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Troy at a Time of War
"The fact that the film was released during a time of war is ironic and intriguing to me."
By Jordan Monroe
Troy is the epic story of two feuding ancient civilizations, the Greeks and Trojans. And since reading has become a thing of the past for many people, this film will serve as a modern way of bringing this historic tale to younger generations. Thankfully, Hollywood didn’t stray too far off the storyline.
Troy is about one civilization going to war against another in the name of love and honor, only to discover that the true reason for the war is power, conquest, and world domination. Sound familiar?
The film begins by introducing the key characters: Achilles, Prince Hector, his brother Prince Paris, their father King Priam, Queen Helen, her husband King Menelaus, and his brother King Agamemnon. The film’s ability to recreate what ancient times and dress might have looked like was amazing to me. Yet costumes and special effects can only take a film so far; the script must carry its own weight, and the writing was one aspect of Troy that lacked a bit. It drags during certain parts of the movie, especially towards the end, and the climax didn't quite climax.
The fact that the film was released during a time of war is ironic and intriguing to me, and proves one thing. I can only give the perspective of an American, but as a society, (and perhaps this is true of all humans), we have a love-hate relationship with war.
Now I tend to over-analyze things sometimes, and this may be one of those instances. The images of prisoner abuse in Iraq have made many more Americans doubtful about the war. Yet we still flock to the movie theatre to witness fictitious heroes single-handedly destroying entire armies. We applaud when they succeed, and even weep when they fail. But which image do Americans see as the true face of war- Brad Pitt as Achilles or the torturers of Abu Ghraib?
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