"It's like finding a needle in a stack of needles," Capt. John Miller, "Saving Private Ryan"
Americans have become homogenized in many ways, but more than any other, our widespread dependence on technology has left us a culture devoid of individuality and one that is perhaps the most slothful in the world.
In fact, Americans have become so lazy that we now look to Hollywood rather than books and historians to teach us about the history of the world.
Americans are also self-centered. This is evident in the regurgitation of the same history material from kindergarten to History 161, where the terms get more sophisticated but the concept stays the same: America has succeeded through struggle and strife to become the most powerful nation in the world.
It is the sole focus on American history, more specifically the making of the United States that has been drilled into my consciousness since I first entered a classroom, which has led to my apathetic stance on history in general. Imagine my disappointment when I came to UB and realized that I had to take three semesters of the dreaded subject.
But back to the laziness. These days, it appears to take Josh Hartnett ("Pearl Harbor," "Black Hawk Down," both 2001) paired with some a big-name director, to sell history. The irony, though, lies in the fact that people are willing to watch movies like Hartnett's and "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), but claim that they cannot watch the news because it is too violent and depressing.
As of March 31, "Black Hawk Down" grossed $108.5 million in the United States; "Saving Private Ryan" grossed $216 million. Both were laden with more bloodshed and gore than any newscast I've ever seen. Americans resist the knowledge that is given to them but pay for their history lessons under the guise of entertainment.
People, it seems, do not realize that hundreds of movies have been made that are based on historical events, not the creative genius of a producer or the brilliant vision of a director.
These are the thoughts that swam through my mind as I watched "Black Hawk Down" a few weeks ago. I actually went into the movie theater completely oblivious as to what the movie was about, but soon was angered by the fact that that was the first time I was hearing of Mogadishu and the atrocities that occurred there in 1993.
Granted, I was only 11 years old when President Clinton sent Capt. Mike Steele and nearly 100 U.S. soldiers into Somalia, but at some point in the nearly 10 years of schooling I've had since then I would have expected it to come up.
Maybe because fewer than 20 Americans died in Somalia on Oct. 3, 1993, we shouldn't concern ourselves with it. After all, the Constitution could always use a little rehashing. And how about them pilgrims?
Another disturbing thing about these movies is that the goal is not to inform or educate, but to gross millions of dollars and walk away with a gold statue at the end of the year.
There have been movies made about both World Wars, and specific events in history, such as "Titanic" (1997) and "Amistad" (1997). The difference, though, is that the movie about the 'Unsinkable Ship' was not about the people who died when it went down. The movie was, instead, about selling a tragic love story with big-name actors. The 1,500 lives lost on the ship's maiden voyage in 1912 are all but forgotten.
"Amistad," however, did not twist the shipboard uprising of the Amistad slaves in 1939 into something it wasn't; the film set out to capture the essence of the revolt, which sparked questions over the slave trade and slavery in America. Could it be that director Steven Spielberg actually set out to teach us something?
Maybe he thought that such a consequential event in history should be brought to light. If filmmakers are going to make movies based on events that actually happened, that should be their goal: to bring recognition to the events that are ignored by the media and the textbooks.
I can only wonder if 30 years from now, someone will think it a good idea to make a movie about Sept. 11. While it may seem ridiculous, we need only browse the selection of Holocaust movies to see that it is not all that farfetched.
