After I recently watched the movie Captain America: The First Avenger, I began to wonder if Captain America's war story is a true war story. According to Tim O'Brien, Captain America's war story is true. The actions the Captain takes and the plot of the story is unbelivable. His story also seems to not have an ending becuase he keeps on living and fighting battles. Finally, his story is about passion, love, and being a hero, not about war.
Captain America's war story is unbelievable. There is a scene in which the Captain goes into one of Germany's base camps, where more than 100 American soldiers are being held. He breaks into the camp and frees the soldiers, all alone. Then, as they are all escaping, he manages to blow up the entire camp, and live through the explosion along with the other American soldiers. Not only is this scene unbelievable, but the entire plot is unbelievable as well. The fact that a man is injected with the "Super Soldier Serum" that changes him from a weak, little boy to a strong, big man who can save the world is not realistic and therefore, is unbelievable.
At the end of the movie, Captain America crashes a plane he was flying, and is presumed dead. However, about 69 years later, he is discovered. He is found froxen in ice, but he is not dead; he is alive. The fact that the Captain didn't die shows that his war story will continue; therefore, his story seems as if it will never end.
Finally, Captain America's story is not about war. It is about passion, love, and being a hero. For example, before Captain America got his superpowers, he had been trying to find a way to go to war. He enlisted everywhere, stating he was from different places, until he was finally allowed to go to war. This shows his passion for war and how he would do anything to get to war. His story is also about love because he only wanted to go to war so he could fight for the country he loves. Being a hero is another obvious part of the story. All Captain America wanted to do was go to war and save lives, and that is all he ended up doing. He wanted to help others and protect his own country.
At first glance, I thought the Captain's war story was just a piece of fiction, made up for entertainment. However, after viewing the his story from O'Brien's perspective I determined that his story is not just a piece of fiction; it is a true war story.
Although I do agree that the war story has some truth, I also believe that according to Tim O'Brien's "How to Tell a True Ware Story," Captain America's story is false. At the end of the movie, there is lots of rectitude and the movie is truly uplifting. Captain America reins supreme at the end of the movie as usual, and continues to live on as a hero. According to O'Brien, "if at the end of a war story you feel uplifted, or if you feel that some small bit of rectitude has been salvaged from the larger waste, then you have been made the victim of a very old and terrible lie" (65). I think that this characterizes Captain America's story as false, however, I can see how you also found aspects of truth within it.
ReplyDeleteDespite a profuse fandom of the character, I must agree with Grayson here--I don't believe O'Brien's definition fits here. Captain America began as a propaganda piece in the '40s, and that's how he is portrayed in CA: The First Avenger. However, I do believe that his story becomes more genuine and true when you look at the more recent Captain America: The Winter Soldier, or his more recent stories in comics, as in those there is no uplifting or moral message that excludes him from this category of true stories we've established.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Grayson and Ryan here. The First Avenger is closer to the 1940's comics, which were basically American propaganda. In order to make the point that Cap's story is a true war story, you have to look at more than just one source. Even the other movie of his, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, provides a more modern approach to the character and would be helpful to mention here.
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