You would never guess from the title, Deer Hunter, that this movie is about the Vietnam War. What is the meaning of the title? The film broadens the hunter’s perspective on nature and life itself. Michael, the protagonist in Deer Hunter, thinks of himself as a manly character, and Michael shows it by winning. the elements of nature. This film conveys many symbolic aspects of tion about war, but the film provides an argument for the argument: war is not hunting or elementary School. Michael Cimino, the director of Deer Hunter, uses intense movie scenes to bring out the war and make it happen. the topic is more apparent. To analyze the theme of Deer Hunter, it is necessary to consider the basis of the film, which is the novel Deerslayer, the meaning of Russian roulette, and how the plot relates to the purpose.
Comparison to Deerslayer
Deer Hunter‘s protagonist Michael and Deerslayer‘s protagonist Natty are very similar: both men, expert hunters who want to kill a man in combat, both become men. prisoners of war from the enemy, and men preferred male comrades to female troops, and both preferred to measure the “one” philosophy of manhood. Michael Nick states in Deer Hunter While Hunting, “It’s like thinking about shooting. One shot is what it’s all about.” .Nick questions Michael’s “one shot” philosophy and Michael says “Two (shot) pussy.” The titles Deer Hunter and Deerslayer show the hunter’s need to become one with the prey and to become an equal opponent a href=”https://e-info.vn/tag/movie-titles” > movie titles was shown. In both cases, the prey was the deer, and the dominance of the deer led them to a new prey: humans during the war (Chong 94).
Meaning of Russian Roulette
In the movie, Michael, Nick and Steven are forced to play Russian roulette when they are detained by the Vietnamese in war. >. He liked the Russian roulette philosophy more than the “arrow” one that Michael used to measure his virility through deer hunting. In the game of Russian Roulette, Michael and his male friends were measured by taking the “shot” for themselves without fear or hesitation. Russian Roulette also implied the random nature of fate and that Russian Roulette is politically motivated and senseless, which is a metaphor for war in general. Casual game disputes are then tagged to war, meaning that something can happen in war (Chong 95). The Russian Roulette scenes in this film are particularly powerful to show the viewer how the reality of war is. When the viewer observes these ridiculous scenes of Russian roulette, it gives them a sense of fear and disgust, which adds to the meaning of the brutal game of odds (Chong 93).
What the movie says about the war
When Michael returns home from Vietnam without Nick, he feels out of place. Michael returns home still wearing his uniform, signifying that what he went through in Vietnam has not left him, and the company Michael is used to, makes him feel like an outsider. Michael’s experience in the war changed his values for human life and nature. Michael is then afraid to return to the iron mill because of the dangerous work he must do. When Linda, Michael’s wife, throws him a home party, he is followed by Michael’s assistants who attend the party. a wounded deer before the Chamber. The iron mill workers laugh at the poor deer and Michael goes out to shoot it. Then Michael notices that nature has a big part in society, so shoots a gun in the air instead (Francis 20 ). After Michael scares the deer, he must then go and find Nick in Vietnam.
When Michael returns to Vietnam as Nick, Nick has become a mindless drone driven by the fascination of Russian roulette. Michael finds him and tries to take him home, but Nick keeps playing Russian Roulette. Nick still had the mind of a hunter, and felt that his manhood was in danger. Nick picks up the gun and runs away. Nick kills himself in front of Michael from a game of Russian roulette. Nick’s death means that all of Michael’s possessions are dead, and Michael has nothing left but to worship the dead. In the last scene, the group gathers in a bar instead of a home, but this movie shows the bars as more like a home for the guys’ behavior. at home with their wives. In Vietnam, Michael and Steve’s relationship with their wives begins to fail due to a lack of communication. This quote sums up their failed relationship:
Michael and Linda previewed Steve and Angela’s relationship as they tried in vain to establish visual or verbal contact in Vietnam. All the characters in the theater are incapable of true communication, and all they could talk about was the coming meal and the weather (Bruk. 26). The filmmakers use violence and irony in this film to convey the true message: there is no war. a game This film also shows that an experience can change a whole life or nature. The symbolism and development in this movie also make the theme much more visible and clear to the viewers. Masculinity is a strong value for Michael in this movie, but when Nick’s loss occurs, masculinity means nothing. Michael realizes that his loves mean more to him than his manhood, and the experience can change anyone’s sense of how they view society, even a hunter like Michael.
Burke, Frank. “For the Deer Hunter OR: The Knee Jerk is faster than the eye.” Film Literature Quarterly 11.1 (1983): 22. Academic Question. EBSCO Web. 2 April 2010
Francis, Don. “The Regeneration of America: The Use of Landscape in The Deer Hunter.” Film Literature Quarterly 11.1 (1983): 16. Complete Academic Search. EBSCO Web. 2 April 2010..
Shin Huey Chong, Sylvia. “Resting the War: The Deer Hunter and the First Scene of Violence.” Cinema Journal 44.2 (2005): 89-106. Complete Academic Research. EBSCO Web. 2 April 2010
