People acquire experience, inspiration, and knowledge from the past. Which is why man always considerers "embellishing" the past, for he by nature is an aesthetic creature. In the present world, Man is but a "fascinated stranger." The aspiration of man that externally focuses in going beyond what he can see and hear and that which appeals to his mind leads him to the sphere of transcendental and allows him to predict the aesthetic of his life as both substantial and subjective. Consideration of this model exploration on objectification and a society of subjective aesthetical ideas contribute to the rise of ideological, aesthetic values. These values actively contribute to the participation of history formation, attitudes, and memory. Accordingly, history's "anesthetization" as a social memory forms part of realizing the will of people, not simply for self-preservation but also for further development. When confronted with a teachers’ heavy reliance on video in the classroom, Stanford educational researcher Sam Wineburg responds that “instead of doing away with popular culture. Why not understand the way forces shape historical consequences and the way that they might be used in advancing historical understanding (Wineburg 250).
Wineburg and his associates have noted the cultural influence that the movies such as “Pearl Harbor (2001) has influenced the way that people think of movies with elements that are collectively remembered or forgotten. Their observation simply provides an additional sense of history education and the need to include historical film literacy and cannot ignore the culture influence that movies have on the way people come to understand their past. Michael Bay approaches his film in somewhat patriotic and nationalistic way; that sends a message about the strength of America, honor, and bravery in the time the Pearl Harbor attack took place. The movie portrays attitudes and shows different attacks in a more devastating and destructive way by showing scenes of joy and happiness. Such stark contrasts have the intentions of evoking emotional response from the audience. The introduction of a love triangle additionally contributes to an emotional response from the audience but detracts the action and films accuracy. The dramatized event version utilizes the portrayal of characters that delivers prompt to the American moviegoers to be able to know the sense of patriotism and pride. Michael Bay’s portrayal of the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor provides the audience concern about central and basic facts that surrounds the US military and an attack that was imminent but had no idea on when the attack would occur. The film portrays precisely the locations and some bombings including other things.
The film begins with two young boys –Rafe and Danny, who are closest companions who grow up together. Rafe is continually attempting to protect Danny. Both young boys adoration to flying is well illustrated. The movie jumps to a part where they both are Army Pilots and are two of the best fliers. Rafe becomes hopelessly enamored with this Navy medical caretaker Evelyn, and after that volunteer to go to War and battle for the British. He goes ahead and informs Danny that he was doled out so he would not go as well. At the point when Rafe is assumed dead both Danny and Evelyn are killed, however, in the long run, end up becoming hopelessly enamored with Danny. Then Rafe is seen alive once again. This time, Japan was arranging an assault on Pearl Harbor and assaults on December 7, 1941, and that is the begin of World War II for the U.S. Danny and Rafe pull together and shoot down seven planes and are elevated to Captain. Evelyn concludes that she needs to pick Danny because she is pregnant with his baby (Harbor 10). At that point, there is a top mystery mission with Rafe and Danny included and on this mission they get revenge for Pearl Harbor by bombing Tokyo.
The World War II combat film offers ample evidence that any consideration of the politics aesthetic style is incomplete if it does not venture beyond the conventional dualism of the sublime and the beauty and beyond the normative gender notions these entails. The ‘Tennessee’ Pearl Harbor, is a calm tune that suggests some hope with a beautiful sunrise, notably used for the credits in the end. Whereas the Russian folk music and the war songs including the famous ‘Katyusha’—which was only composed in 1938, was very popular during World War II are related mostly related to Lenin—who had been dead for many years when ‘Katyusha’ was composed.
The use of the soundtracks in Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor suggests that music is primarily used herein for entertaining and cue viewers into certain moods, being the only audio alternative to the spoken commentary while watching Soviet footage or features film clips. Intermingled with a few present day shots probably taken from the news archives, the overpowering commentary dedicatedly provides continuous ideological ‘explanation.’ However, since the music mostly taken from Western blockbusters, the aim seems to be creating a subconscious linkage between ideological content and ‘Westernized’ or ‘Hollywood-ised’ feelings. Whereas Russian folk music and Soviet patriotic songs might appeal to the older generation of Japanese viewers sill familiar with them, the Western blockbusters music might be chosen for keeping younger cadres on the screen: if not film aesthetic qualities, then, at least, the audio part, providing acoustic ‘familiarity'.
The potential flourish of a society depends entirely on the social memory. Besides, the ordinary consciousness level can incorporate an understanding of the antiquity and uselessness of the same social memory. However, historical continuity on that which civilization relies on is properly in the exact content of social memory, since the experience and knowledge of generation in them prove discrete. This is why social memory forms part of a concrete base for man's historical activity as evident in Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. Research indicates that understanding of social memory is as a cause of ontological demands. In the sense, trying to understand the concepts that Bay introduces and proving sense to human existence by displaying social memory, Pearl Harbor enables justification and comfort in the face of mortality and time. Such adds to the sense and understanding why mnemonic time in counterbalance to physical time assists people from complete and oblivion disappearance of the uncovered. The similar expressive and emotional experiences of man lead to the victory of his spirit. Accordingly, social memory is, therefore, the "ontological resistance of time power.”
However, the major theoretical relation of memory and film is a duty to the preface of history. The skillful coordination of vision and sound and perhaps even due to iconic nature of images portrayed, the film achieves the undetected impression of direct representation, caused Bay to come up with a movie that describes ‘immediate experience' in its nature. The concept shows a direct, unmediated encounter with reality, one thing that everyone attributes to as a procedure of remembering what image apprise to us directly, astonishing techniques without the ‘gatekeeper’- consciousness function. The impression that is reflected but film images outran consciousness reflection and overwhelmed consciousness, therefore, providing a major understating not only on the side of appealing to the strength of the film but in addition to recurring efforts of linking films with unconscious processes. Nevertheless, the current sanitization of literary and culture, about film studies has sharpened the understanding of everyone that the impression of “immediacy” is but an illusion (Jacobitti 23). Film theory discards the view that film images and photographic function as transparent doors to either some unconsciousness or the real world. The improved interests in memory representation can, in effect, be regarded as a response to the awareness, since it forms the genesis of elements of subjective constructions and narrative logic of textualization in past events.
Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor ultimately defines realism as not only a privilege but also an aesthetic necessity in remembering the war. The memory function at the time no longer defers to the negativity of the image, but rather it becomes embodied in the participant, creating what might be referred to as the body-memory of the subject. Body memory is not only invoked in oral history, but it does imply a more engraved and proprioceptive memory sense. This historical relation of one person assuming the image of another is not considered prosthetic, which already implies a supplementation, in the negative sense, instead as extensively. The key point here is that extensive begins in the body of self-projection, as a generative source, rather than the sense of prosthetic supplementation, that has in it the concept of the post- human. In the case of Pearl Harbor, history does occur in the age of image production, which also is a major form of tactical media.
In conclusion, perhaps the most significant and recent innovation in film theories today, has been a rather historic radicalization of context, this includes aspects such as; the analysis of the processes that have spectatorial features and textual properties, which must be supplemented by an account of occasional depth that details the conditions under which a text is made, received, circulated, interpreted and criticized. The life of any popular or praised film is a passage across space and time; a life remade again and again by institutions, discourse, and practices of distribution and reception. In other words, all the shifts and shocks that characterize the existence of cultural commodities, their ongoing renewal as temporary ‘property’ are varied.
The imbrications of audiences and aesthetics through questions of representation is an abiding effect that leads to uncovering of “the cultural codes” and history. As a matter of fact, Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor exhibits both the incidences that involve cultural codes, history and a sense of belonging. Finally, externalizations and a general public of subjective aesthetical thoughts add to the ascent of stylish ideological qualities. These qualities effectively contribute to the participation of history development, states of mind and memory. Therefore, history's "anesthetization" as a social memory shapes a portion of understanding the will of individuals not just for self-preservation but rather for a further understanding of the past.
Works Cited
Harbor, Pearl. "Michael Bay." Touchstone (2001).
Jacobitti, Edmund E. Composing useful pasts: history as contemporary politics. SUNY Press, 2000.
Wineburg, Sam. Historical thinking and other unnatural acts: Charting the future of teaching the past. Temple University Press, 2001.
