I finally had the opportunity to watch "They Shall Not Grow Old" on an aeroplane yesterday, and was blown away. In my personal opinion, this is Peter Jackson's greatest accomplishment - greater than the LOTR or any other movie he has made, because this actually matters. It is real.
This is a careful account of World War 1 (focussed on the British Empire on the Western front). The entire film is actual footage of World War 1 - restored and colourised to make it as real as possible. What is more, the entire film, all 1 hour and 40 minutes, is narrated by actual World War 1 veterans. Nobody speaks other than an actual WW1 veteran. They have clearly combed every interview they could find and built the entire narrative from the words of those men who were actually there. It's unlike any other documentary - it's a complete class of it's own.
And it is real. Very real. It covers:
But even more importantly, this is very relevant to today. Right now, there is political unrest in many places that could trigger conflicts - and most people pay a similar amount of attention to it as the men narrating this documentary did before the war. People signed up due to inflated views of their own country's power and simplified views of good and evil. The young British recruits assumed their government's cause was right, and a quick victory was inevitable, because the British Empire was the world's greatest military force so was guaranteed to win rapidly. They signed up as fast as possible otherwise they'd miss out. They were mostly young, naive teenagers - and the government used their naivety to take ownership of their lives.
They were firm believers in British exceptionalism, one man says they were taught 1 British soldier was equal to 10 Germans.
Once actually fighting, their views were shattered. And once they took prisoners, they learnt the Germans were just like them also - another bunch of young, naive teenagers, who had signed up for similar reasons - and were now happy to be taken prisoner as it meant an escape from the hell of war. Furthermore, they didn't know why the British were even fighting them - they thought the British should be fighting with them, against the French and Russians. Eventually, many on both sides didn't really care who won, or whether they were taken prisoner, they just wanted someone to win so the war would end.
The thing that struck me most strongly about it was how similar it was to today. The people were the same. And the geopolitics were the same also. As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
Today we once again have a conglomeration of allied Western countries, led by a country with the largest military in the world, that seems to consider itself exceptional and obviously going to win any future conflict. The USA today is the Britain of 1914 - and the USA's allies are the British Empire of yesteryear (especially Canada, Australia, and the UK itself, plus many others including New Zealand). Like in 1914, we have large amounts of new military technology that have never been deployed in a great war - satellite technologies, AI, hypersonic missiles, hydrogen bombs, missile defence shields, lasers - and this gives the same false confidence that the new artillery, motor vehicles and Dreadnought battleships gave the European powers in WW1.
The same could happen today very easily, and this is an extremely timely warning against blind overconfident militarism.
This is essential viewing for most people - but especially mandatory viewing for anybody considering joining the military, as it could be your future. It cannot be viewed without seeing the harsh reality of death, so is inappropriate for some. But essential for most.
Full movie most easily obtained from Amazon.
This is a careful account of World War 1 (focussed on the British Empire on the Western front). The entire film is actual footage of World War 1 - restored and colourised to make it as real as possible. What is more, the entire film, all 1 hour and 40 minutes, is narrated by actual World War 1 veterans. Nobody speaks other than an actual WW1 veteran. They have clearly combed every interview they could find and built the entire narrative from the words of those men who were actually there. It's unlike any other documentary - it's a complete class of it's own.
And it is real. Very real. It covers:
- The leadup to war, how normal people perceived the political situation (or ignored it)
- Why people signed up to fight, what motivated them, how young they were etc.
- Training.
- The actual fighting - far more brutal than any had anticipated (death presented plainly with no whitewashing).
- The soldier's life: disease, food, all forms of entertainment...
- The German prisoners - the people, their attitudes, their relationship with the British.
- The end of the war.
- Difficulties with return to civilian life.
But even more importantly, this is very relevant to today. Right now, there is political unrest in many places that could trigger conflicts - and most people pay a similar amount of attention to it as the men narrating this documentary did before the war. People signed up due to inflated views of their own country's power and simplified views of good and evil. The young British recruits assumed their government's cause was right, and a quick victory was inevitable, because the British Empire was the world's greatest military force so was guaranteed to win rapidly. They signed up as fast as possible otherwise they'd miss out. They were mostly young, naive teenagers - and the government used their naivety to take ownership of their lives.
They were firm believers in British exceptionalism, one man says they were taught 1 British soldier was equal to 10 Germans.
Once actually fighting, their views were shattered. And once they took prisoners, they learnt the Germans were just like them also - another bunch of young, naive teenagers, who had signed up for similar reasons - and were now happy to be taken prisoner as it meant an escape from the hell of war. Furthermore, they didn't know why the British were even fighting them - they thought the British should be fighting with them, against the French and Russians. Eventually, many on both sides didn't really care who won, or whether they were taken prisoner, they just wanted someone to win so the war would end.
The thing that struck me most strongly about it was how similar it was to today. The people were the same. And the geopolitics were the same also. As Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun.
Today we once again have a conglomeration of allied Western countries, led by a country with the largest military in the world, that seems to consider itself exceptional and obviously going to win any future conflict. The USA today is the Britain of 1914 - and the USA's allies are the British Empire of yesteryear (especially Canada, Australia, and the UK itself, plus many others including New Zealand). Like in 1914, we have large amounts of new military technology that have never been deployed in a great war - satellite technologies, AI, hypersonic missiles, hydrogen bombs, missile defence shields, lasers - and this gives the same false confidence that the new artillery, motor vehicles and Dreadnought battleships gave the European powers in WW1.
The same could happen today very easily, and this is an extremely timely warning against blind overconfident militarism.
This is essential viewing for most people - but especially mandatory viewing for anybody considering joining the military, as it could be your future. It cannot be viewed without seeing the harsh reality of death, so is inappropriate for some. But essential for most.
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