Call to Action

Above is the scene I briefly mentioned in class on Thursday during our discussion of Parables of War. This scene occurs towards the end of the film The Hurt Locker, in which the protagonist has just returned from serving on an army bomb squad during the Iraq war, and now he must reintegrate back into his home culture. The juxtaposition between the high tension scenes surrounding the "which wire" trope and this scene of which cereal to choose, presents a poignant, yet subtle critique of the difficulties of reintegration for U.S. troops. The critique in The Hurt Locker is similar to the "call to action" during Parables of War, both of which provide subtle evidence that allows the audience viewer to choose their own means of action or involvement. As Macherey discusses, often what is not said is just as important, if not more important, than what is actually said. The silence of the Hurt Locker scene, and the subtlety in the dance expression of Parable of War, showed that silence and quiet moments can create a strong communication of narrative, without the specifics of language. I believe that this sense of silence is integral to filmmaking, as these scenes can often strengthen the narrative, but I also believe that the subtlety in Parables of War is important for films interested in creating "call to action" pieces. I personally believe that the most effective "calls to action" come from a place of true passion and compassion, rather than the examples in current media, which focus more on guilt and obligation towards a human "duty." I think that when a call to action is founded upon passion rather than requirement, the result can often be more beneficial to society.

As a side note, during the discussion Dr. Cummings provided a quote that really stuck with me, and I wanted to put it in the blog just as a reminder: "As long as we have wars, we have unwhole people." Powerful.