Write an essay in which you discuss the two Clint Eastwood films, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima.
Until the mid-1960s, most Americans believed they lived in a peace-loving nation, which went to war only in self-defense and to uphold democratic ideals. To preach peace, however has never committed the nation to a philosophy of nonviolence. The United States won its independence in a war, fought a civil war to remain united, and has continued to exist through selective but regular use of its military power, not always justified but usually with the approval of its people. Ironically, to return the world to peace following the most horrific of all wars, the United States achieved that worthy goal by unleashing the most terrible weapon mankind had ever seen. Clearly, a contradiction exists between the great emphasis Americans have put on peace and the means the nation has used to preserve itself.
As long as the nation remained unvanquished on the battlefield, this ambiguity in its national character could be safely ignored. Into the 1960s. . . virtually all American films about war and the military followed the pattern established from the earliest days of the motion picture industry, showing only the glamorous side of combat—the excitement, the adventure, the camaraderie.
Guts and Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film
Using the above quotation as a possible point of departure, write an essay in which you discuss the two Clint Eastwood films, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Keep in mind what Eastwood might have been saying about America and the way that it is depicted in films as the patriotic, heroic, civilized, most exceptional country in the world. Remember that you must do more than simply describe what the films were about—you need to discuss the implications of what the filmic images are saying.
So based on this prompt, I want the essay to have a very clear theme about the reason why those two movie ,Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima , have been made. Thanks!
ps. If it’s possible, please quote the book Imagining America at War, written by Cynthia Weber. Thanks
