Hacksaw Ridge
The film Hacksaw ridge is a movie that dramatizes the life of Desmond Doss, a historically- based person, best known for receiving the Medal of Honor after the Okinawa battle. Desmond Doss rescued 75 soldiers in total at the Okinawa Ridge, during World War II. It was written by Andrew Knight as well as Robert Schenkkan and directed by Mel Gibson.
The movie is set up in two different main locations. The first half focuses on Doss’ childhood and teenage life. It is set up during the 1920s and 1930s, in Virginia Hill Country. Doss’ childhood revolves around his family, which consists of his mother, father, and brother. The film shows the audience the young Doss handling his younger brother in a rough, violent, and vicious way, and nearly ends up killing him.
His father, Tom, served in World War 1 and was quite traumatized because of the gruesome nature of war. As a result, he turned to alcoholism and was known for physically injuring his wife and children. Due to these horrifying experiences, Gibson did not wish for any of his sons to join the army. Also, the audience is keen to notice that the Doss family was quite religious and upheld the Seventh Day Adventists’ principles. After growing up, the main character meets Dorothy, a local nurse, and they fall in love. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The second half of the movie jumps to the Battle of Okinawa. Doss enlists in the army, despite his father’s plight against his sons choosing this path in life. Trouble begins during the basic training under the command of Sergeant Howell. Although performing tremendously well in physical exercises, he refuses to train on the Sabbath day, which falls on Saturday, according to the religious beliefs of the SDA. To add on that, Doss completely refuses to use a weapon, specifically a gun.
His colleagues are quick to remind him that ‘You know quite a lot of killing does occur in a war that is the essential nature of war (Puddy et al., 2019).’ When Doss refuses to let his beliefs go and act according to the commands of Sergeant Howell, he gets labeled as a coward. His colleagues, Sergeant, and Captain see his acts concerning weapon as a weakness that could lead to the death or annihilation of his group. Consequently, they begin coming up with strategies to make him leave.
His mates do so by consistent bullying, and even at one time, they beat him up. His Sergeant, on the other hand, makes an attempt at psychiatric discharge, which fortunately does not go through. The basis of his discharge was ruled as invalid because clearly, he was not insane; he was simply a staunch SDA. Doss endures all this pain, humiliation, and violence without displaying any revengeful or hateful feelings and, most importantly, without complaint.
Then the film now moves into the battle scene. It is in this scene that Doss’s courage and devotion to his work are witnessed. The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II (Keiser, 2019). Historians termed it as perhaps one of the bloodiest wars of this war period. The Americans were waging war towards the Japanese. The Ryukyu Islands were the primary target of the US, as if invaded and occupied, the USA would have a direct entry into Japan (Keiser, 2019).
Doss, together with his unit, were tasked with relieving the 96th Infantry Division. They were assigned to make sure that the Maeda Escarpment was always secured. The Maeda Escarpment is, in the Hacksaw Ridge film, known as the Hacksaw ridge. The war was bloody with death tolls from both the Japanese and the Americans rising as time progressed. There were explosives everywhere that mutilated, perforated, and gored the army personnel, killing many and injuring even more. The showcasing of things as they really happened in the past is known as realism. The movie Hacksaw Ridge tried to depict the Battle of Okinawa as accurately as possible, without hiding or trying to protect the audience from the vivid happenings of the battlefield. All the elements of war, ranging among bloodthirst, hopelessness, and majestic death, were used in this film.
As the war progressed, one of Doss’s squadmates, Smitty, gets seriously injured. Doss takes this opportunity to show his true nature that was far from cowardice and saves his life. It is also at this point that the film makes the audience aware of the real reason behind Doss’ reluctance to use a gun. Once, during his father’s alcoholic moments, Doss’s father threatens his mother with a gun. Doss reacts instinctively to protect his dear mother, and in the confrontation, he ends up nearly shooting him.
The Japanese launched a massive counterattack as their last effort in protecting the Ryukyu Islands. This attack was very successful as it killed so many of Doss’s squadmates. The feeling of destitute, hopelessness, and despair was in the air, as soldiers watched their colleagues who were alive just hours ago, lying dead and breathless. It as this point, where all was lost, that the stoicism, patriotism, and contentiousness of Doss shine. Upon hearing the cries of dying soldiers on the battlefield, he risks his life by going back to save them. As they were all injured, he had to carry them one or two at a time, and surprisingly he saved 75 soldiers from looming death. His acts of bravery, courage, and heroism receive praise from his Captain. The next day, Doss, his squad, and reinforcements launch an attack and emerge victoriously. The film then switches to the real Doss receiving the medal of honor, awarded by President Tuscan, and his father was proud of the very helpful man that he had grown up to be.
References
Keiser, K. H. (2019). Weaponized Landscapes: An Environmental History of the Battle of Okinawa and Its Aftermath (Doctoral dissertation, Appalachian State University).
Puddy, W. C., Blankinship, L. A., Bernstein, J., & Aboul-Enein, B. H. (2019). Revisiting Desmond Doss (1919–2006): Merging Combat Medicine and Benevolence on the Battlefield. The Journal of emergency medicine, 56(1), 114-119.