The Movie The Hurt Locker Free Essay Example, 2000 words

Owen calls James on his fixation. Owen gets hurt because James was looking for trouble, and he yells at James that he looks for trouble because he has to get his adrenaline fix. And, in another scene, Sanborn breaks down a little and tells James that he must realize that every time they go out it is the life or death. James says that he does understand that, and he has a little smile on his face as he says this. What finally brings it home that James is addicted to the rush of war is that he cannot stand being home. Although he is able to go home to a baby son and a beautiful wife, unlike Sanborn who does not have a family of his own, James still cannot bear to be there, so he signs up for another tour of duty. Just like a true addict cannot bear to be without the object of his addiction for long, so James cannot stand being away from the adrenaline rush of war. Director Kathryn Bigelow made the choice to, for the most part, cloak James' addiction subtly. Although the opening gives the viewer some idea that the movie is going to be about a person who is addicted to war and the adrenaline rush that comes with it, it's never completely clear that this is what James' issue really is. We will write a custom essay sample on The Movie The Hurt Locker or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page Owen calls James on his fixation. Owen gets hurt because James was looking for trouble, and he yells at James that he looks for trouble because he has to get his adrenaline fix. And, in another scene, Sanborn breaks down a little and tells James that he must realize that every time they go out it is the life or death. James says that he does understand that, and he has a little smile on his face as he says this. What finally brings it home that James is addicted to the rush of war is that he cannot stand being home. Although he is able to go home to a baby son and a beautiful wife, unlike Sanborn who does not have a family of his own, James still cannot bear to be there, so he signs up for another tour of duty. Just like a true addict cannot bear to be without the object of his addiction for long, so James cannot stand being away from the adrenaline rush of war. Director Kathryn Bigelow made the choice to, for the most part, cloak James' addiction subtly. Although the opening gives the viewer some idea that the movie is going to be about a person who is addicted to war and the adrenaline rush that comes with it, it's never completely clear that this is what James' issue really is. James is brash, reckless and way too casual about everything, especially for the uptight Osborn. But the audience cannot be sure that James is acting this way because he is addicted, or simply because he is careless. The decision to do this has some definite pluses. For one, the message isn't as heavy-handed as it might have been if the director had chosen another method of showing James' addiction. Because the method of showing his addiction is subtle, the audience can draw their own conclusion about James' motivation. This, in the end, is what filmmakers should do they should present material, then let the audience interpret the material as they wish. The drawback is that the audience does not have a real guide on James and why he is the way that he is . While it is fine to let the audience interpret the material, there should also be some kind of backstory.