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There is a sharp contrast in the manner in which war is portrayed when comparing old generation and new generation movies. These differences are attributed to changes in technology and the tactics employed to tackle war. The general perception of war has also contributed to this contrast, taking an example of the movies; “Top Gun” a war movie produced in 1960s and released in 1986, and “Taxi to the Dark Side” produced in 2003 and released in 2007, to illustrate these differences.
In the 1960s, war was depicted as a measure of sovereign might and power. In the “Top Gun”, Maverick, a naval aviator lieutenant, develops a reckless flying habit because he is angered by his father’s death during the Vietnam War (Top Gun 1965). He does this to prove he might and even differs from fellow military men. He also engages in combat with every person who differs with his personal opinion.
Although, Maverick is considered the finest fighter pilot in the world, he finally leaves the Navy and goes on to fight its top command. This causes a great rift between him and the Navy. Nevertheless, he is sought after later since he is the only person with the expertise to rescue a stricken communication ship. This justifies his course of war, and the indispensable powerful personality. This portrayal can be as a result of just having come from the World War II, where the most powerful nation was the one with the best military prowess (Taxi to the Dark Side 2007).
On the contrast, new generation war movies portray war as a justified action taken to protect its citizens or help fight a social vice as portrayed in “Taxi to the Dark Side”. An innocent taxi driver is tortured to death by the United States military personnel in their quest to extract valuable information about terrorists who had attacked the states. Although innocent, the military personnel take no heed to the driver’s cry of innocence. This depicts the extent to which the military is committed in rooting out terrorism.
They are determined to employ even the dirtiest tactic including assault and torture of detainees. These movies focus on the root cause of war unlike the earlier show of military supremacy, this change can be attributed to the establishment of human rights and civilian organizations which were not there in 1960s. The two generations are both against unwarranted wars between states which may expose innocent civilians to inhuman conditions and only advocate for war when there is a genuine threat to be eradicated (Top Gun).
A clear similarity between the two generations in the production of the war movies is that, in both cases, war is employed as the last resort of dispute resolution. In the earlier case, lieutenant Maverick only resorted to war when there was no amicable resolution to the disagreement between him and the Navy led by Lieutenant Tom “Iceman” Kasansky (Top Gun).
In the second case, the United States military resolves to war as the only available option to fight terrorists believed to be hiding in Afghanistan. The innocent taxi driver is tortured to death because he fails to cooperate with the military. In the two periods, war is also associated with the elite in society.
The civil populations in both cases are innocently affected by the war as in the case of Charlie and the beautiful lady in Top Gun, who pass on when Maverick and Kasansky engage in battle and the innocent taxi driver who is tortured to death in The Taxi to the Dark Side (Taxi to the Dark Side).
Works Cited
Taxi to the Dark Side. Dir. Alex Gibney. Perf. Alex Gibney, Brian Keith and Allen Moazzam. New York: THINKFILM, 2007. Film.
Top Gun. Dir. Tony Scott. Perf. Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Antony Edwards and Tom Skerrritt. California: Paramount Pictures, 1965. Film.
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