In order to stay in tune with today's discussion of music and culture and WWI, I offer this post both as a learning tool and as a way to highlight one of my favorite bands (in addition to this musician): Metallica.
Metallica's 1989 song "One" was inspired by the novel "Johnny Got His Gun." Published in 1939, this anti-war story is about a soldier injured during WWI. The phrase "Johnny Got His Gun" comes from the George Cohan song "Over There" we listened to in class.
The novel has been adapted to the stage (the 1940s) and the screen (the 1970s), and a new film version is scheduled to debut this year.
Metallica's music video for "One" won a Grammy in 1990 and is quite famous; it musically depitcs tension, conflict, and via drums, machine guns. Check it out here and read the lyrics here.
A couple of questions......
What is significant about the historical context of the book's publication in the late 1930s, and about the film version of the book (both during the 1970s and today)? What does the song say about wartime experiences, and how does this relate to what we've read and discussed in class?
********
Reading: pp. 729-36, and for those to whom this applies, don't forget the AP fee that's due tomorrow.
********
[Photo credit here.]
Posts
11 comments:
Oh man! That video was super intense and kind of creepy. I can't seem to shake it off. One part of the movie that I liked the best was when the little boy said, "Democracy is when men kill each other."
The signifigance of the release of the movie, play and song in the 30's, 70's and present is that at each of these times America has been involved in a war. How appropriate that the movie based on the novel is scheduled to come out this year. The wars have all suffered great critcism, opposition and questioning. Peace.
Caroline DINGEs
Johnny Got His Gun was written in 1938 and published just after the start of World War II. It tells the story of Joe Bonham, an American soldier who is horrifically wounded and disabled in World War I. Supposedly, his mind wanders back and forth between his past, including his war experiences, and his immediate condition. The book was kept obscure for several years because it was introduced just as the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. The film significance would be that it was produced during or after the Vietnam War. Now we are “anti” Iraq war, so anti war films would obviously be well accepted by the public. In war, innocent civilians die, families are ruined and soldiers are blown to pieces on the battlefield. The song serves as a valuable tool for those who question the wisdom of blindly following leaders into combat. It is also one of the most horrifying accusations against war. Frankly, I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private individuals.
As long as war is regarded as wicked, it will always have its fascination. When it is looked upon as vulgar, it will cease to be popular.
-Oscar Wilde
The book was published in 1939, the same year that Germany invaded Poland, and the film was produced in the 1970s which coincided with the Vietnam War. The significance of these two time periods was that this anti-war story was released during periods of war. Furthermore, the new release of this movie also occurs during wartime. Even though the story is more than fifty years old, the theme of personal fear, pain, and injury are still relevant today. The types of weapons and guns have changed over the years, but the impact they leave on the individual has remained unchanged. The individual experiences from war are lasting and the same whether the war happened a hundred years ago or today.
The book was written in response to Germany's invasion of Poland while the film was produce in response to the Vietnam War. Interestingly, a new version of the movie is coming out this year, during this period of the Iraq War. Johnny Got His Gun seems to emerge whenever the masses feel restless and annoyed with a war. The song makes many references to being saved by God and losing one's life, limbs, and soul.
The book was written in response to the German invasion of Poland in 1939. However, the film was created in response to the war in Vietnam. Both mediums are interesting in that they condemn war through artistic, not intellectual, means. Ultimately, they reveal that there are other means to show one's disdain of conflict beyond simple argument or evidence.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/expert_on_anteaters_wasted_entire
o the Vietnam War. Interestingly, a new version of the movie is coming out this year, during this period of the Iraq War. Johnny Got His Gun seems to emerge whenever the masses feel restless and annoyed with a war. The song makes many references to being saved by God and losing one's life, limbs, and soul.
disregard the part of david's response, it was accidentally pasted with the link.
In the late 1930's when the book was first published, WWII was just beginning. It was protesting all forms of war, seeing the devastation it leaves on young soldiers. The 1970's in America were a time known primarily for anti-war protests. It was during the Vietnam War, when protesting became more popular than ever. Now, in the midst of the War on Terror, a remake of the movie appears, once again protesting the war.
Metallica's video was very, but well thought out. It was intriguing! It really focused in on the psychological effects of participating in the war. It goes into the mass hysteria of war.
the significance of the release of the movie, song, and play was that at all times America was at war and it was written as a response against the war. All of the wars have been retalliated against.
The novel “Johnny Got His Gun” was published in 1939 as a response to the German invasion of Poland, WWII. The film version released in the 1970s was a response to the Vietnam War; and the film being released today is a response to the Iraq War. When the little boy asks his father what democracy is the father tells him “it is when men kill each other.” During the war men had to inslist and fight; when the boy asks his father if he will want him to go and fight in the war, the father responds “for democracy any man would give his only begotten son.” The song "One" makes an allusion to Christ. War experiences are both everlasting and scaring. As proven in the movie, the psychological effects of war on an individual are drastic. –Meagan Smith
When America engages in wars without a straightforward purpose or what is viewed as an imminent threat, the people of the United States will become restless and tired of the loss of lives and time the troops spend abroad. The song, film, and novel all were created or are being created during these times of restlessness and anger over war efforts; thus, we can see as the times align with WWI, the Vietnam War, and the current Iraq war that there is a constituent of anti-war America that presents their case in every situation of observable combat of American troops. The forms of art are meant to question US involvement, and in each case, these forms of art denote the pulse of the average citizen during their respective time period.
As stated repeatedly in earlier posts, the novel “Johnny Got His Gun” was written in the midst of WWII and in direct response to Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939. The film, however, was produced and released in response to the war in Vietnam. While presented through an artistic and creative lens, both the film and the novel are meant to expose the American public’s feelings of dissent and anger towards our nation’s war efforts. As Carter wrote, these works seek to question and challenge the necessity of the country’s involvement in all military efforts; one could easily draw parallels to certain modern war efforts such as the current war in Iraq.
Post a Comment