WW II in Modern American Memory as the Good War - Essay Example

? WW II in Modern American Memory AS the 'Good War' Based On the Film Bataan WW II in Modern American Memory AS the 'GoodWar' Based On the Film Bataan Back in 1943 during the world war two, there was a feeling that the US military was on the losing side of the war. The American troops with the help of Filipino troops and volunteers were at the time period losing in terms of casualties to the Japanese army side that was ruthless, and battle hardened. The war was taking in the pacific, in the Philippine island s that the Japanese wanted to capture. There was a general feeling among Americans at home that the war was being triumphed by the Japanese.1 During this time, the film acted as a source of inspiration for the American population and the mixture in cast, ranging from the whites to the African Americans meant that the film acted a source of togetherness and unity despite race. Though indeed the Americans soldiers were being heavily attacked and defeated by the Japanese military, Bataan inspired Americans to believe that as much as their soldiers were dying, they were giving the war their best and dying for a country and freedom of their families back home. The film depicted how American forces were being driven out of manila by Japanese forces. An American unit of thirteen soldiers that was multi ethnic in its composition, consisting of individuals from different societal class and race decided to work together to blow up a bridge that the Japanese were using. The idea behind the move was to give the Americans and Australian troops time to advance northwards. The group of thirteen men was headed by an experienced sergeant who was tough speaking and no nonsense. The diversity of composition of the unit of thirteen men meant that there was diversity in opinion and approach to stopping the continued invasion by the Japanese into manila territory that the US occupied. In spite of the challenge in ideology and race, the unit managed to hold Japanese army, albeit for a little time. According to Bennett (2012) the thirteen American soldiers seemed to stand their ground, almost wiping out a large proportion of the Japanese army. Unfortunately, due to their small number, the American unit of thirteen men eventually lost the battle to the Japanese army. The Japanese took to eliminating them one by one. Eventually, the last American soldier to die died holding his machine gun, charging towards the Japanese army, shooting at them. Some of the officers in the unit had differences due to past backgrounds, but due to the fact that they had a common enemy to fight, neither of them acknowledged the differences and instead the opted for unity of purpose to fight for their country. The film was set depicting how hard the American troops were fighting, the unbearable conditions they lived in and their determination to win the war. This film acted as an opener and morale booster for American citizens back home who were of the thought that the war was being won by the Japanese. Disease plagued the soldiers, some died of malaria and other disease since they were fighting in forests manifested with mosquitoes as well as other dangerous animals (Christensen 1987). The movie depicts great efforts by the American troops who were outnumbered by the charging battled hardened Japanese troops. Among these efforts were the bringing down of Japanese aircrafts as well as the eventual blowing up of the bridge that Japanese relied upon to cross over into the Bataan Mountains. The outnumbered American soldiers blew up the bridge twice. 2During the first instance they blew it up, the advancing Japanese troops captured the area and were in the process of rebuilding the bridge when the American soldiers again hit the bridge and blew it up for the second time. This team spirit and determination to win the war despite all odds being against the unit made the movie a huge success. It inspired a sense of togetherness for the American population during the time. Though racism was a common feature in the society, the Bataan movie succeeded in making American people believe in unity of purpose. The American people started seeing the society beyond race and color, at least for the purpose of the war period. Though the Bataan movie in modern history is seen as a source of unification factor in morals and victory, there has been discontent as to whether indeed the movie was not one sided and produced within the realm and ideals of racism.3 During the world war two, the film came out to show the heroics and bravery of the American unit of outnumbered soldiers, therefore depicting the bravery and determined nature of the United States army in the war. This film marked the emergence of a genre of war films. The multi ethnic composition of the 13 men consisted of a religious, neophyte and learned men.4 This movie became an influential piece of art that achieved success in a lot more ways than the producers had thought possible. Dick (1985) explains that the Bataan movie increased the public understanding of the World War II. This idea of producing the film was mooted by the United States office of information and Metro Goldwyn-Meyer Production Company. The movie emphasized the values of unity, sacrifice and togetherness in the unique multi cultured composition of the army unit of thirteen soldiers. This unity between individuals of different races and backgrounds inspired a sense of unity in the American nation and increased support for the war by individual Americans.5 Based on the film, the World War II was a good war. The movie brought about unity in the nation as well as a sense of brotherhood. Given that the first half of the century was filled with deep divisions among individuals based primarily on skin color, the film went a long way in creating the notion of brotherhood and togetherness regardless of skin color.6 During the war when the United States army was seen as losing the war to the Japanese, Americans had little faith in their army. They could not see their army winning the war and according to Doherty (1993), a majority of them believed they would lose the war. Part of the reason why Japan was thought to be winning the actual war was that Japan had been in war with china for a long time, and their soldiers had become battle hardened. On the other hand, the US had a small army unlike today. The policies of isolating the population according to race and color meant that the US army was small in number and unprepared for the war and thus at a disadvantage.7 The American army joined hands with the Filipino army and a number of Filipino volunteers. Now they had an advantage but getting enough food and medical supplies for the expanded allied force became a problem. Japan thus had an upper in the war. Eventually, the American troops surrendered to the winning Japanese army. Continued losses in the battle field meant that fighting was of no use. An American commander feared for loss of thousands of more troops to the battle. Lack of supplies at the battle fields meant that the war was already over.8 Many of the American troops were of a contrary opinion to surrender and wanted to continue fighting. The commander later took blame for the surrender, insisting it was his personal responsibility to keep the soldiers safe. He absolved any of his troops from blame. This was what was happening in the war in the year 1942, before the production of the movie Bataan.9 The American soldiers, having surrendered to the Japanese army, were assembled in fields for transportation to prison camps. Without enough logistical support to transport the large number of American prisoners of war, the Japanese army forced them to march to the prison camps. Hundreds of Americans and thousands Filipino prisoners died during the march.10 The reason for this is that Japan lacked enough food for both its military and the prisoners. The prisoners therefore had to endure sickness and hunger. This was a major reason as to why Americans back home felt beaten at war and lacked motivation and support for the World War II.11 In the modern day America, lots of military films have been produced, following in the genre of the Bataan. The goals set out by the United States office of information and Metro Goldwyn-Meyer Production Company went a long way in achieving unity among the citizens of the US. Much of the decline in racism in the US can be attributed to unity of purpose among US citizens (Bodnar, 2010). Against a common enemy such as terrorism, Americans stand firmly together as a nation. These attributes contribute towards cohesiveness of the nation and peaceful co-existence among different races. The movie brought out a strong united America that believed in its soldiers, despite the fact that they were losing the war. This movie unified America into believing that the death of their soldiers was necessary and honorable if the ultimate price of life for the soldiers was the freedom of the American people.12 The movie Bataan will continue to play a pivot role in American history with respect to the world war two. Its production was undertaken during a time in which the American people needed a boost in the confidence they had in the military. The American soldiers had their families back home that looked up to them for inspiration. This movie depicted an American society that was free from isolationist policy; an America founded on unity and not based upon ideologies of race or culture. The war was therefore a good war that was well fought. The movie Bataan brought a united sense of purpose to a society that was low on morale due to the war. References Adams, Michael C. C. 1994.The Best War Ever: America and World War II, Baltimore. Basinger, Jeanine. 1986.The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre, New York,. (SLC) Bennett, Michael Todd.2012. One World, Big Screen: Hollywood, The Allies, and World War II, Chapel Hill, (SLC). Berube, Allan. 1990. Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War Two, New York. Blum, John Morton. 1976. V was for Victory: Politics and American Culture during World War II, New York, 1976. (SLC) Bodnar, John. 2010. The “Good War” in American Memory, Baltimore, (*e-resource*) Christensen, Terry.1987.Reel Politics: American Political Movies from Birth of a Nation to Platoon, New York, 1987. (SLC) Dick, Bernard F. The Star-Spangled Screen: The American World War II Film, Lexington, 1985. (SLC) Doherty, Thomas. Projections of War: Hollywood, American Culture, and World War II, New York, 1993. (SLC) Read More