People In Power Lie To Persuade Soldiers

We only see what we are shown but not what the soldiers know. The theme “People in power lie to persuade civilians to do their their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war”, is seen evidently throughout the four texts I have chosen. The song Hero of War by Rise Against, the song War Pigs by Black Sabbath, the film Rambo by Ted Kotcheff and the film American Sniper by Clint Eastwood.

The song Hero of War portrays the theme of “People in power lie to persuade civilians to do their their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war”. At the start of the song the lyrics say, “Have you seen the world? What would you say if I said that you could? Just carry this gun, you’ll even get paid.” These lyrics inform the
person being told, of how war is not a horrid event and that it would be an easy make money while getting to see the world at the same time. These statements are not completely true as he will get to see the world but for what it really is. The slaughtering of innocent civilians and also how disrespectful other soldiers can be because of what they have been told by the media and their commanders. Near the end of the song the lyrics say, “A hero of war is that what they see? Just medals and scars so damn proud of me.” This here shows the aftermath of what war has done to him. Before going to war he was not told of what could happen to him mentally and physically, all he thought was that he was going to be a hero to others as that was what the commanders had told him. The truth of war becomes a confusion of what is right and what is wrong and also whose word to trust. He questions if what he has done is right and if other people see him for how he sees himself. I think the artist Rise Against wanted shows that people in power are not always truthful to what they say and that those words can change a person's life.

In the song War Pigs, the theme “People in power lie to persuade civilians to do their their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war”. The lyrics “Generals gathered in their masses… Evil minds that plot destruction,” are written at the start of the song. This here shows that the people who are in more power have no respect for anything apart for the war they want to create. War should not be made because they just want to have one nor should there ever be one in the first place. Though because these people are of higher rank, the people who know it is wrong can not do too much about it as they do not exactly have the power of these generals. Near the middle of the of the text the lyrics say, “Poisoning their brainwashed minds… Treating them like pawns in chess.” These lyrics show how most likely the media has “Poisoned” the minds of people so all they know is who the enemy is. Due to this the generals would have full control of them in war and would not care too much if any of them die. Only achieving their goal in war, is what they would care about. When the war is over the survivors will probably realize the destruction they have caused and then will they know the truth of how war is not as great as it was purposed to them. I believe the artist Black Sabbath wants to show how people in power do not have respect for the civilians, who have been brainwashed into going to war.

The film Rambo displays the theme, “People in power lie to persuade civilians to do their their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war”. We see this theme shown near the end of the film, where Rambo is about to kill the Chief but is stopped by his general. He then goes to sit down and start spilling out all his emotions about war and friends. He goes on to say how he has lost all his friends and also that he loves using the million dollar war equipment. This scene is I'm some ways similar to War Pigs as when he says he likes the million dollar war equipment, he has most likely been “brainwashed” into liking it. Although he may of had some interest in it before, he was still “brainwashed” by the people in power to like it more. So there would be no questions asked when the general gives him orders as he would get to use the things he has been made to love. Rambo had lost all his friends from the Green Beret which had a massive impact on his life. He felt extremely lonely, like no one could help him at all. He then realized what war and the loss of friends had done to him, that he couldn't live a normal life anymore. I think that the director Ted Kotcheff wanted to display how people in power can influence someone to like war more these they should, without them knowing the aftermath of what can happen to them.

In the film American Sniper the theme “People in power lie to persuade civilians to do their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war,” is displayed.
At the start of the film when Chris Kyle is watching tv at home. A news report comes in that “Terrorists” (Islamics) have bombed a car park is his local area. This what caused Chris Kyle to join the US Navy Seal’s at war. What this scene shows is that whoever was in charge of writing what the reporters were to say was most likely told to by the government, though is could of been someone else of high power.So in reality this government or someone with power towards the media would be lying as from what is shown, there is not enough information to conclude that it was “Islamic Terrorists” who did the bombing. All they want to do is show civilians who the enemy is but in reality there probably is not one. Nearer the end of the film Chris Kyle is faced with PTSD after he has done his duties as a SEAL. We see a few scenes where this occurs, one where Chris Kyle and his son are at the mechanics and he hears the sound of a drill which triggers a flashback to when the “Butcher” killed a kid using a drill.The other was at a birthday where a dog was licking a child frantically, for some reason causing Chris Kyle to attack the dog, but was stopped very quickly by the shouting of his wife. Before joining the SEAL’s and going to war he was most likely not aware of the aftermath of war. This shows what war can do to a man, physically for the better but mentally for the worse as he will have to live with these PTSD’s for most of his life. I think that the director Clint Eastwood wanted to show how media can make people think there is an enemy so they go to war without realizing the aftereffects, such as the many PTSD’s that u can gain from
war.

I believe that people in power do lie to persuade civilians to their dirty work without them knowing the true aftermath of war. The texts Hero of War by Rise Against, the song War Pigs by Black Sabbath, the film Rambo by Ted Kotcheff and the film American Sniper by Clint Eastwood all show the theme in someway. Also how people in power are able to convince civilians to join their war that they created without them truly knowing what they are fighting for.