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The Thin Red Line [1998] is American ensemble epic war film written and directed by Terrence Malick. Based on the novel by James Jones, it tells a semi-fictionalized version of the Battle of Mount Austen, which was part of the Guadalcanal Campaign in the Pacific Theater of World War II. It portrays soldiers of C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, played by Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Elias Koteas and Ben Chaplin. Although the title may seem to refer to a line from Rudyard Kipling's poem "Tommy", from Barrack-Room Ballads, in which he calls foot soldiers "the thin red line of heroes",referring to the stand of the 93rd Regiment in the Battle of Balaclava of the Crimean War, it is in reality a quote from Jones's book which reads, "they discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad... and the living from the dead..." (source of information: Wikipedia).
This is an epic and sweeping film (if a bit overdone) featuring an incredible star-studded cast (including movie superstars not mentioned above --- George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, and John Travolta).
This Malick film presents to audiences the haunting notion that the 'drama' of war itself can be found not in the hail of bullets and enemy-recognition but in the coldness of a wrath-filled sky that turns men into philosophers. It's the same approach to 'war-storytelling' seen in All Quiet on the Western Front and The Pianist.
The star-studded cast symbolizes perhaps Malick's intention to infuse with cinematic art the discovery that the loss of human life (during wars) makes humanity think about the problem of 'political insanity.'
We can therefore use The Thin Red Line to create a dialogue/discussion about 'wartime patriotism.'
Such thinking seems representative of America under the capitalism-subjective Trump Administration...
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MICHAEL: Man's nature is to compete.
SATAN: That's why teamwork can be so humiliating.
MICHAEL: Very few educators focus on the glory of teamwork.
SATAN: That's because even in America, competition is encouraged in schools.
MICHAEL: All Quiet on the Western Front should be in the curriculum of every high school.
SATAN: Unfortunately, every school has a right to determine its own curriculum preferences.
MICHAEL: You're saying if it's required reading in every high school, it will be considered propaganda?
SATAN: That's correct. They should just make a star-studded film that millions of Americans would watch!
MICHAEL: The Thin Red Line is a star-studded film pensive about the tragedy of manmade wars.
SATAN: Then it seems that many Americans would see it and then talk to their kids about it.
MICHAEL: That's correct. Unfortunately, movies are considered 'low-brow entertainment.'
SATAN: If a movie presents mental conditions maturely, the socially relevant ideas/symbols will come across.
MICHAEL: That's true. People don't necessarily find clowns at a circus odd or silly (or non-intellectual).
SATAN: What does The Thin Red Line say about the shock of war?
MICHAEL: Malick (the director) suggests that entering a war is like entering a planet inhabited by aliens.
SATAN: I see, so people are compelled to meditate on discomfort. However, competition is thrilling...
MICHAEL: True, but as you compete (and win or lose), you have to think about teamwork.
SATAN: Malick then is someone similar to Freud or Howard Cosell.
MICHAEL: Correct. He provides a 'mob psychology quill.'
SATAN: In that case, The Thin Red Line is not unlike The Omen.
MICHAEL: Perhaps the AntiChrist will be a movie-star who makes war-films.
SATAN: Surely, such an 'adversary' would suggest war is an 'itch'!
====
The Thin Red Line (Wikipedia)
The Thin Red Line (123movies)
This is an epic and sweeping film (if a bit overdone) featuring an incredible star-studded cast (including movie superstars not mentioned above --- George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, and John Travolta).
This Malick film presents to audiences the haunting notion that the 'drama' of war itself can be found not in the hail of bullets and enemy-recognition but in the coldness of a wrath-filled sky that turns men into philosophers. It's the same approach to 'war-storytelling' seen in All Quiet on the Western Front and The Pianist.
The star-studded cast symbolizes perhaps Malick's intention to infuse with cinematic art the discovery that the loss of human life (during wars) makes humanity think about the problem of 'political insanity.'
We can therefore use The Thin Red Line to create a dialogue/discussion about 'wartime patriotism.'
Such thinking seems representative of America under the capitalism-subjective Trump Administration...
====
MICHAEL: Man's nature is to compete.
SATAN: That's why teamwork can be so humiliating.
MICHAEL: Very few educators focus on the glory of teamwork.
SATAN: That's because even in America, competition is encouraged in schools.
MICHAEL: All Quiet on the Western Front should be in the curriculum of every high school.
SATAN: Unfortunately, every school has a right to determine its own curriculum preferences.
MICHAEL: You're saying if it's required reading in every high school, it will be considered propaganda?
SATAN: That's correct. They should just make a star-studded film that millions of Americans would watch!
MICHAEL: The Thin Red Line is a star-studded film pensive about the tragedy of manmade wars.
SATAN: Then it seems that many Americans would see it and then talk to their kids about it.
MICHAEL: That's correct. Unfortunately, movies are considered 'low-brow entertainment.'
SATAN: If a movie presents mental conditions maturely, the socially relevant ideas/symbols will come across.
MICHAEL: That's true. People don't necessarily find clowns at a circus odd or silly (or non-intellectual).
SATAN: What does The Thin Red Line say about the shock of war?
MICHAEL: Malick (the director) suggests that entering a war is like entering a planet inhabited by aliens.
SATAN: I see, so people are compelled to meditate on discomfort. However, competition is thrilling...
MICHAEL: True, but as you compete (and win or lose), you have to think about teamwork.
SATAN: Malick then is someone similar to Freud or Howard Cosell.
MICHAEL: Correct. He provides a 'mob psychology quill.'
SATAN: In that case, The Thin Red Line is not unlike The Omen.
MICHAEL: Perhaps the AntiChrist will be a movie-star who makes war-films.
SATAN: Surely, such an 'adversary' would suggest war is an 'itch'!
====
The Thin Red Line (Wikipedia)
The Thin Red Line (123movies)
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