The film The Fog of War is a documentary the details many different parts of former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's life. The film takes the viewer through his upbringing and discusses his involvement with Harvard, Ford Motor Company, WW1, WW2, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. The film is split up based on the eleven lessons McNamara wants to share with the world.
McNamara's reason for the film is to advise the rest of the world about how to handle a war.From his time as Defense Secretary and in other positions of power, McNamara has realized that it is inevitable that humans will make mistakes and will engage in war but hopes in providing these lessons that the amount of death and destruction can be decreased. I also think he uses the film as a way to explain why certain events unfolded the way they did and what he learned through his experiences. Through the film, McNamara is able to provide an explanation for his actions as Secretary of Defense during the Vietnam War, something he was unable to do before.
In terms of the lessons, there is a clear point where the ideas behind the lessons shift. This point occurs when he introduces the Vietnam War during lesson six. Up until lesson six, the lessons deal almost specifically with war and what should be done with war in order to have a better end result. Starting with lesson six, the lessons begin to take on a more philosophical approach and can apply to more than just war but to life as well. They are lessons that should be considered in everyday life when making important decisions. These lessons seem to be aimed at those who are in a position of power and who have the ability to decide the outcome of thousands of human lives to help them make better decisions and to show them that their original thoughts may not always be right . While speaking about each of the lessons, McNamara takes a reflective standpoint, admitting that he made mistakes in terms of each of the lessons and taking responsibility for certain actions that occured in order to show that even a person such as him, someone who was extremely knowledgeable about the Vietnam War, can make mistakes.
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The film The Fog of War is a documentary the details many different parts of former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's life. The film takes the viewer through his upbringing and discusses his involvement with Harvard, Ford Motor Company, WW1, WW2, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. The film is split up based on the eleven lessons McNamara wants to share with the world.
ReplyDeleteI think that McNamara has several reasons for contributing to this film. The main reason he helped with this film was to justify his actions through explanations as well as rationalizations. I think that he felt as long as he explained what happened from his perspective, he would no longer be thought of as the bad guy. I also think he helped with this film as a way to secure his part in history. Making the film allows him to revisit a very turbulent part of American history and show exactly what part he played in it. The last reason I think McNamara created this film is because he was trying to ask for redemption for his actions before his death, which occurred only a few years later.
In terms of when the lessons shift in the film, I think that they began to shift around the fifth lesson. When explaining the fifth lesson, McNamara begins to use language as a way to hide the ugly truth of the war. Thus, with lesson five, McNamara begins trying to apologize for his actions as well as lie to cover them up. He does this in order to better justify his actions and to try and change the public's perception of him. At this point in his life McNamara no longer wishes to be thought of as a horrible person and wants to be remembered as a nice guy who tried to do his best during his time as Secretary of Defense.