The movie Deer Hunter shows the lives of three friends before, during and after the Vietnam war. The movie does a great job showing the changes in each of the friends as they endure the horrors of Vietnam and return home to the lives they had after the war. The first part of the the movie depicts the lives of the three friends Mike, Nick and Steven as they live in a small Pennsylvania steel town. During the first hour they are drafted into the war. Before Steve goes to fight he marries his sweet heart. The friends all get drunk at a bar and encounter a Green Beret. They ask him what the war is like and her replies "Fuck it." This is a foreshadowing of how the war is going to change the lives of the main characters. As a bachelors party the group of friends goes out deer hunting and have a great time.
The rest of the film depicts the war and homecoming of the friends. The soldier that is most affected by the war is Nick. He is so traumatized because he thinks he lost his two best friends that he refuses to get on a plane and go home. Instead he stays in Vietnam and plays Russian Roulette and turns to drugs and alcohol to cope with his experiences in the war. Mike returns to find him and Nick doesn't even recognize him he is so shell shocked and dissociated from reality. The next most affected by the war is Steve. He is paralyzed in the war from the waist down after jumping out of a helicopter during an escape from the North Vietnamese. His wife is so shocked and traumatized by her husbands wounds that she is bed ridden and barely speaks. Steve himself is ashamed of his wounds and refuses to leave the hospital where he is staying because he cannot bear to go home in his crippled state. Even though Mike is the least affected by the war he is still a very different person then from when he left. When he arrives home he doesn't go to his own homecoming party because he is embarrassed by all the attention he is getting. He doesn't feel like he is a hero or that there is any call for celebration. He also cannot enjoy the things that he enjoyed before the war. After returning home he meets up with friends to go dear hunting just like old times. As he is about to shoot a dear he raises his gun and purposely misses because he is so tired of killing and death. Also, he goes into a fit of rage when one of his friends pulls out a loaded pistol and plays with it like a toy.
This war clearly is an anti war film because it shows how the war tore apart three best friends. During the war each of the men was care free and at peace. By the end of the war each one of them no longer enjoys the things they used to do. They have each become depressed and Nick and Steve turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with their problems. It also shows how the war affected their loved ones. Nick's wife is distraught over the fact that she thinks he is dead and can barely get on with her life and Steve's wife is such a wreck she cannot get out of bed and take care of their child. This movie clearly meant to show how war not only affects the people that endure it, but all the people that have relationships with them.
The first part of the movie is full of symbolism and shows the life of three friends (Nick, Steven and Mike) before they shipped off to go fight in Vietnam. The first symbol in the movie was the smoke of the steel mill during the credits. This symbolized the darkness that was approaching the darkness that was coming due to the war. Another symbol was the wine that was spilled at Steven’s wedding. An old wives tale that states if a drop of wine is spilled during a wedding then the marriage is doomed to end in disaster. This foreshadowed the eventual destruction of Steven’s marriage after he returned home from the war. He was so ashamed of being crippled that he refused to go and let anyone see him in his disfigured state. One more example of foreshadowing is when all three of the friends see a Green Beret drinking at the bar their reception was held at. They bought him a round and asked him what the war was like. He replied “Fuck it.” This showed how the war is not a vacation or a session of summer camp like the friends think it will be. The final important piece of symbolism is the final deer hunt before they go to basic training. The friends all have a great time and party the days away showing that they are not concerned at all about the war. It appears they assume the war might be an extended deer hunting trip. They think that it is something fun and a joke and have no idea what they are truly in for when they set foot on the battlefield.
ReplyDeleteThe second half of the film was the experiences the boys had during the war and how it changed them when they came home. The first person the audience sees return home is Mike. When he returns home he passes by his house where a welcome home party is. When he doesn’t show up the party it takes on a funeral like atmosphere. This shows the audience that the homecoming of many soldiers was not a happy event. It also shows that things are different after the war. Another major piece of symbolism was the Steven’s wife going mute. She represents all the families and friends who are affected who don’t have a voice to express the pain and suffering they have to go through. They didn’t go to war so many people don’t feel they are worth caring about. However, clearly they are affected and need just as much help as the soldiers do adjusting to the new life they have to lead. The final piece of important symbolism in the second half of the movie was the second deer hunt. The second hunt was much less enjoyable then the first one. Mike found a new regard for life after being in the war and no longer thinks hunting is a sport which is shown when he lets the deer live.
This war clearly is an anti war film because it shows how the war tore apart three best friends. During the war each of the men was care free and at peace. By the end of the war each one of them no longer enjoys the things they used to do. They have each become depressed and Nick and Steve turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with their problems. It also shows how the war affected their loved ones. Nick's wife is distraught over the fact that she thinks he is dead and can barely get on with her life and Steve's wife is such a wreck she cannot get out of bed and take care of their child. The song at the end of the movie is also very ironic. No one singing the song is happy. Even though they have survived the war it has torn then families and friends apart. This movie clearly meant to show how war not only affects the people that endure it, but all the people that have relationships with them.