Thin Red Line

2/23/2021

Thin Red Line is a movie that highlights a person's relationship with death during a war. In this particular film, we watch a soldier go from fearing death to dying himself. Originally this soldier desserts his fellow soldiers and lives peacefully in the islands with natives. Upon being found and returned to his ship, he is criticized for leaving and punished. Throughout the movie we watch him grow from a tortured soldier, unwilling to fight, to an enlightened individual ready to sacrifice himself for the sake and safety of his fellow soldiers. We watch this change happen as he helps a fellow soldier pass from this life. As he cares for and guides his friend’s soul from his body he gains a universal understanding of death and begins the path to respecting it. The majority of the movie takes place on a battlefield full of tall grass. I feel as if the grass represents the hardships and mortality of life, the everyday jobs and space, and the sky above the grass represents the freedom of enlightenment. Humans are so close to this Enlightenment but are often lost in the grass and fast-paced hardships of everyday life. The bullets are a freeing element that can scare an individual from reaching for enlightenment. However, when one is ready to take the leap, enlightenment and death can free you from the curse of karma and push you to nirvana.

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