A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
We’ve all seen iconic images, whether in history books, watching the TV, or searching through the Internet. Can you picture these without looking them up? Young John F Kennedy Jr. saluting his father’s casket, Marilyn Monroe in her classic white dress blowing in the wind, Neil Armstrong landing on the moon with the flag, the sketch of the Unabomber in his hooded sweatshirt (AKA Ted Kaczynski), O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco driving down the freeway (the black gloves too) or Farrah Fawcett in her red bathing suit. It’s these images that can change the world and our views on life.
Director Clint Eastwood has taken one of the most famous images of war and turned into a film that’s more than just a history lesson.
This movie is based on the book of the same name, by James Bradley with Ron Powers and tells the story of how the famous photograph of six American men raising the United States flag brought hope back to the people, but also changed the lives of the men forever.
The photograph, taken on February 23, 1945 by Joe Rosenthal, depicts the six American men raising the United States flag on Iwo Jima. These men were John “Doc” Bradley, (James’ father) Ira Hayes, Harlon Block, Rene Gagnon, Michael Strank, and Franklin Sousley. They had no idea this photo was taken at the time. Only three of these men survived to share their story with the families waiting back home for loved ones.
One of these men “Doc” as he’s known because he is a Navy corpsman, does not see himself the hero he’s made out to be. Played by Ryan Philipe, he is just a man studying to be a mortician but also trying to save his life and many others. One of these lives was his friend Ralph “Iggy” Ignatowski. While another soldier was calling for help, Bradley leaves Ignatowski to find the wounded soldier. He returns to find his friend missing. “Where is he?” he is heard saying throughout the film. This haunts him for the rest of his life. Bradley returned home to see that his world was forever changed, all because of this one image that was seen by millions of people. He never spoke of his ‘achievement’ to his kids. James Bradley only learned of his father’s past by going through his belongings after his passing.
Hayes (Adam Beach) and Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) also have a hard time adjusting to their new found fame. Hayes turned to alcohol and didn’t want to be called a ‘hero’:
“..All I did was try not to get shot. Some of the things I saw done, things I did, they weren't things to be proud of, you know?”At first Gagnon basks in all the glory, but later finds fifteen minutes goes by pretty quickly.
Sometimes we forget that the soldiers are just ordinary men and women. They aren’t so ordinary though, because they have decided to risk their lives to save others. To us that makes them heroes. But they don’t see themselves that way. In this iconic image, we don’t see the hurt the soldiers were feeling. We don’t see their wounds, we don’t see their fears. What we do see is what we want to believe; that there is some kind of hope for mankind. That tomorrow will come and the war will be over.
Eastwood's film makes this iconic image come alive. What would our world be like if there were no images?
Flags of Our Fathers. Director Clint Eastwood. Starring Ryan Philipe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach, Jamie Bell. 2006. Dreamworks Video. 2007. DVD.
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