The Deer Hunter is a coming home film. The movie chronicles one soldier and his return from the vietnam war and depicts the many differences between the man's two lives. The first hour of the movie shows the main character and his friends enjoying a wedding and shows how close group is. They are always joking together and drinking and generally having a good time. The group goes camping and the main character is by far the best hunter and easily bags his deer.
After the war this feeling of comraderie has deteriorated greatly. When the friends hangout they do not laugh and joke quite the same, the spend much more time having serious conversations about the effects of the war. It is clear that the war has forced these men to mature. The problem is fgurther complicated by the loss of two friends from the group. Steve is in a wheelchair and his loss deeply impacts the group. Nicky is AWOL in Vietnam and the emotional burden of his disapearance also weighs heavily on the group. Michael acts very strange after he returns. He has stopped drinking. When hunting he traps the deer then purposely shoots over it. This gave him the thrill of the hunt without killing the animal. The main point in michael's change in behavior is when he puts the gun to stan's head and pulls the trigger during a game of Russian Roullette. The move shows how desensitized he has become. His freinds are terrified of his actions as they are something they never would have expected out of the pre-war mike. The latter half of the movie is meant to show the damaging effect the experience in Vietnam had on soldiers who returned home from war.
I believe that this film is a pro war film. I actually believe it is more of a pro American soldier film than anything. I think it does a good job of depicting the ways that these soldiers dealt with the immense physical struggle in order to try and live normal lives. Steve is shown as perserveering through a great tradgedy and tries to live a normal life. Though both returning vets appear afraid and distant from the outside world the try their best to assimilate. The american civilians are shown in a positive light as well. They are very welcoming to Michael and make sure that he is doing ok. His friends are all more than happy to see him. The final, and major way that the film shines a positive light on the American slodier is in Mike's loyalty to Nicky. Before the war Nicky begs Michael not to leave him over there, that he wants to return to Pennsylvania if he should die. Michael travels back to Vietnam, during the fall of saigon, in order to persuade his friend to come back home. Though Nicky does not remember Mike, Mike succeeds. Mike brings Nicky's body back to be buried in his hometown. After the funeral service the group of friends is enjoying breakfats when they begin to sing "God Bless America". All of these individuals have given so much, especially steve and mike, yet they praise the country that protects them. They acknowledge that all that has been sacrificed in Vietnam is not for nothing and that it makes America stronger.
The Deer Hunter is a coming home film. The movie chronicles one soldier and his return from the Vietnam War and depicts the many differences between the man's two lives. The first hour of the movie shows the main character and his friends enjoying a wedding and shows how close the group is. They are always joking together and drinking and generally having a good time. At the wedding the group talks about how quick and easy the war will be. They really believe that the three will get in, get out and be none the worse. This is evidenced by the group’s confrontation with the Green Beret who says “Fuck It” when asked about Vietnam. The group shrugs his words off and eventually laughs. Everything is light in atmosphere. It appears that none of them have put any consideration into the fact that at least one of them could be killed in the action. The first hint at a realization of the magnitude of their military service is when Nick begs Michael not to leave him behind in Vietnam. The group goes camping and problems start to surface in the group. It appears that Nick’s previous words about being left behind in Vietnam deeply affected Michael and have caused him stress, as evidenced by his yelling match with Stan.. The main character Michael is the only one of the group who is fully prepared to begin hunting and he easily bags his deer.
ReplyDeleteAfter the war this feeling of camaraderie has deteriorated greatly. When the friends hangout they do not laugh and joke quite the same, they spend much more time having serious conversations about the effects of the war. It is clear that the war has forced these men to mature. The problem is further complicated by the loss of two friends from the group. Steve is in a wheelchair and his loss deeply impacts the group. Nicky is AWOL in Vietnam and the emotional burden of his disappearance also weighs heavily on the group. Michael acts very strange after he returns which can be attributed Post Traumatic Stress. He has stopped drinking. When hunting he traps the deer then purposely shoots over it. This gave him the thrill of the hunt without killing the animal. The main point in Michael's change in behavior is when he puts the gun to Stan's head and pulls the trigger during a game of Russian Roulette. The move shows how desensitized he has become to violence. His friends are terrified of his actions as they are something that never would have expected out of the pre-war Mike. The latter half of the movie is meant to show the damaging effect the experience in Vietnam had on soldiers who returned home from war.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that this film is a pro war film. I actually believe it is more of a pro American soldier film than anything. I think it does a good job of depicting the ways that these soldiers dealt with the immense physical struggle to live normal lives. Steve is shown as persevering through a great tragedy and tries to live a normal life. Though both returning vets appear afraid and distant from the outside world they try their best to assimilate. The American civilians are shown in a positive light as well. They are very welcoming to Michael and make sure that he is doing ok. His friends are all more than happy to see him. The final and major way that the film shines a positive light on the American soldier is in Mike's loyalty to Nicky. Before the war Nicky begs Michael not to leave him over there, that he wants to return to Pennsylvania if he should die. Michael travels back to Vietnam, during the fall of Saigon, in order to persuade his friend to come back home. Though Nicky does not remember Mike, Mike succeeds. Mike brings Nicky's body back to be buried in his hometown. After the funeral service the group of friends is enjoying breakfast when they begin to sing "God Bless America". All of these individuals have given so much, especially Steve and Mike, yet they praise the country that protects them. They acknowledge that all that has been sacrificed in Vietnam is not for nothing and that it makes America stronger. The singing of “God Bless America” is purely a way for these Americans to show how proud they are of the sacrifices their friends made for their beloved country.