Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Essay Example

Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches Paper During World War I the government and army officials constantly endeavoured to project a positive image of the war effort and any attempt to show negative aspects of the war were discouraged as it was felt that this would lower morale and discourage patriotism and recruitment to the army. Therefore it is always hard to know whether any source is reliable, especially those from official sources, and these should always be backed up by cross-referencing. One of these sources is the film The Battle Of The Somme which shows footage of soldiers recorded actually behind the lines of British fire. Now, you would assume as it was filmed in the trenches, and shows real soldiers, that it would al be true and there would be no need of cross-referencing to see if it is accurate. However, as it was filmed for the purpose of showing during war-time back at home and was obviously approved by officials, it was therefore intended to show war tactics, trench conditions and general life as a soldier in an extremely positive light, and can not always be taken at face value. For instance, the film portrays lots of soldiers with clean clothes, good food and in a generally happy environment, with no major hardships smiling and going about daily life. However, various sources challenge this view of trench life including Aftermath by Siegfried Sassoon which asks: Do you remember the rats, and the stench of corpses rotting on the front line trench? which is quite a contrast to the images put forward by the film. We will write a custom essay sample on Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Does the film The Battle Of The Somme provide us with a realistic picture of what it was like to be a British soldier in the trenches specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer And a poem of Sidney Chaplain says: you stand in a trench of vile stinking mud, and the bitter cold wind freezes your blood. These poems, and many others show that the trenches in fact werent the comfortable place the film suggests. The diaries and memoirs of soldiers also express a different view of trench life. Seargeant S. V. Britten says: Left at 6. 30 for reserve trenches. Just rat holes! found Germans feet sticking up through the ground. The Gurkhas had actually used human bodies instead of sandbags. Beside the stream where we were working, stench something awful and dead all around. However, this is not to say that the film was lying, but maybe it was hard to show the discomfort the troops were put through and the directors and producers have decided to show the good times in the trenches as the audience wanted an action film about brave soldiers, and did not want to see the trivialities of daily life. Also, if the film had shown the soldiers in major discomfort this may have been upsetting for friends or relatives back home. This theory is also supported by the fact that while, in their own poems or diaries the soldiers may have been less positive about trench conditions, in letters home to loved ones they usually tried to convey a positive attitude and not discuss hardships, as in this extract a letter of Rifleman Bert Bailey to his wife shows: I am still in the trenches and in good health. Although all day and night on Monday it rained steadily, yesterday it broke fair and fine and we had a nice day except that underneath was a l mud and slosh which shows how he is downplaying the discomfort of the trenches. Although, the film does have one scene showing British soldiers scrambling over the trenches with most making it but one of two being shot down. This was, in fact just a replication of a battle, as due to the unwieldy nature of the cameras it would have been impossible to get this during actual warfare. But though this may seem to be contradicting the films earlier messages about the safety of the British soldiers it says that the Germans would be blown up with massive guns, and a few brave soldiers would die. Of course, the film shows none of the slow, painful deaths of soldiers from infected wounds or hypothermia and the like. Many soldiers going in to war also shared this romanticised view of death in the army, as the poem The Soldier by Rupert Brooke shows when he says if I should die, think only this of me: that theres some corner in a foreign field that is for ever England. He obviously had a fairly positive view of the army and was extremely patriotic. However, the films attempts at making it appear that the British tactics were so effective are not supported by the fact the first day of the battle was a complete disaster, the worst day in British military history with casualty figures over 60,000 and 21,000 killed. The Allies had been confident that nothing would survive the bombardment mentioned in the intertitles and sent an order for the British soldiers to go over the top, essentially to their deaths. One extract from the memoirs of George Coppard shows the blatant foolishness of the commanders: hundreds of dead were strung out like wreckage How did out planners imagine that the Tommies, having survived all the other hazards would get past the German wire? Any Tommy could have told them that shell fire lifts wire up and drops it down, often in a worse tangle than before. The film however fails to highlight these extremely important facts. This is the day of one of the worst leadership blunders in British military history. Another message that the film tries to convey to the audience is that the medical facilities were extremely good and that all wounded soldiers were quickly attended to. There are various sources supporting this, and some that oppose this view. Many poems tell of wounded being flung in to carts, which shows that they were at least cared for and not left to die. There is also a photo of two nurses tending to a wounded soldier, showing that care was so good there could be two nurses to a bed. However, this photograph was probably commissioned by the army, so could not have been expressing negative views about the care the soldiers received. Several paintings, such as Gassed by Singer Sargent, or The Harvest of Battle by C. R. W. Nevinson show wounded men being led back to the trenches by those who were able to help. So these are obviously supporting the evidence given in the film. However, an extract from the Diary of a Dead Officer, the memoirs of A. West reads: Doctors looked on every man as a skrim-shanker en wounded and minus an arm forced to have electric treatment. Knocked down and held on the bed people nearly crying with pain. Gloomy buildings meals never hot, worse than ordinary camp food. So this obviously shows the darker side to the armys medical service. Overall, I feel that this film, though a valuable piece of evidence from the point of view for technical reference, to see what kind of equipment the soldiers carried and so on and is a piece of World War I history, you have to bear in mind the situation under which it was created. The war office allowed a small group of camera men to cover the war on the Western front, all the footage of which was edited and produced by a team for the War Office. Indeed, the film was considered so important and expressive of the views the army wanted to promote, that at the first screening of the film a letter by David Lloyd George, Secretary of State for the War was read saying: You are invited here to witness by far the most important picture of the war our staff has yet procured I am convinced that when you have seen this wonderful picture, every heart will beat in sympathy with its purpose Now, gentlemen, be up and doing also! This letter clearly implies that the main point of the film is to increase patriotic feelings and rally civilian support for the war effort, and states very clearly that another aim is to encourage the signing up of other men. Therefore we have had to treat every area of this film with caution before stating the reliability. I have tried to do this and feel that while some of the basic facts are right, this is obviously an air-brushed view of the battle, and the government and army failed to inform of the massive losses incurred, which I feel was neglectful of their duty to keep the public informed with a realistic picture of events, and also ignores the duties carried out by the thousands of soldiers that gave their lives. This neglect of the facts also indicates the way other areas of the film, such as showing the comfort of the men, may have been skimmed over to give a better view of the army and I think that as this was the main purpose of the film from the beginning, it provides us with an extremely imprecise view of the lives the soldiers in the trenches actually experienced.

Free Essays on Frida Kahlo

I chose to watch the movie Frida. Frida Kahlo was one of Mexico’s most famous artists. She was known for her candid portraits depicting the emotional and physical pain she experienced throughout her life. Frida is about the struggles we face throughout our lives, and how we can overcome these hardships with love and friendship on our side. As a young adult, Frida was seriously injured in a trolley accident. The accident left her bed-ridden for months, due to severe injuries to her body. Doctors said that she would not be able to walk again. During this time, she developed her talent for painting. Miraculously, Frida makes a full recovery, but the medical expenses drained her family’s finances. Frida decided to try to become a professional painter to help support her family. She went into Mexico City in search of professional critique from the successful painter Diego Rivera. Diego immediately recognized her talent and offered to help her. They quickly fell in love and Diego proposed marriage. And though Diego is known for his brief affairs with his nude female models and other admirers, Frida cautioned him not to betray her and accepted the marriage proposal. Their life together was enriched with adventure and high profile parties, as Diego took high paying commissions in the United States. But his career in A merica quickly fell apart when he refused to change his painting philosophy despite political pressures from his client. Returning to Mexico, their personal and financial lives continued to unravel. Frida picked up painting again, while trying desperately to make her family life work. Frida is a beautifully performed and produced movie, thanks to the dedication of Salma Hayek who worked so hard to get this movie to the big screen. Salma Hayek breathes live into Frida, who we may never have truly appreciated without this movie. As a movie, Frida is a colorful, hard-hitting, and true from the heart as Frida Kahlo’... Free Essays on Frida Kahlo Free Essays on Frida Kahlo In the self-portrait of Frida Kahlo with cropped hair – 1940; the imagery is so odd that it evokes an almost dream like setting; Frida Kahlo gazes out expressionless, with a mask like stare. Usually known for her native Mexican costumes of long ruffled skirts and embroidered blouses, and for weaving ribbons, flowers and jewels into her crown of braids, here Frida Kahlo appears in a baggy man's suit with her hair cut off (MoMA). She appears weak. Her arms are limp and her hands barely hold a pair of scissors and a strand of hair the evidence of her self-destruction. The fresh-cut strands float and squirm in her barren surroundings, entwining themselves around her chair. It's almost as if her energy has been exhausted from her body and into her loose strands of hair. By rejecting the trappings of so-called "feminine" attire, Kahlo was making herself undesirable to her unfaithful husband, the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera whom she had divorced earlier the same year (MoMA). Her ne w "masculine" guise was meant to deflect his superficial admiration, superficiality echoed in the words from a popular Mexican song written at the top of the painting: â€Å"Look if I loved you, it was for your hair. Now that you are bald, I don't love you anymore.† Although the subjects of Kahlo's paintings are often personal, her style is rooted in Mexican art, especially in nineteenth-century religious painting. The Surrealist leader of that time, Andrà © Breton, described Frida’s work as â€Å"a ribbon around a time bomb† (MoMA). Frida Kahlo’s response was â€Å"I never knew I was a surrealist till Andre Breton came to Mexico and told me I was† (Masters).... Free Essays on Frida Kahlo Mexico’s Woman Frida Kahlo’s mother was a devout Catholic of mixed Indian and Spanish blood. Her father was born in Germany, the son of Hungarian Jewish Immigrants. He moved to Mexico City, and later studied photography becoming infamous for his photos of Mexico’s Colonial architecture. This background and the Revolution of 1910 drew Frida into focusing the Indian part of her heritage. It was reflected in her behavior ,her appearance, her art, and even in her home decor. When Frida was a small child she became ill with polio, leaving her right leg shrunken. She always remembered her father being very supportive and drove her in her mental and physical development. Her pastimes at this age were reading, singing, drifting into a fantasy world, and as she got stronger she was involved in sports. Frida was excepted into the National Preparatory School in 1922, heart set on becoming a doctor. During this time every one had â€Å"revolution fever† in Mexico, including Frida. She joined a left wing group called Cachuchas renowned for their smarts and their playful ways. She even changed her birth date from 1907 to 1910 to correspond to the Mexican Revolution beginning. It was at her Preparatory school she first met her future Husband, Diego Rivera. She became smitten with him at first sight even telling a group of friends that it was her goal to have a child by him. Though not a good student she was high spirited, strong willed, rebellious, and an avid reader in Spanish, German, and English. In 1925, her life was flipped up-side-down when she was in a near deadly bus accident. Her back, foot and pelvis were broken badly when a handrail pierced her body. She had over 30 surgeries but never fully recovered, but in public she was as strong as ever she rejected her pain with a laugh. Her flowing long shirts that she always wore were to cover her limp. While recovering she began painting, using a special easel and a mirror above ... Free Essays on Frida Kahlo I chose to watch the movie Frida. Frida Kahlo was one of Mexico’s most famous artists. She was known for her candid portraits depicting the emotional and physical pain she experienced throughout her life. Frida is about the struggles we face throughout our lives, and how we can overcome these hardships with love and friendship on our side. As a young adult, Frida was seriously injured in a trolley accident. The accident left her bed-ridden for months, due to severe injuries to her body. Doctors said that she would not be able to walk again. During this time, she developed her talent for painting. Miraculously, Frida makes a full recovery, but the medical expenses drained her family’s finances. Frida decided to try to become a professional painter to help support her family. She went into Mexico City in search of professional critique from the successful painter Diego Rivera. Diego immediately recognized her talent and offered to help her. They quickly fell in love and Diego proposed marriage. And though Diego is known for his brief affairs with his nude female models and other admirers, Frida cautioned him not to betray her and accepted the marriage proposal. Their life together was enriched with adventure and high profile parties, as Diego took high paying commissions in the United States. But his career in A merica quickly fell apart when he refused to change his painting philosophy despite political pressures from his client. Returning to Mexico, their personal and financial lives continued to unravel. Frida picked up painting again, while trying desperately to make her family life work. Frida is a beautifully performed and produced movie, thanks to the dedication of Salma Hayek who worked so hard to get this movie to the big screen. Salma Hayek breathes live into Frida, who we may never have truly appreciated without this movie. As a movie, Frida is a colorful, hard-hitting, and true from the heart as Frida Kahlo’...

Kurdish Terrorism in Turkey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kurdish Terrorism in Turkey - Essay Example Many are known to have prospered in this region, with some acquiring higher education to become doctors and government officers amongst other professions such as teaching. Those who remain in the Eastern part are usually compelled by circumstances to join the guerrilla forces of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which claims to fight for the right of the Kurdish people in the region which is largely under developed. This essay is a critical evaluation of Kurdish terrorism in Turkey. The manifestation of the issue in world politics has been explained using the liberalist as well as the realist point of view (Saeedpour and Beaudin 2003 p. 178). The remote Eastern part of Turkey lacks basic infrastructure that can encourage investment in the region. The Kurds view this as a result of government’s negligence and thus it forms the basis of their complaints (Edgar 1996 p. 339). The government favors the Kurds who do not assert their Kurdish nationality. These are mainly those who have migrated to the developed Western region of the country. This is one of the main factors that contribute to terrorism, being retaliation for the denial of what the Kurds regard as their rightfully owned country. The optimism that the terrorists in Turkey have in regard to the outcome of their struggle forms the basis of their realistic point of view. They believe that they will one day get back what they have been denied for years. The Kurdish terrorists initially demanded that the original names of the Kurdish names be restored. They believe that the names that were instituted by the government lower the dignity of the Kurdish people and that it will be restored once the towns’ real names are re-established. Their grievances are presented through the PKK party which was founded by Abdullah Ocalan, with a philosophy based on Kurdish nationalism. This party was mainly focused on the establishing a Kurdish nation believing that this would present them with a chance to manage