Red tails the movie - Essay Example

This war movie cleverly shows how the issue of racism still plagues the America of the 1944. African American recruits pass through an arduous journey on the ground; army procedures block them at many stages, before their training as fighter pilots. Tuskegee training program is plagued with racist approach. In the end, 332d Fighter Group is sent for action in Italy with an old model Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft. Even in designating actions, discrimination comes to the fore. They are assigned unimportant missions.

But a fighter pilot takes pride in the main, one-to-one actions. The military bureaucracy is still not willing to accept the merit of the black pilots and concludes that they cannot be good for challenging war scenes as compared to their white-counterparts. Racism is an issue, but it takes the backseat, adventure and love come to the fore once the movie gets going. This aspect is shown through the arguments and conflicts between two roommates and intimate pals, Easy and Lighting. They are trying to come to terms with evil in their hearts and demonic weaknesses.

Lighting is a dashing pilot, often reckless; acts rash to take adventurous decisions, while Easy is given to drinks and less confident. On completion of an allotted mission, Lighting spies a charming Italian girl, Sofia (Daniela Ruah). Instant infatuation engulfs his heart and he begins a relationship. Next, Tuskegee Airmen are given the task to support the Allied landings and score their first victories and are instrumental in destroying an enemy airbase. The Airmen’s performances win appreciation and they are given important tasks.

They are also given the new North American P-51 Mustang aircraft. They color the tails of their aircrafts red as a distinctive mark of identification. They achieve success in the assigned tasks. In one such mission, Ray Gun is shot down and he bails out and Deke crash-lands and faces a near-death situation. Ray Gun is presumed to have died by the