than half of the company that consisted of whites is ambushed, and when reinforcement was unavailable, thousands lost their live. Similarly, the French army falls victim to the brutality of Nazis advance (AMC 6).
Also, in ‘Fury’, out of the five crew men that launched the attack on SS troops only one survived. The films portray the experience of soldiers while in the battlefield. They should drop their previous beliefs and command an attack on the enemy irrespective of their perspective.
Consequently, it also portrays that in a war death in inevitable. The generals in the movie Paths to Glory approximate that more than half of their troops will be lost in the attack. Nevertheless, they proceed with the attack citing that death in inevitable under such circumstances. Additionally, before the onslaught in Fury, the tank crew knew the least chance of survival against the SS troops. However, they dismissed reality and faced their enemy. The results of their courage manifested aster more than 12 hours of continuous engagement with the 300 platoon soldiers.
The first feature is decision-making (AMC 2). It is a simple task and does not involve the loss of life or effort. It simply requires estimation of losses. The second feature is the attack. During the attack soldiers die from the divide and the side with the majority at the end wins. The final character of the war is victory. All the films portray victory at the end despite the innumerable losses (AMC 2).
Decision-making
War only ensues if either party has made up their mind on launching an attack. It is made by the highest ranking officers in the troops. The process is easy (Sobczynski 19). It only involves lasting out of battle plans and strategies. Under some circumstance, the leaders deliberate on the essence of the decision. Additionally, the choice to attack originates from previous suffering incurred. To launch a successful attack, the offence has to obtain a unanimous agreement, lest they will face the enemy disgruntled that would result in immense losses (Sobczynski 44). In a war situation, foot soldiers input or opinion is not necessary.
It is only in fury that the other crew men opinion contributes to the fate of the war. Although the sergeant was the first to decide to face the enemy, the other volunteered because of their loyalty to the head of the troop. In the other films, soldiers’ role was to obey the command of their leader, anyone that showed contempt was discharged without honor (Sobczynski 51). Their fate lies in the hands of their commanders.
Moreover, their lives are at stake since the commanders lead the assault from behind. The choice to attack or to retreat depends on the courage of soldiers in the field, and the issues at stake. Often, once in the battle field soldiers determine how they would prefer to end their lives. The 1st Sergeant of the tank crew advices the co-pilot Norman that it is better to die by your weapon than the Nazi’s. He explains to him that they will torcher him and kill him slowly and painfully (Sobczynski 16). As a result, they should not show mercy to the Nazi. He also uses the tactic to encourage him to kill for the first time.
The attack
The process holds the highest number of loss of lives. After a decision-making, it is the next step (Ryan and Lenos 16). Also, it is the longest period in a war. It lasts as long as the number of soldiers and the will to fight persists. Alternatively, a side that perceives to have lost more soldiers can surrender to save lives of the remaining.
On the other hand, the leadership of the attack or defense might decide to retreat and plan for another attack (AMC 3). After a retreat, the war process restarts. For instance, the have to embark of a decision-making process once more. Planning is important, but the attack is what renders the war successful or a defeat. Motivation that officers provide to other soldiers while on the field influences the outcome. Therefore, officers that lead their troops from behind are likely to retreat upon facing of losses (Sobczynski 30).
On the other hand, officers on the fore-front inspire soldiers irrespective of the size of the enemy. For instance, during the stand at Marne River, the French survived due to the courage of their officers. As a result, they defeated an enemy force that had pushed them from their border foe more than 20 miles. Similarly, sacrifice of Brad Pitt to face the enemy irrespective of their number, motivated the remaining four to making an impressive stand that claimed more than three-quarters of the enemy. Additionally, Danny continuously inspired the troops to seek the Chief of Apache. Their previous losses did not derail them from achieving their final goal (AMC 3). He sought to eliminate people that could discourage or weaken the morale of the other soldiers in his platoon.
The end
All the two wars had an end. In the three scenarios the weaker force managed to win the war. Since at the start of the war, resources are fixed, it consumes resources until they end. Once there is a shortage in the supply of either artillery or soldiers, the side with the deficit will withdraw or accept defeat. It is impossible to continue with an assault without weapons and soldiers (Sobczynski 41). Often, the side with a continuous supply of resources (resident force) is likely to emerge successful. The travelling side carries ammunition and the number of soldiers depends of the capacity of their transportation (AMC 4).
In the movie Fury, the tank served as an armory to the crew. It also served as a sanctuary to them since the SS troops did not have a tank. Once the supply of bullets declined, they could no longer hold their ground. Unfortunately, their tank had damages, and they could not flee from the scene of war. Similarly, during the confrontation at the Marne River, the French were on their stronghold, whilst the Germans had travelled to the point of war (Sobczynski, 23). Once their resources declined, they retreated to plan for a later onslaught. Similarly, when the H Company’s resources slumped they had to retreat.
Furthermore, when the Apache engaged Danny’s company in the Desert, they fled when their number reduced. Victorio ran from the battlefield and sought refuge in the next country (AMC 12). At the end of the war, one side claims victory. Their success relies on the action of the opponent. Only surrender and fleeing would warrant that the other side of the war managed to subdue their opponents.
Also, the end of a war preempts the preparation of reports that will serve as a basis for history. In the movie Paths of Glory, the commanders had to prepare a report after an attack. The report should liaise with the initial plan (Sobczynski, 15). It should provide note about places that require improvements and others that should no longer remain in the plan. Similarly, in Fury, the remaining soldier is the source of the story. The account of the movie emanates from his report. Additionally, reports can also be helpful in the design of other military strategies in future wars (AMC 8).
The current film industry portrays a series of transformations and challenges. Some of the challenges contribute positively in the society while others do not. Information technology enables production of movies with ancient background. Although, some of the images emanates from computer generation, they can avail both entertainment and historical information to the audience. It contributes to at least 3 percent in all countries’ economies (Wells 17). Consequently, it supplies income and employment to the community. Conversely, the movies relay more than a single message in a film.
As a result, it can serve as advertisement platforms that fund its operational capital. Nevertheless, war is one of the popular themes in the entertainment sector. It provides entertainment while preserving their history. Additionally, they also caution the society in case they attempt to indulge in a war. The movies; Fury and Paths of Glory each provide an insight to war context. Irrespective of their years of production and setting, they all share the three features of a war. Additionally, they reveal that the weaker force in a war situation can topple the status quo and surprise their enemy. Therefore, it affirms that underestimation of the enemy and surprises are vital elements of war. However, caution in necessary when interpreting the movies.
Misinterpretation could lead to the moral decay or other consequences at societal level. Therefore, the Cinema Industry stakeholders should enforce the current regulations to minimize disregard of the law. If the society is ardent in the monitoring and services of the industry, their messages would reach the targeted audience and spur the intended change. It might be physical or emotional. Nevertheless, it would contribute towards making the world a better place.
Works Cited
AMC. ‘Filmsite Movie review: Paths of Glory’, AMC International, (2016).
Neale, S. ‘Genre and Hollywood’, Psychology Press, (2000). Print.
Ryan, M. and Lenos, M. ‘An Introduction to Film Analysis: Technique and Meaning in Narrative Film’. London: Continuum, (2012). Print.
Sobczynski, P. ‘Reviews: Fury’, Rogeebert, (2014).
Wells, P. ‘Animation: Genre and Authorship’, Wallflower Press, (2002). Print.
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