Example essay (inc. plan) comparing District 9 and The Hurt Locker discussing portayal of violence.
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Course
Critical Approaches
Institution
OCR
Example essay (inc. plan) comparing District 9 and The Hurt Locker discussing portayal of violence. Prep example essay.
The Hurt Locker and District 9. Ideology and Conflict.
OCR Film Studies, Critical Approaches, Paper 2, Section B.
The Hurt Locker District 9
Insight into psychology of war An allegory for Apartheid
- Inner conflict, war as a drug - Signage (marketing for film)
- Wider conflict, James as a - Mis-en-scene
representation of Bush’s America - Harsh treatment of Wikus
Criticism of Inaccuracy by reviewers Aliens not realistic
- Sanborn/Eldridge common - Sci-fi elements/conventions
solders extreme
Conditions of Conflict accurate - Weaponry preoccupation
- Filmed in Jordan because it’s an - Actual violence not true to life,
independent film (Hollywood has dramatized for entertainment
to film in Morocco)
Topic Sentence Evidence Analysis
Fiction narratives show fictional violence, however, aspects can be transferable to
the real world, be it inner conflict or an insight into the treatment of foreign
peoples/species.
The Hurt Locker, in its wider conflict, uses the backdrop of the Iraq War as its vehicle
to explore the inner conflicts that precede the wider conflict. More specifically it is
made clear by the opening quote that this film will explore war as a drug, and so
aims to teach mainstream, most likely, American, audiences the psychological
impact of war. Bigelow preaches this through the character of James. Going back to
the USA has James confused, lost and bored, the war having dulled even further the
mundanity of life. The scene in which he goes down the cereal aisle, James is framed
in a low angle long shot, in which he appears small in the frame in comparison to the
choice of cereal that stacks the rest of the frame. Not only does James struggle to
make little choices, he returns to war so that he is able to make the lethal choices.
This teaches the audience the PTSD and disillusionment that comes as a
consequence of an addiction to war. Only moment before James had been with his
infant child, sadly expressing that he only has one love, which isn’t his family, but
war. This addiction to conflict demonstrates the damage it does to a soldier’s ability
to feel and express emotion.
The Hurt Locker has been heavily criticised for its depiction of James’s behaviour at
war for being inaccurate. Despite the writer being adamant that these were real
situations it is unlikely that they happen to one man in such quick succession as in
the film. Thus, he stands more to represent the people of Bush’s America at the
time. Not only does he admit to being a red neck to Sanborn (the red necks being
Bush’s prime support group), he also has a disregard for the safety of himself and
others. And so he becomes representative of the Americans who supported the war
and who’ll never actually have to fight it. This is strongly linked to a strong American
patriotic ideology. Him, being the sergeant, he guides Sanborn and Eldridge further
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