The Sniper

I have created this blog for my 2D English class. The purpose of this blog is to explore a theme in one of few short stories which we have read. I have chosen to do my blog do on The Sniper, a story which revolves around war and the dehumanization that comes with it. This short story is also about the unfortunate realities that comes with a war.

This video was chosen because it relates to the inhumanity of war and how brutal it can be. It shows how, not only the soldier that dies is effected but also his family and friends.This video shows how war is a horrible aspect of reality and that many are effected by it. An example of this would be at 2:28 to 2:38 when one of the soldiers gets shot, not only was the soldier screaming of pain and agony but also one of his friends were effected by the wound. He was not effected physically but more so mentally. He felt that he had lost one of his close friends, which is something that is relatively common when war occurs, especially when the second world war occurred.

The video also shows how pain is deeply inflicted on the soldiers fighting it and what they have to experience during it. At the very end of the music video, there is a shot of a soldier starring lifelessly into space. It is clear what the soldier is feeling and you can see through his eyes that he is traumatized of what is going on around him. Dead bodies, screaming, pain inflicted soldiers all around, this is the inhumanity and unfortunately the realities of war and this video shows that clearly.

War

This picture was chosen because it shows how war symbolizes death, depression and lifelessness which all relates to the theme of The Sniper, the inhumanity of war.

The soldiers in the picture have a grimy, lifeless look to their appearance. They seem depressed and unhappy about where they are and what they are doing. Their eyes tell the story of a soldier who has seen a lot of death and pain during their time in the war. This is something which happens in war frequently with soldiers, they see pain and heart ache everywhere they turn. The soldiers mouths are stitched up, possibly representing the fact that the soldiers fighting within the war have no say in what is going on around them and why it should continue. This is a reality of war and is a common feeling among all soldiers.

The crows over head the soldiers represents the death of soldiers upon the battle field. They represent the pain in which soldiers feel daily when involved in war. You can see the inhumanity represented by all aspects, the soldiers, the soldier's stitched mouths and the birds over head all show the unfortunate realities and inhumanity of war and the things soldiers experience during it.

Lyrics To War Pigs By: Black Sabbath
Politicians hide themselves away. They only started the war. Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor. (Rest of lyrics on link) http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/black+sabbath/war+pigs_20019418.html

These lyrics to the song War Pigs by Black Sabbath is a perfect example of the inhumanity involved in war because it states all truths about war and the means behind it.

At one point of the song it says "Politicians hide themselves away. They only started the war. Why should they go out to fight? They leave that role to the poor." This is a great statement about the truths behind war, saying that the politicians which start the war and bring the inhumanity and pain to their own people, don't even fight the war that they start and instead hide away.

Another point in the song is when it states " Day of judgement, God is calling. On their knees, the war pigs crawling. Begging mercy for their sins. Satan, laughing, spreads his wings." This part of the song defines the people who start wars and the savages that they are for creating such an animal. They bring horrible and dreadful experiences to their enemies as well as their very own followers. Not only soldiers but even innocent citizens get injured and most time killed due to the stupid decisions and actions of a politician who lives for war ( example: Hitler). What the lyrics are saying is that the devils who inflict this pain on people will be punished whether it is in their lifetime or in the afterlife.

This following quote also contributes to the inhumanity of war: "In the fields the bodies burning. As the war machine keeps turning. Death and hatred to mankind. Poisoning their brainwashed minds, oh lord yeah!." These lyrics represent the pain which is brought upon by the horrible term we refer to as war. They are straight forward, that death and hatred is brought to mankind once war has begun. Also that the leaders of war force their hatred and thoughts into others, which was a reality back in World War II with the Nazi party.