Wow. That was my response to the “Hearts and Minds” Documentary we watched in class. I always knew that war was gruesome, it was about killing and bombing…but I never really thought about the true reality of war. The more we read, see, and learn about war in class, the more I start absolutely hating it. I’m sorry if I offend anybody, but anybody who is pro-war…is a really sick person. As I mentioned in a previous blog, what is the difference between a criminal killing someone, and a soldier killing someone in war? Each have their own reasons for doing it, it still doesn’t make it right or good. 
This documentary was one of the most shocking films, if not the most shocking, that I have every seen. It is unbelievable what goes on in war. There is one scene from the documentary that I can’t seem to get out of my head. It wasn’t any of the horrible scenes where Vietnamese were being beaten, killed, or burnt, but instead it was one specific part where the camera is filming soldiers shooting at everything in their way. The perspective of the camera makes the viewer feel like if one where right there…at least that was how it made me feel. Like if it was only a video game. I couldn’t seem to understand, and I don’t think I ever will, how soldiers can just shoot everything in their way, no mercy.
I can’t even imagine how someone who was in war can live afterwards with all of those war memories inside. I don’t really know where I was going here with this… but after seeing what the Vietnam War was like in the documentary, if Tim O’Brien is anti-war, it must have been really tough writing his book The Things They Carried, and having to re-live everything all over again. Maybe he didn’t write this book divided in stories on purpose, maybe that is the only way he could have write it. Maybe he just couldn’t bear remembering everything all at once and could only think of short moments at once.
This documentary was one of the most shocking films, if not the most shocking, that I have every seen. It is unbelievable what goes on in war. There is one scene from the documentary that I can’t seem to get out of my head. It wasn’t any of the horrible scenes where Vietnamese were being beaten, killed, or burnt, but instead it was one specific part where the camera is filming soldiers shooting at everything in their way. The perspective of the camera makes the viewer feel like if one where right there…at least that was how it made me feel. Like if it was only a video game. I couldn’t seem to understand, and I don’t think I ever will, how soldiers can just shoot everything in their way, no mercy.
I can’t even imagine how someone who was in war can live afterwards with all of those war memories inside. I don’t really know where I was going here with this… but after seeing what the Vietnam War was like in the documentary, if Tim O’Brien is anti-war, it must have been really tough writing his book The Things They Carried, and having to re-live everything all over again. Maybe he didn’t write this book divided in stories on purpose, maybe that is the only way he could have write it. Maybe he just couldn’t bear remembering everything all at once and could only think of short moments at once.
3 comments:
I feel the same way you do about this movie. It was very greusome and at times, I was very uncomfortable watching it. I was talking to another classmate about how it frustrates me that O'Brien writes his stories out of order, but like you said, it may be the only way he can remember them. He doesn't want to remember the whole story at a time. In this video, the scene that stood out to me the most was the scene where the US soldier was kicking a Vietnamese man in the stomach. The Vietnamese man had his hands handcuffed behind his back and the look on his face was of absolute terror. The US was just as bad as the VietCong when it came to torture. There was no reason to beat that man; he was helpless. This video made he HATE the war.
The Vietnam in particular is a hard war to digest and study as you are unable to truly pick a side. Why is America over there fighting and why did they not pull the troops earlier? Why is the Government over in Vietnam pro communist and often without morals themselves? The video was an eye opening experience as is put to images what we have been reading about. I feel that the video was not as harsh as some of the stories we have been reading, yet as we are able to visually see these stories, it enables the viewer to become more involved. Are you more involved with the reading of the film?
I couldn't agree with you post more. War is sick. It is completely disturbing that people can develop the ability to detach themselves from humanity and kill other innocent humans like a machine programmed for a specific job. I think part of this ability stems from the media and entertainment industry. Imagine how many millions of billions of dollars are made every year off of big-budget blockbusters showing war-time massacres 50 feet tall and video games that train you to blow up the most people in order to beat the game. I think the biggest shame is that our entire generation is being desensitized to horrific deaths, not just the soldiers in combat.
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