Blog 10 CG

The Deer Hunter is a "coming home film", meaning that it aims to show how war changes men. We are introduced to a group of six young men working at a factory. Three of them are shipped off to the war, and the other three stay back at home. This film focuses on how the three soldiers (Mike, Stephen, and Nick) are changed by the war in comparison to the three who stay in the states.

In the first hour of this movie, we are introduced to all the characters at home. We see what is important in their life. They are young and brash, playing pool, drinking, and hunting. They care about their families. They are comfortable where they are. Stephen, one of the men going off to the war, marries his fiance Angela. This wedding scene is very telling of what is important to the men. Families run around to get things ready, to make sure all goes as planned. Stephen makes sacrifices for his wife, showing that he cares very much about her. All goes well in the wedding until we get a little bit of foreshadowing. The couple to be married drink from a chalice, and if they don't spill the drink then it is a sign of good luck. During this ritual, a drop spills onto Angela's dress, hinting at future misfortune for the couple. This misfortune comes from Stephen's time on the battlefront.

The rest of the movie is dedicated to showing the three soldiers during the war and the effects on their mental and physical health afterward. The three soldiers are forced into playing Russian Roulette, driving them to their mental brinks. This along with their combat experience in war puts the three young men over the edge, and their lives are changed forever. Mike cannot emotionally handle his experience as a POW playing Russian Roulette for his life, and cannot interact with friends and family back home as he once used to. In one powerful scene, Michael's family is throwing him a coming back party, and as Mike's taxi approaches his house, he tells the driver to keep driving. Nick becomes addicted to drugs and the rush of playing Roulette, and stays in Vietnam to pursue this fast-paced and extremely dangerous lifestyle. Stephen breaks his legs severely and is forced to have them amputated. He is put in an institution after leaving the war.

This film most definitely qualifies as an anti-war film. The whole purpose of this film is to show how war changes men for the worst. We see all the negative effects, such as mental and emotional health issues, alienation from friends and family, and drug abuse. No part of this movie is pro-war. Neither Mike, nor Stephen, nor Nick returns home from the war the way that they went off to it.