Be it books, movies, documentaries, or even music. I feel like I have people around me whom wish to fight violence with violence, with mentalities like “we should just counter-invade and show them who’s boss” or “I’m not afraid to fight for what I believe in”, showing a clear intent against an “enemy”.
“The enemy” is such a dehumanizing perspective, and only breeds further animosity. I wish for them to see that we all manage to find justifications for our actions, but that doesn’t make it worthy of just any sacrifice.
I recently saw the Norwegian movie Max Manus, which is about real events during WW2.
Tap for spoiler
He survives, but with almost none of his friends, and after the war he struggles with alcoholism and nightmares for the rest of his life.
It left me with a feeling of despite “victory”, many people paid with more than just their life. And this is the feeling I wish others to feel, just for a bit, and ponder if “doing the right thing” really is the best thing.
No one should want conflict, and I wish to emphasize just how much we really should try and avoid warmongering. I’ve seen uncensored videos from modern wars, been in the military, had a great grandfather who fought in WW2 (who also struggled with nightmares and PTSD until his natural death), and all of it makes me dread the potential of the horrors that happen to everyone involved in an armed conflict, especially the innocents and the kids…
So, any suggestions for media that conveys this in a way that makes one really reflect?
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Godzilla Minus One does a great job at showing post WW2 Japan, and the effect the war had on the Japanese people.
I haven’t watched it, but They Shall not Grow Old (2018) (TMDB) may also be of interest.
A user review says it takes a neutral position, and while it shows negative consequences, it also shows people liking comadery etc. So not sure if it would serve your goals in particular.
I subscribe to the philosophy that there is no such thing as an anti-war film or story. They all romanticize and dramatize war in a way to captivate the audience, and to where the horrors of it are observable, yet not experiencable and therefore not understandable.
The Boy in The Striped Pajamas and Empire Of The Sun spring to mind.
Edit: Also, The Deer Hunter.
1917 the movie feels very anti-war imo
I haven’t watched it, but I’ve heard Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket is a pretty brutal anti-war piece by the end.
All quiet on the western front (movie from 2022) feels like your example a bit without the post-war consequences. Grave of the firefly (anime) is on my watch list and is very anti-war from what I understand. Catch 22 maybe. The Wars by Timothy Findley felt very anti-war but is a tough read. The cruel sea was a good read. Vinland sagas first season is very good, lots of action but some really hard hitting scenes for an anime.
Grave of the Firefly is the greatest movie that I will never watch again.
just make sure you’re in the right mindset when you watch Grave of the Fireflies – great movie BUT it is an emotional gut-punch
Yeah I’m kinda terrified to watch that one, not gonna lie. I get an emotional overreaction just looking at the cover…
Absolutely worth it though. Maybe watch it together with somebody so you can do some adhoc mutual therapy lol.
I love Ghibli movies so much because they tell stories very well, they are never black and white, and they always make me feel and ponder things. (And all that with beautiful art and music).
Das Boot, it is the classic movie about German Uboats from the perspective of the Uboat crew.
It does not glorify, it does not condemn, but the one thing that stays with you is the feeling of futility.
They did all the terrible and heroic things, cheered at hitting convoys, let allied seamen drown because of their orders, escaped again and again, showed fanatism and self-reflection, panic and comradeship, and in the end, when they come back to their home base, it just doesn’t matter.
spoiler
As they arrive, half-afloat, battered, relieved and enthusiastic about being home, while a marching band plays in the background, they get hit with an air raid. Bombs fall, all die, only the narrator (war reporter) survives to tell the tale. All for nothing. All of it completely futile.
Must give that another watch. Absolutely incredible flick.
Edit: actually just ordered the Bluray. Less than a tenner. Can’t wait.
Vinland Saga
“I have no enemies.” It’s an anime with two seasons so far. The manga is getting close to complete. Takes place around 1000 ad with the wars between the Vikings and the English. Basically the first season is about revenge while the second pivots hard to redemption. It’s ultimately a story about pacifism.
Wow. I dropped it too early then.
I kinda rolled my eyes and was like “Is EVERY Viking story just an endless circle of killing fathers killing sons killing fathers again?”
Maybe I should give it another chance…
Ya the first season reminded me a lot of Berserk. You’re following along with a character whose sole purpose is to kill and survive.
But you see his father in the first few episodes, a man who moved his family far away from the Danes, a man who runs a village and is beloved, a man who despite being a master with a sword is shown trying to lean new skills and grow. He was a man who couldve led the Vikings and lived in luxury but wanted his kids to grow up away from the battlefield. The story is the unfortunate journey of Thorfinn having to realize what his father was trying to teach him but the hard way. Even though the first season is a lot of fighting, there is very little in the second.
Don‘t get me wrong the conclusion is phenomenal but the second season just drags on and on and on. They should‘ve made the second part a much shorter movie. The prologue season on the other hand was absolutely amazing and peak television.
Goes to show that every war movie (or in this case TV show) is a pro-war message just as much as it is an anti-war message. It all depends on who you ask. No matter how much effort you put into getting your message across.
pretty much every war movie
the classics have got Saving Private Ryan, Nolan’s got Dunkirk, Best Cinematography’s got 1917, Ghibli’s got Grave of the Fireflies (released same day as Totoro even)…
for anti-war that’s not depressing, there’s also AFAIK the over-the-top Helldivers
for things that feel “clean” instead of bloody there’s the elegant video game Nier: Automata
Pretty much every war movie glorifies war haha. Saving Private Ryan, Dunkirk, and 1917 are famous because of their awesome looking action scenes. All those films glorify war and convey a sense of heroism, urgency, and righteousness for people involved in a war. If the director’s wanted to make a film that didn’t glorify war, they would’ve focused on the shitty parts of war instead of showing the audience all the cool heroic things soldiers get up to.
Grave of the Fireflies does not glorify war. Thin Red Line is maybe the only movie about soldiers that doesn’t make war seem cool.
I would compare the action scenes in Saving Private Ryan to the “action scenes” of Schindler’s List. It tells you how hard all of this is, how everybody’s confused, how nobody knows what they’re doing, how it’s all a hellhole. I would not describe Schindler’s List as “glorifying” the plight of the Holocaust victims. It tells you how horrid this all is, not that you should be part of it.
(FWIW, Saving Private Ryan and Thin Red Line are often put in the same category of “glorifying the people who fought in WWII”. But in my opinion, “glorify” here means “elicit sympathy for their effectively-forced situation”, and not “glorify”, which I would say is something like La Grande Vadrouille (1966).)
I agree that Saving Private Ryan action scenes are supposed to show what you’re talking about, but that’s not what they do. To an American audience (which the film was made for) the chaos and horror is justified and honorable. The audience has been taught that America is always on the right side of history, they have to honor soldiers at every sporting event, they have a general riding a horse into battle in the middle of their town square, they had to pledge allegiance to war every day as a kid, etc etc. The title Saving Private Ryan tells you everything; war is heroic and necessary.
I’m not sure what film of which you can’t claim specific lenses would color them contrary to their intentions.
Anything written by Kurt Vonnegut
An amazing movie is come and see. One of the best movies I have ever seen (no pun intended).
Edit: the comments says it all, just the type of thing you asked (or what I understood you asked).
I came here to say this too! The other one that springs to mind is Threads. Nuclear conflict as opposed to ‘traditional’ warfare but very illustrative.
I’m so scared to play that game. I also am very much not willing to engage in real warfare, so, I guess it’d be preaching to the choir… But yeah…
Was scrolling through to see if this was posted yet. Such a hard game, emotionally and mechanically. I’ve never managed to get very far through it before everything goes wrong and my characters start dying horribly (Which is entirely the point).
It’s a really good portrayal of the civilian toll of war I think.
Was about to comment about watching that and then realised I was thinking about Land of Mine, but that is also a film I would suggest.
Spec Ops: The Line I heard is a game like that
The Unknown Soldier is quite well made and high budget war movie by Finnish standards and it does nothing to glorify war.
