Thin Red Line

The movie The Red Line follows the transformational journey of young soldiers who are battling the Japanese in the Guadalcanal. Though this film is a war movie, it provides many symbolic references to religion as it is paired with nature. The audience soon learns that the characters themselves, the music and the dialogue come second to the visual imagery included. Nature is constantly referenced in the film from the lurking crocodile to the injured bird. We soon understand that nature isn’t fighting the war but is a part of it. From this point we understand the elements of human nature that come into question. 
            Many characters, especially Witt constantly battle between morality and religion. We see them question the meaning of war, to take someone’s life, afterlife and redemption. A religious reference is made here as the Captain’s unwillingness to send his men to their death is similar to Arjuna’s experience with the God Vishnu, who pushed him into battle under the same circumstances.
            The holy can be viewed as mask as there is often more than meets the eye at first glance. It draws you in but pushes you to delve deeper for a greater understanding. War is an extreme circumstance where many come to reflect on the holy. Life and death are constant thoughts and religion seems like the only place to turn when we have these answers. War, nature, the struggle to survive, they all convey tremendum. Mystery drives us to the core and can leave us fearful but it is the very thing required to reach the transdecent. 
            The Red Line encourages the audience to think for themselves. We follow the story through visual imagery but we must decide what the message is. War causes us to question who we are while leaving us struggling to survive. The Holy is masked behind this as we navigate our purpose to reach the ultimate truth. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thin Red Line - Connor Pugh

      The Thin Red Line follows the events of the Battle for Guadalcanal in the Pacific theater of World War II. Private Witt is picked up by a patrol boat while he and another solider are AWOL, living with a group of South Pacific natives living a care free life. Witt is punished with demotion by his Sergeant. As the film progresses, officers speak on large warships of the importance of taking the island of Guadalcanal, many of the soldiers who will be raiding the island are horrified and worrisome of what will happen on the island. Captain Staros is an American Captain who is tasked with keeping all of his men in line and also making sure they are all okay and healthy. It bothers Captain Staros that his men are seen as merely pieces in a grand plan by commanding officers and not as human lives. Staros is faced with an order from Lt. Colonel Tall to charge of a hill which will lead to the loss of probably all of his men and refuses to take the order, by doing so, this de...
Read more

The Thin Red Line - Joseph Hancock

“The Thin Red Line” has many similar themes to “Apocalypse Now.” This makes sense, as both are war films focused on a squad of American soldiers with diverse backgrounds and personalities heading into enemy territory. However, although both films tackle similar ideas, they approach them from different perspectives. For example, “Apocalypse Now” views the natural world as a part of the sacred. Meanwhile, the arbitrary war between human countries is profane by going against nature and destroying it through bombs, napalm, and firefights. But while nature is sacred, that doesn’t mean it is friendly, as the jungle is hostile towards the main characters to the point that they only feel safe on their boat after an animal attack; even then, several squad members still die on the boat as a result from unseen attacks coming from the jungle.  Comparing these ideas to those found in “The Thin Red Line”, there is plenty of overlap. Many of the visual shots in the film focus on how nature...
Read more

Rob Martine Dekalogue

Episode 1: Do any of the visuals of the films work as symbols that bridge the gap of understanding? How? Be specific in noting these visuals.  The first episode is full of symbolism in order to portray the author's message to the audience. We see a man sitting by the pond in front of a fire from the very beginning of the episode. I believe this represents God because the father comes face to face with him when checking the ice for his son. It is almost as if God is waiting for the son to drown and take him to heaven because the man is gone after the ice breaks. Another symbol is the bottle of water that Pavel and his father set outside. When they check on it the following morning, the water turned to ice, and when Pavel asks what will happen if they keep it outside even longer, the father replies, "it will eventually thaw." This foreshadows the pond eventually thawing, leading to Pavel's death. Additionally, it emphasizes the father's complete faith in knowled...
Read more