TITLE; the digitalized world.

Friday, December 22, 2006

I just watched the movie "Flags of our Fathers" today with Clement after several hours of walking around at Orchard. Surprisingly it didn't take that long to buy a present as compared to previous attempts which took up to 7 hours just to look for a suitable present for Eileen. I hope she isn't reading this blog else it would give her spoilers. Haha.

Many mistake Flags of our Fathers as the usual war flick where the heroes (usually Americans) triumph over the evil Japanese during the World War II era. However, this show is not just your average war show. To call it just a war show is incorrect in the first place. The show is about symbolism. It is about representation. It is about how a certain photograph made the victory of America possible. How certain symbols are able to unite people under a certain agenda and how people are used to achieve that very same agenda.

The show talks about the World War II at the Pacific Theatre, where the US invaded the Island of Iwo Jima, an island 1200km south of Japan, with the aim of using the airfield to facilitate air raids against mainland Japan. 110000 invaders against 22000 defenders. The battle of Iwo Jima marked the first attack on Japanese soil. The battle lasted for 35 days with an overwhelming US victory despite the loss of 6000 US troops against 21000 Japanese troops.

The above mentioned photo, shows 6 US troopers planting the US flag on top of Mount Suribachi, one of the defensive focal points used by the Japanese. The photo was spread across the whole of the United States as a symbol of victory over the evil Japanese. Out of the 6 men who planted the flag, only 3 survived the battle and made it back. One of those who died however, was wrongly named. The three men were deported back to US and labelled as heroes as the picture of them planting the flag spread all over the nation. The picture became a symbol of American heroism. A national treasure. The 3 men were used in political fund-raising campaigns in the US to raise funds for the war from the Americans who had already grown sick of the long fighting and lost interest in the war. American at the point of them, was already heavily in debt due to the need of capital to sustain the war (As was the British). Unknown to the public, the picture was only taken at the 5th day of the 35 day battle at Iwo Jima where victory was still uncertain.

The three main characters: John "Doc" Bradley - A honest medic who saved the lives of many and witnessed the loss of many of his comrades, was constantly haunted by the loss till his death. (The author of the book, James Bradley, is his son). Rene Gagnon who became the media's star boy even though he was just a runner during the war and didn't really fight an actual battle. Ira Hayes, an American Indian (Who also acted in the movie Windtalkers), who survived the war because he was afraid to die.

As America celebrated these men as heroes, Ira Hayes refused to be labelled as a hero. The show goes on to examplify the "struggle" these men had in being labelled as "heroes". So what exactly is a hero? Just 2 relevant definitions from dictionary.com

1.	a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

2.	a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

War itself does not determine who is right or wrong but who is left at the end of it. History itself is written by the victors. At the end of any competition, people remember who won. Runner ups do not matter, neither do the losers, as they get forgetten in history. That is why it is important to question your history books and read the matter from a different perspective. The winner gets to write what happened from his/her perspective.

The press labelled the 3 men as heroes. But the real heroes (from the American perspective) were the 6000 men who died to ensure the survival of the rest of the men. A hero is no different from the ordinary man walking on the street. No man is born a hero. No man becomes a hero because he/she wants to be one. Circumstances make a hero. People make their own heroes out of specific given situations. Yet behind every act of heroism, tragedy is expected to be nearby. For during tragedy comes the need for a hero. Life itself is a drama, with ups and downs, happiness and tragedy, though not as clearly defined. But does the overcoming of all odds really make us a hero/heroine?

We are all heroes of our own lives as we learn to overcome our problems in life, regardless of big or small. Yet we don't see ourselves as heroes. At the end of our lives, we are not remembered as heroes; not for who we have become nor what we will be, but what we have done and accomplished in the short span of our human lives.

Perhaps there are no such things as heroes. A quote from James Bradley "I finally came to the conclusion that he maybe he was right maybe there are no such things as heroes maybe there are just people like my dad, I finally came to understand why they were so uncomfortable being called heroes. Heroes are something we create, something we need. It's a way for us to understand what is almost incomprehensible, how people could sacrifice so much for us, but for my dad and these men the risks they took, the wounds they suffered, they did that for their buddies, they may have fought for there country but they died for there friends. For the man in front for the man beside him, and if we wish to truly honor these men we should remember them the way they really were the way my dad remembered them."

digital love;
1:13 AM