Enemy at the gates

Inspired by a true story, Enemy at The Gates, is set in Stalingrad, Russia in the Fall of 1942 during the height of the second world war. The story opens aboard a rail car where soldiers are herded in like cattle to be taken to the battlegrounds in Stalingrad. Soldiers are practically thrown onto small boats that are carrying the thousands of militants across the bay and into the city. As German war planes bomb the boats, Russian captains order the soldiers not to retreat or they will be shot. As the soldiers finally reach Stalingrad, the chaos of and destruction of war quickly overwhelms them. They make it to the battleground where thousands of German soldiers with bigger guns and tanks are waiting. Some of the soldiers realize that they are vastly outnumbered and retreat, but are shot by their own captains. The movie promptly gets to the point that war is brutal and unfair. These similes of war become apparent as the story unfolds. From

here, we are introduced to characters and situations that define many sociological perspectives.

Vassili Zaitsev, a Shepard boy from Ural is one of many Russian soldiers herded in to fight. He makes his mark by befriending a Russian political officer named Dan

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The most obvious conflict would of

course be the current World War and Germany and Russia in the battle of Stalingrad. Because of this war the citizens face problems such as cultural diffusion, propaganda, and a faint sense of colonialism. In an attempt to win Tanya’s love, Danilo offers Tanya a safer position within the military, however, she prefers to fight with a rifle in her hand and looks to Vassal as a hero worthy of praise. Danilov immediately notices Vassili’s skill as a sniper after he kills a German general and five of his best men.

Class conflict is evident in this film. Quickly they hire a highly trained German sniper named Major Koenig to try to even the score and eliminate him. He symbolizes Germany with many of his characteristics and mannerisms. This class relationship between Danilov and Tanya is also similar to the relation ship between him and Vassili.

In Conclusion, the universal theme of love, friendship, war and peace, and the resulting conflict that arises within the boundaries of the human experience are evident once again. Tanya plays a role of mass media by her work as a German translator. He began the war as an ordinary soldier but is suddenly hurled into fame. This leads him to symbolize the role of denial, betrayal, and eventually defeat. The main class struggle is between Major Koenig and Vassal. Danilo mourns the loss of his dream of a life with Tanya and reconciles his love for the now dead Tanya and his friendship with Vassily. Vassili is quickly turned into not only a hero but a symbol of war and Russian pride.

Approximate Word count = 2347
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

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