Throughout the first part of The Deer Hunter by Michael Cimino there is little talk of the Vietnam War, just keep hearing them say “when we get back.” Nikki plans on getting married once he gets home and Michael wants to move into the mountains. They don’t seem to have feeling toward the Vietnam War other than worrying about going home. These men aren’t necessarily concerned about what is going on during the war, but they want to put in their time and return to their lives. The film mainly focuses on life in the U.S. rather than in Vietnam representing how they want to forget what happened.
Once Michael returns home everyone is mentioning just like old times, but Michael realizes he doesn’t see things the same anymore. For example, on the hunting trip, just like the one he took with Nikki and the boys before leaving, he realizes he doesn’t want kill anything more than he has already killed. The war has changed him and he no longer wants to take any lives. He can no longer live the life he once lived and has a different perspective. When his friends start playing with their gun we see him get very tense and it brings back memories of the game they use to play with the Vietnamese.
The soldiers expect to come back and live their original lives once they return from Vietnam, but as Michael realizes war changes everything. Not only has Michael lost his friends but he is always seeing the horror of the war. He finally tries to end his stress by finding Nikki, but this is when he sees the true damage war can have and that his life can never go back to the way it originally was. Now “coming home” for Michael means bringing back all the memories of his friends and how it use to be. They once looked forward to coming home, but it has changed them too much they no longer have the same perspective on life. The film overall is anti-war because this group of friends have seen their lives tear apart. Not only have a few of them suffered from PTSD, for example whenever Michael goes hunting the stress of killing another living thing overwhelms him. At the same time the patriotic song at the end could signify that they are proud that they served their country.
Throughout the first part of The Deer Hunter, by Michael Cimino, there is little talk of the Vietnam War, the viewer just keeps hearing them say, “When we get back.” Nikki plans on getting married once he gets home and Michael wants to move into the mountains. They don’t seem to have feeling toward the Vietnam War other than worrying about going home. These men aren’t necessarily concerned about what is going on during the war, but they want to put in their time and return to their lives. The film mainly focuses on life in the U.S. rather than in Vietnam representing how they want to forget what happened.
ReplyDeleteAn important scene at the wedding appears when they meet the Vietnam soldier that has already done one duty to Vietnam. When they ask about the war it is almost like they are children and the war will be fun. The response “fuck it” comes as a major surprise to them and it gets Nikki angry.
Once Michael returns home everyone is mentioning just like old times, but Michael realizes he doesn’t see things the same anymore. For example, on the hunting trip, just like the one he took with Nikki and the boys before leaving, he realizes he doesn’t want to kill anything more than he has already killed. He no longer lives by the “one shot” rule that he always focused on. The war has changed him and he no longer wants to take any lives. He can no longer live the life he once lived and has a different perspective. When his friends start playing with their gun we see him get very tense and it brings back memories of Russian roulette they use to play with the Vietnamese.
The soldiers expect to come back and live their original lives once they return from Vietnam, but as Michael realizes war changes everything. Not only has Michael lost his friends, but he is always seeing the horror of the war. He finally tries to end his stress by finding Nikki, but this is when he sees the true damage war can have and that his life can never go back to the way it originally was. Now “coming home” for Michael means bringing back all the memories of his friends and how it use to be. They once looked forward to coming home, but it has changed them too much they no longer have the same perspective on life. The film overall is anti-war because this group of friends have seen their lives tear apart. Not only have a few of them suffered from PTSD, for example whenever Michael goes hunting the stress of killing another living thing overwhelms him. At the same time the America The Beautiful song at the end could signify that they are proud that they served their country and felt that it was their duty living in the U.S. Living in rural Pennsylvania has blocked them from seeing the protest and sheltered them from the controversy that surrounds the war. This can resemble how many small towns all around the U.S. felt over the war.