---------- From: Leroy, Marc To: screen-l Subject: Re: Glorification of Violence Date: Friday, September 02, 1994 10:19AM Is Platoon a glorification of violence? Is Glory? I saw both of these films while I was still in the relative age range of the soldiers portrayed, and I found both films to be terrifying. They show war as realistically and therefore as violently as possible, and this is terrifying. It is simply a matter of definition. If you see terror as a goal, as something worth striving for (perhaps to be overcome through bravery?), then these films definitely glorify war. If not, they serve as anti-war messages. I left both films with the exact same feeling: Thank God I wasn't there. If we want to examine out-and-out glorifications of war, let us examine films that gloss over the reality of the subject. Take the Chuck Norris films, the James Bond films, the Die Hard films, etc., etc. These films have the same amount of violence, but it is not as realistic, and thus not as terrifying. This is what desensitizes us to violence: the idea that you can shoot at the enemy and never be shot, the idea that "good guys" and "bad guys" are clearly defined groups, and the idea that violence can be relatively painless and fun, as long as you're the "good guy". The night battle of Platoon, the final assault in Glory, (and even the firefight in Forrest Gump, I dare say.) do not glorify violence as much as they display the distastefulness and horror of it. This is why we react so strongly to these movies and not the fluff action flics. Marc Leroy [log in to unmask] "L'examen bienveillant et grave, quelle force! N'apportons point la flamme la ou la lumiere suffit." - Victor Hugo, _Les Miserables_