Intertextual essay: Hiroshima and Born on the 4th of July
The subject of war has been portrayed in a multitude of texts over many years, as it has issues that seem to re-occur and still stay relevant to our ever-changing society.Two common forms of presenting such issues are through film and narrative, like in the film "Born on the 4th of July" and in the John Hersey biographical narrative "Hiroshima", which both convey the issue of the casualties of war.These texts convey this issue using techniques such as dramatic camera movements, the characters and their relationships with each other, and dramatic music and sound effects.A big factor in creating different moods for different scenes is the sounds and music.During the opening scene of the film we get a good view of what life was like before the war had started and even before the main character, Ron Kovic, had grown up. The music in the background and the slow motion of the characters give us a warm feeling of nostalgia, and the voice over from Kovic makes it more personal for the audience, like Kovic is talking directly to us. It shows the audience how "normal" and wonderful life was. Then the music suddenly changes when Kovic and his family are watching the WW2 veterans in the parade. Again, the use of music combined w
The characters and their relationships with each other in both Born on the 4th of July and Hiroshima are perhaps the most obvious methods for conveying the issue of the casualties of war. This gives a very warm feeling of nostalgia. Born on the 4th of July and Hiroshima were very similar in that respect, as they both made emphasis on the "normal lives" of the characters so the audience can relate to them. In the very first scenes during Kovic's childhood, the colour is extra bright and has a golden tone to it. This movie was so incredibly powerful because, not only was it a true story, but the emphasis the director had put on Kovic's life pre-Vietnam, and how normal and perfect his family was made the tragedy of him becoming a drunkard paraplegic after fighting in Vietnam even more shocking. They are repeated throughout the film so that the audience will realise that war affects people for the rest of their lives. This made a big emphasis on how war can affect anyone. They were civilians, and John Hersey made that very clear, even going so far as to give quite a bit of detail into each characters personal lives and backgrounds pre-WW2. The same music and nervous flinching is seen again later in the film when Kovic is in his own veteran's parade. He makes them real to the audience, so we can see how the casualties of war affected the people other than soldiers. The soldiers with missing limbs stare coldly at Kovic as they flinch nervously at the firecrackers. This time, it is a feeling of fear as it highlights the casualties of war. They're not the only ones who are affected by the casualties of war. He seemed to have the whole world at his feet. The camera angles and movements in Born on the 4th of July were dramatic and created many moods to suit the scenes and convey different feelings and issues throughout the film.
Common topics in this essay:
Ron Kovic,
July Hiroshima,
John Hersey,
Vietnam Sounds,
,
Vietnam War,
casualties war,
born 4th july,
born 4th,
4th july,
camera movements,
ron kovic,
music sound,
john hersey,
issue casualties war,
dramatic music,
issue casualties,
sound effects,
warm feeling nostalgia,
music sound effects,
4th july hiroshima,
|
Acceptance Essays
