A movie from the other side this time. | Forums

[Ducimus_Rapax]

When watching war-related movies I tend to take a broader view...I don't see Nazis, or GI's or Japanese. I see people caught up in a situation far beyond their control, and attempting to come out of it in one piece. What they all have in common is suffering we can't begin to imagine, and the sheer madness of the whole business....

Touching on that and the subject of uboats, the movie Das boot, Silent Hunter 3, modding etc, I had a moment of realization. That moment came when, after a long patrol in a Type 9C uboat in SH3, and felt relieved when i saw a swaztika flying on a ship near Lorient harbor. It occurred to me then, that i saw the Nazi flag as a flag of a friendly nation. I was as elated to see it, as i was the US flag. At that realization I wanted to slap myself upside the head. That was when my disillusionment began, I was throughly disgusted with myself and thought long and hard how I got to that point.

And, yes, "Das Boot" is in my collection of war movies as it exemplifies better than most what I see in these movies.

In my opinion, Das Boot cant hold a candle to The Thin Red Line. ( Full movie here) Best war movie ever made i think. A lot of the thoughts expressed in this movie mirrored my own from my own time in the military. It hit the nail on the head.

SH4 never became popular..??

Comparatively to SH3, no it didn't.

[mracosky]

"Touching on that and the subject of uboats, the movie Das boot, Silent Hunter 3, modding etc, I had a moment of realization. That moment came when, after a long patrol in a Type 9C uboat in SH3, and felt relieved when i saw a swaztika flying on a ship near Lorient harbor. It occurred to me then, that i saw the Nazi flag as a flag of a friendly nation. I was as elated to see it, as i was the US flag. At that realization I wanted to slap myself upside the head. That was when my disillusionment began, I was throughly disgusted with myself and thought long and hard how I got to that point. "

That got you, but pretending to blow up boats and kill sailors didn't? Get a grip guys, they are only games and movies.

[WernherVonTrapp]

That got you, but pretending to blow up boats and kill sailors didn't? Get a grip guys, they are only games and movies.

You're completely missing the point. At least, I know what Ducimus is trying to say here. Everyone knows it's just a sim/game and extracting only that fact, from what's been said, is pointless. What Ducimus is talking about, for lack of a better term myself, is a type of "Inception". A sim/game that surreptitiously injects a thought, idea or (perhaps) a philosophy without one's knowledge that it's being done. An idea that, depending on the personality it infects, one can be corrupted or enlightened by the experience. I was certainly enlightened by his profound and concise analogy.

[donna577]

War is only diplomacy by other means. There has always been war and there always will be, the word Peace only describes the interlude between wars. Everlasting peace is a pipe dream.

There are two general rules about war.

Rule #1: People die.

Rule #2: You can't change rule #1.

[nohunt1]

Apparently I didn't fully explain myself...I was referrig to the men in the boats, planes, and trenches - They're the ones that endure the brunts of war, (as well as the civilian population), and have had no say in the matter. And, yes, there are people that believe they are better than others-we can see that right here in this country, we don't have far to look. I guess it's part of human nature, since it can be seen everywhere and all through history.

As far as SH3 goes (where I cut my subsim-teeth), I actually stopped playing it quite some time before SH4 came out. The idea of sinking allied shipping didn't sit well with me. You can attest to this in my very first posts here when I first began to deal with installation of the game back in '09.

[mracosky]

You're completely missing the point. At least, I know what Ducimus is trying to say here. Everyone knows it's just a sim/game and extracting only that fact, from what's been said, is pointless. What Ducimus is talking about, for lack of a better term myself, is a type of "Inception". A sim/game that surreptitiously injects a thought, idea or (perhaps) a philosophy without one's knowledge that it's being done. An idea that, depending on the personality it infects, one can be corrupted or enlightened by the experience. I was certainly enlightened by his profound and concise analogy.

I get the point. Ducimos felt relief at reaching port and finishing the mission, not from seeing the swastika. If not, then you guys need a break from games and do a reality check.

[Col_SandersLite]

You missed the point. What he's saying is that he *did* feel relieved seeing the swastika, and *did* stop and do a reality check.



However, I personally disagree with that point of view. I can play a game and understand that seeing a emblem on a friendly unit is a great thing whether it's the swastika, hammer and sickle, saint george's cross, stars and bars, or stars and stripes. Personally, I can leave my politics and personal prejudices behind and just enjoy the game. In order to make sure that what I'm saying is absolutely clear lemme rephrase: In real life I might see one of the neo nazi/nazi holocost denialist/advocate and want to just break their ****ing knees. In the context of the game, I just don't care and will even be glad to see him if it means I get heavy fire support. Why? They're not really nazis/communists/english/yankees/confederates/whatevers they're just pixels and that's all I really see.

Also worth noting, I'm not sexist either. I'll gladly welcome help from, or shoot at as the case may be,any video game character regardless of bust size!

[WernherVonTrapp]

It's not about politics or game playing. Personal prejudice, yeah, to an extent. Not prejudice in general, against race, creed or color, but against ideologies. Ideologies that are so dangerous, they should never be given the slightest opportunity to permeate the mind in any favorable light. Predjudice, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. It serves to alert and protect it's bearer, sometimes from following the herd off of the cliff. Pedjudice that breeds hatred of others is a completely different thing, but once it turns to hatred, it is no longer predjudice. Anyway, I think Ducimus was speaking of something quite a bit deeper than the obvious or superficial. If it was that obvious, then he'd have no reason to expound upon his meaning.

[STS1Thndrb-low]

Sorry to revive this if I hit a nerve but...

Duc, I understand where you are coming from as far as a movie glorifying something that is barely noteworthy or stirs controversy just to make a buck. I applaud all the research you have done on the U-boats, I am the same way about my heritage as a US Submarine sailor and have been doing more and more research on our subs and, more importantly, the men that made them go to sea and do their job. But that is the point, these war games, whether Call of duty or Silent hunter or any other form, you are doing "the job" you are accomplishing the mission. Sink merchant shipping, take that hill, clear that bunker, survey that port, etc. Where I would draw the line in games is when a game designer starts to pull on recent controversy(thinking modern warfare 2 in the airport for example) and force the player to commit and atrocity to add color or make waves for a video game.

I can play as a Nazi or even a communist, so long as a developer is not so narrow sighted as to force a player to commit an act that is against his or her morales. So to sum up, Duc, I can understand why you had the wake-up call when you were relieved by the sight of the Nazi sign, but its not like your next mission was to go to a concentration camp and mutilate/gas/or murder Jewish prisoners. So from that stand point, respectfully, you wer playing the role of a german sailor following orders, not a Nazi committing war crimes.

My two cents. Stay frosty Captains.

[donna577]

Wow, watched The Thin Red Line like for the 7th time.............Nothing impressisve, though John Cusack made the movie worth watching.

But it is only a movie, and anyone who compares it to real life should seek help.