War is war whether we like it or not but it is different for almost everyone. Actually, let me rephrase that, it IS different for everyone. There are similarities but the differences are really what matter, which is why I chose to compare Slaughterhouse-five the film Red Tails written by John Ridley, being that they are both within the same time frame ( World War II Era) . One theme that is contained in Slaughterhouse-five is the destructiveness of war, or how war affects a single soul verses an entire community. Although Billy Pilgrim in Slaughterhouse-five has led a successful post-war life, when he gets to war his views are totally transformed. It is evident as he attends his swimming lessons at the YMCA to the speeches that he gave at the Lions Club all to his imprisonment in Tralfamadore, as he walks in and out of the meat locker in Dresden where he seems to miraculously survive the fire raining from the sky in the city. As Billy Pilgrim is trying to get on with the normalcy of life, it is evident that he is trying to reach that spot of equilibrium as he puts the quote on his wall in Chapter 3, " Billy had a framed prayer on his office wall which expressed his method for keeping going, even though he was unenthusiastic about living." The quote that is he referencing to inspires him to give him the strength to move on, reminding him that he cannot change the past. Though this seems like a minuscule part of the text, I thought this was worth mentioning being that even though Billy is living the high life, war never really leaves him. He is always haunted by a vivid image or memory that war has left him.
Moreover, lets switch to Red Tails, a story of the Tuskegee Airmen and their long, hard fought success in World War II. Focusing back to the destructiveness of war, the theme plays a different role in this film. The term destructive is first affiliated with the fact the Tuskegee airmen had to deal with racial profiling, or in other words they are NOT treated as highly as the other Caucasian airmen were. Yes, Billy Pilgrim did deal with the horrors of war, and so does every soldier, but the Tuskegee airmen had to deal with that, and more. I recall from the movie as they were all going to the bar to celebrate a victory, the German airmen start to call the airmen derogatory names, specifically stating, " Go home (and the "n" word that I will not mention) but you get my drift. Also, I can never forget at the beginning of the movie, when the men were excited to be fighting in the war with everyone else, only to be surprised with the worse planes to fly in (old World War I planes to name a few) and broken bunks. However, they make it work regardless of what they have to go through because fighting for their country was the most important to them. To relate with Billy's situation, the saddest part of the movie is when one of the main characters and leaders of the pack, Lightning is participating in his last battle and as he looks at his wife's picture, swearing to be with her, he is shot multiple times by one of the German air bombers. It was tragic to me, not only because of the graphic scenery but because that is how quickly war can end ones life, and how quickly it can destroy someone in on instant. Even though it is only a film, I thought it was demonstrated excellently as a reminder to everyone out there that destruction is real.So there you have it. It may seem brief in the details I mention, but destruction is destruction, there really isn't more to it. The Tuskegee airmen may have had to deal with being considered the lowest because of their skin color, but Billy Pilgrim had to deal with trying to bring himself back to reality, considering the fact that war was always in the back of his mind. The glamour of war was never as it seemed and did the opposite of what pretty much every soldier thought it would do. War destroys everyone in different ways and it's up to us to respect that.
Arlesia McGowan
