In the beginning of the film The Deer Hunter, we are introduced to a group of friends as they are going about life in a much laid back, fun type of lifestyle. Three of these friends, Michael, Steven, and Nick are about to enter the Army and go into Vietnam. Their last adventure before they go is Steven’s wedding and then a Deer hunting trip. During the wedding they all get very drunk and have a very good time. When they go on the deer hunting trip, you are able to see some of the anxiety when Michael gets truly upset that Stanley forgot his boots. This symbolizes all that they are going to leave behind as they enter the war. Life will never be the same once they go to war, no matter how much they wish for it to be. Things will be different when they return, and this just shows how it will change. Also, the wedding symbolizes the life that would be if not for the war. The marriage will be different because of the war.
When they return from the war is when you can see the “coming home” that they experience. First off, there is Nick, who is brought to a hospital when picked up by a helicopter. Here, they deem him mentally incapable of serving the war. When he is confronted by Michael in Saigon at a gambling club, Nick does not remember Michael. This shows the effects on him from the Russian roulette game and other horrors throughout the war. This leads to a game of Russian roulette against Michael where he eventually kills himself. This is interesting because it goes back to an earlier saying by Michael about one shot, one kill. Then there is Steven, who is not physically or mentally able to take care of himself. His life is forever changed as his wife is not happy and he is not the same person. He is eventually visited in the hospital by Michael.
This movie is different from other Vietnam War movies because it does not focus so much on the war, but more the effects of the war on people’s lives. First there is the Green Bret who only has the saying “fuck em” as how the war actually is. Then there is Nick who is mentally disabled and Steven who is both mentally and physically disabled. This movie serves as an anti-war film not because of the horrors of war necessarily, but because of the effects that the war has on these people and their lives. It shows how their lives will never be the same, and how it is a life altering decision.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
In the beginning of the film The Deer Hunter, we are introduced to a group of friends as they are going about life in a much laid back, fun type of lifestyle. Three of these friends, Michael, Steven, and Nick are about to enter the Army and go into Vietnam. Their last adventure before they go is Steven’s wedding and then a Deer hunting trip. During the wedding they all get very drunk and have a very good time. When they go on the deer hunting trip, you are able to see some of the anxiety when Michael gets truly upset that Stanley forgot his boots. This symbolizes all that they are going to leave behind as they enter the war. Life will never be the same once they go to war, no matter how much they wish for it to be. Things will be different when they return, and this just shows how it will change. Also, the wedding symbolizes the life that would be if not for the war. The marriage will be different because of the war.
ReplyDeleteWhen they return from the war is when you can see the “coming home” that they experience. First off, there is Nick, who is brought to a hospital when picked up by a helicopter. Here, they deem him mentally incapable of serving the war. When he is confronted by Michael in Saigon at a gambling club, Nick does not remember Michael. This shows the effects on him from the Russian roulette game and other horrors throughout the war. This leads to a game of Russian roulette against Michael where he eventually kills himself. This is interesting because it goes back to an earlier saying by Michael about one shot, one kill. Then there is Steven, who is not physically or mentally able to take care of himself. His life is forever changed as his wife is not happy and he is not the same person. He is eventually visited in the hospital by Michael. Even Steven’s wife’s life is changed because of Steven. She becomes mute which symbolizes how speechless war can make you. She cannot believe that this devastation could occur from war. She feels as though she has reached rock bottom, and there is nothing left to say.
This movie is different from other Vietnam War movies because it does not focus so much on the war, but more the effects of the war on people’s lives. First there is the Green Bret who only has the saying “fuck em” as how the war actually is. Then there is Nick who is mentally disabled and Steven who is both mentally and physically disabled. This movie serves as an anti-war film not because of the horrors of war necessarily, but because of the effects that the war has on these people and their lives. It shows how their lives will never be the same, and how it is a life altering decision.