Similarities Between Flags Of Our Fathers And Letters From Iwo Jima

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS and LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA

In this paper, I will be exploring the war that took place in the movies Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The historical context behind the films is that during the Pacific War, the United States attempted to capture the island of Iwo Jima in order to launch assaults on Japanese mainland. Flags of our Fathers presents the war from the Americans’ point of view whereas Letters from Iwo Jima illustrates the war from the Japanese’s perspective. In the following paragraphs, I will be comparing and contrasting the two films with regards to the war and the social attitudes towards it. While Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima differ in their concepts of heroism and motivations

There is clear evidence of patriotism in both films, but the type of patriotism shown and the manner in which they’re portrayed are different. In Flags of our Fathers, I would argue that there was active patriotism shown. Whether it was troops going off into war or welcoming the heroes of Iwo Jima back home, the public is always cheering loudly for their soldiers. Similarly, when the soldiers at Iwo Jima plant the American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, applause could be heard all across the beach and the ships. This sense of passion, optimism, and pride exuded by the American people in the film can be clearly felt by viewers watching the film. However, this sentiment in Flags of our Fathers isn’t exactly portrayed in a positive light. Rather, patriotism is illustrated as the result of effective war bond marketing using the flag raisers as the spokespersons. The photograph served as a major morale boosting tool, and its heroes, Ira, Rene, and John, were successfully exploited to stir patriotism and pro-war sentiments in the home front. When people think of patriotism, they think of fervent passion for their country, not exactly this kind of systematic marketing and manipulation of the

Many of the admirals under Kuribayashi’s command are staunch Bushido upholders. They believe that one should fight until death and that it is more honourable to die at one’s own hands than be captured. This ideology clashes with Kuribayashi’s unconventional tunnel digging strategy as seen when Admiral Osugi openly protests against Kuribayashi. Bushido practitioners do not believe in surrender or retreating, but Kuribayashi wants to delay the Americans for as long as he can. This causes the internal conflict in the Japanese army. Socioeconomic class once again plays a role in determining war perception. Wars are funded at the expense of the lower class citizens. As Saigo mentions, soldiers from the Kempeitai took everything from his bakery, even including the equipments for metal. The practice of soldiers ransacking villages for resources is not uncommon, but it does leave the vulnerable of the society even more vulnerable. This is why Saigo initially bears a grudge against Shimizu, who he believes is partly responsible for exploiting citizens during the war. What is common about both Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima is this common theme of exploiting the lower class in society. However, there is a much stronger sense of a military ideology among the Japanese than the