The Importance of Remembrance

Fading Memory

 

Memory is for when our hearts wander

It is when our minds oft go ponder

The past that has been

And the future that will be

 

The sacrifices of those young and old

Of those that lay waiting in the cold

For that order to go over the top

Fearing that they would instantly drop

 

To the ground, heartbeats fading

Everything given up for saving

That speck of hope we hold dear

Over that unbridled fear

 

The hospital bed draws near

Everything becomes so clear

To our families back home appear

Their memories struck down by fear

 

Of those days in the past

You grew up so fast

To see life fade so quick

It makes them feel sick

 

'Hold firm, for remember I love you all'

Tommy said as his last breath did fall

'Remember me for the good I did

and forgive them for the wrong they did'

 

For memory we hold near

In hope that things become clear

So that we do not forget

For their sacrifice we are in debt

 

Jonathan Whitehead

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We hold memory dear to us. It is still there through struggles and successes in our lives. It is our happy place, our mental delirium when all things around us seem to be falling down. Our saving grace, our sense of being and purpose. Memory is so vital to our day to day lives, we tend to forget its place until what we hold dear to us, what we took for granted, is taken from us without a second thought. Nowadays, we often forget the sacrifices that have led our country, our world into the way it is now. Some people feel that they should fill their lives with seemingly important things such as the need to get a new phone on release day, or how many friends you have to impress on Facebook with your extravagant escapades. In the grandoise scheme of things, these are all null, void and unimportant to the greater picture of the sacrifices made by those nowadays and in years past to allow you such a freedom. Just as a pre-requisite, I am not saying that holiday snaps shouldn't be uploaded, by all means do what you please, but I am just putting things into perspective.

The 11th November is indeed a key date for memorial and remembrance. It brings together multitudes of people of all cultures, ages and religions to partake in a unified show of respect to those soldiers who gave up their lives fighting in all wars past and present, and to those who strive to keep the peace far and wide in modern day conflicts. 2 minutes of deafening silence. 2 minutes of nothingness to praise, appreciate, and thank all of these soldiers for the sacrifice they make for the protection of our world.

 

We lay wreaths to remember those who have died, to remember those soldiers and civilians caught up in conflicts caused by gross differences in ideologies. We listen to the Last Post as a reminder of this sacrifice made by men and women young and old. We pray for peace and an end to the bloodshed and hatred around the world. We manage to find within ourselves an image of hope, solitude, of happiness and joy spread around the world which we hope to instill into other people.

The idea of memory in this day and age is to ensure that those men and women who gave up their lives did not die without purpose, without meaning, without making the world a better place. We will forever hold them in our memories. The countless unknown soldiers lost in the muddy fields of the Somme and Passchendaele, the countless unwritten heroes of the home front, and the way in which soldiers on each side of no mans land fought not in hatred for those on the opposing side, but for an ideology believed in by those in control.

The laying of the ceramic poppies around the Tower of London brings this all home. Those who died for the service of our country will be counted for, they will be remembered, they will never be forgotten. And not just those in our country, and not just those in the First World War. We will remember all those who gave up their lives for the bettering of others lives in the future.

So for all those who weren't able to tell their loved ones goodbye one last time, to those who will forever be lost in the earth that surrounds us, and to those who put their lives on the line day in and day out, I salute you. Your bravery, courage and distilled belief in working towards a safer future for all of us is appreciated beyond belief. Your sacrifices will never be forgotten and nor should they ever be! Thank you.

Jonathan Whitehead

Enjoy the little things in life :)

Motivation. Happiness. Love. These are all things that, at one time or another during our lives, we lose or have difficulty finding. Troublesome times force us to dig deep into our pockets of self motivation, self respect and encouragement. There are always going to be trying times in our lives. No matter how hard we try to steer away from confrontation, tragedy or heartfelt sorrow, there will always be times in our lives where the will to move on and not dwell on the past needs to outweigh the inherent desire to slump around feeling sorry for yourself. To put bluntly, we all need that extra push to get us from A to B sometimes, we all need that shoulder to cry on, or someone or something to show us the way in our professional or personal life. No matter how low you feel, you should always feel like you can turn to someone, or something that means a lot to you and open up to them or it. Motivation can come in small bundles, it can lead to great things unfolding in your lives that you never thought before possible. It can give you that feeling of joy and happiness that lead you to think to yourself, 'You know what? Monday mornings aren't all that bad'. Maybe that's pushing the boat out a little bit too far :)

Over the last few years, things have been rocky to say the least for myself; losing family members coupled with temporary jobs and quite frankly a non existent love life. But I realize my life is not as bad as I sometimes think it is. Whether it is small pick me up photos that give me something cheerful to think of during the day, or whether there are songs that put me in a good mood, no matter what it is, there are always ways to make yourself feel better. There are always ways you can find that will make yourself happy, you never should feel like you are worthless or that you can't achieve what you want to achieve all because you have a seed of doubt in your head saying you can't. If you have your life, you have absolutely no right not to have ambition, desire and that fundamental confidence that will see you conquer any obstacle life throws at you. Life is not an easy ride, there is no guidebook to how to live the ideal, perfect and fulfilling life. It's a roller-coaster of emotion, hard work, and pride. You always look for that metaphorical strike, the glory, the success straight away, but sometimes you may only get a 5 pointer, or may miss completely. You may even need the ramp to help guide you on the previously untouched path to future happiness. Whichever way you look at it, whichever cliched metaphor you want to use, there is no shame in asking for help in life, there is no shame in taking on board the notion of practice makes perfect. For every current expert in their profession was once a beginner, a novice who needed that same guidance you may be seeking out at this moment. It is always important to keep your head held high, but low enough that you do not lose all sense of reality. Be aware of popping your head above the parapet as there may be others looking to take you down a peg or two if they see you as a threat to their own well-being. No matter what you do in life from now until your dying breath, there's something everyone has a right to do, and that is to never give up! No matter how hard you fall, get up. No matter how emotionally drained you are, know that in time, you will get better and come to an understanding whereupon you can deal with these issues. No matter how many obstacles you see in your path to happiness, take each obstacle as they come, never stop to imagine what could be, and focus on what will be once you take out the obstacles one by one. Focus on the positives in life and the negatives will take care of themselves.

Having belief in yourself is crucial to living a fruitful, enjoyable and fulfilling life. Believe in yourself and you can make anything happen. The power of will is a strong thing, and when put to good use it can spark off a chain of events that could lead to a happy you. For me, I take happiness in the small things in life. The simple things are normally the ones that provide you with the most joy. So enjoy life, take things as they come and make sure you have a reason to smile at least once a day. Life is a gift, and every day is a chance to make a difference and to be happy. Keep your head up and make sure you enjoy life for there is nothing worse than having regret, so make the most of now and take life by the reigns!

Jonathan Whitehead

Lest We Forget To Remember...

Boys Led To Slaughter

by Jonathan Whitehead

Your Country Needs You!

My Country Needs Me!

She Needs You Too.

Over by Christmas, you'll see.

Thousands sign up,

To fight a war,

To close up shop,

To stop the enemy roar.

Bullets whistle by.

Thud goes the artillery.

Grown men cry.

Women become the auxiliary.

Wonders were seized,

Battles ensued.

Mounted deceased,

Politicians confused

Peace was called.

They were only boys.

The enemy stalled.

Puppeteered like toys.

100 years on,

We stare at broken battlefields

We're yet to move on

Where poppies fill the fields

Utter devastation. Unimaginable horror. Unthinkable suffering. Words that can be attributed to what unfolded during the Great War between 1914 and 1918. That fateful afternoon in late June 1914 in Sarajevo, whereupon a spark was struck so loud and right at the heart of the Austrian monarchy, that the repercussions were felt throughout Europe. The domino effect of international diplomacy was in full effect. Germany sided with Austria; Russia allied itself to Serbia, whilst Britain and France gave their military and diplomatic assistance to Belgium. Those few shots fired on the 28th June 1914 by Gavrilo Princip, of the Black Hand Gang, at the Archduke and his wife, would unravel into the bloodiest war the world had seen until then. It would change the course of history, cut short the lives of millions, and throw Europe into a state of disarray and destruction. Advanced weaponry and chemical warfare became lethal reactions to evolve trench warfare into a constant state of fear. Muddy and soggy ground underfoot hindered any real progress across no man's land. The dead on both sides mounted up in a manner never before seen on the field of conflict. It showed the brutality of war, the unimaginable horrors incurred by one man's inventions having a showdown against another man's inventions. Battles such as the Somme, Passchendaele, Gallipoli and Verdun are only a handful that changed the course of the war. 8.5 million soldiers perished on the battlefields for a war fought in distant lands over divided political ideologies. A war fought by young and old, rich and poor: a Total War. Civilians were caught in the crossfire, soldiers were killed on foreign soil defending their homeland - this war was the first to pull at the heart strings, the first to evoke a sense of the unthinkable. 

Now we have reached the centenary anniversary of this 'Great War' commencing, we look back as a modern generation on the First World War in a way that ensures we have some level of attachment to the horrors and sacrifices that millions of men and women made for their countries. Memory plays a significant role in ensuring we have this level of attachment, it allows us to try and put this global conflict into as much context and perspective as we can possibly get. The poetry, the letters sent home, the unknown soldiers - all these contribute to our ability to gain a level of understanding as to what it may have been like on the front line and at the home front during war time. Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon are two of the most well known war time poets.

                    'Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! - An ecstasy of fumbling,   

                    Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;     

                    But someone still was yelling out and stumbling, 

                    And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime... 

                    Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,  

                    As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.  

                    In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,      

                    He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. 

                    Wilfred Owen, Dulce Et Decorum Est    

  

                              In winter trenches, cowed and glum,

                              With crumps and lice and lack of rum,

                              He put a bullet through his brain.

                              No one spoke of him again.

                              You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye

                              Who cheer when soldier lads march by,

                              Sneak home and pray you'll never know

                              The hell where youth and laughter go.

                             Siegfried Sassoon, Suicide In The Trenches

These writings gave the general public a better idea as to what life was really like on the front line. It blew any preconceived ideas that they had on life on the Western Front out of the water. It showed people the everyday struggle and the fear dealt with by soldiers on a day to day basis. Writings like these also proved how much these soldiers were giving up to fight for their countries, how they had to cope with countless horrific and unimaginable scenes unfold right in front of their very own eyes, and also how much it affected them as individuals. Reading text such as these enabled people at home to look on the conflict, not only from another perspective, but from the eyes of the men painfully living out these experiences and recalling them. All of this shows how important the memory of the individual is in regards to themselves, and on a grander scale, the general public both of early 20th Century right up to modern day, coming to terms with a conflict as vast, extreme and devastating as was the First World War. It gives us that connection we look for when studying the Great War between the reader and the protagonist or author.

Memory is something we hold dear to us. Whether it is of something we have a special connection to, or whether it is in regards to an individual you have strong feelings for, we all inherently crave that connection to our past and our future. Memory should not only be limited to experiences we have had as individuals, but as an overall community, whether that be past, present or future. For we are all one global community, therefore global wars of the not-so-distant past still have an impact on us all. The sacrifices made by individuals who came together as a unit to defend what they called home. They put their lives on the line so that we could one day live in a world free of war, free of terrorism, free of the constraints of life. The least we can do is pay our respects to them in whichever way we see fit - lighting a candle in homage to those who lost their lives, wearing a poppy to symbolize your attachment and appreciation of their sacrifice, or taking a moment out of your busy lives to say a prayer for those who were taken from this world too soon. Whichever way you find to respect those who have fought, or are still fighting for the freedom you take for granted, what matters is that you are paying your respects. That is the least they deserve. We will remember all those who have fallen in wars past and present. We will never forget.

Jonathan Whitehead

E3 - New Gen and modern day gaming

I remember the days of old: the first Monkey Island games, Big Red Racing, and Age of Empires. These were the games I grew up playing and loving. The times of Guybrush Threepwood vs LeChuck has come and gone, to be replaced by Edward Kenway, Mario Kart, and Minecraft.

 A classic starting line up in Big Red Racing. The game, released for DOS in 1996 was one of my favourite games when I was a kid. Many Saturdays were spent making sure I didn't lose to the big lorries. And yes, you read that right. It was released on DOS. That's how old school this game is.

Modern day, classic Mario Kart: Rainbow Road. Many a university evening was spent in the comfort of having a 16 race off against friends to see who would be crowned Mario Kart king: Luigi, Mario, Bowser or Bones?

A standard 'Age of Empires' scene. Let battle commence. I will always remember the Genghis Khan and El Cid missions in Age of Empires 2.

A monumental effort by someone of the Minecraft world. Cities, spaceships and volcanoes are only a handful of things that individuals online have built in their quest for online fame.

Monkey Island was and will forever by my favourite game. The storyline, graphics for its time, and the cheesy lines used in sword fighting all made for, in my opinion, one of the best games of my time. It is safe to say that games such as Heavy Rain and Beyond Two Souls stemmed from the forward thinking of LucasArts. Truly brilliant game for its time.

In regards to modern day gaming series, Ubisoft's 'Assassins Creed' series has got to be up there with the best around. The progression it has taken from the first game right up until the latest game to be released, entitled 'Unity' is truly staggering. The graphics on Black Flag were just jaw dropping. The story lines were also well thought out and thorough. It is, much like Age of Empires, is a great way to get kids nowadays to get interested in different aspects of history.

In the short space of time between me being a short blonde haired youth, to my modern day early 20s self: lover of most different games, gaming has moved on so drastically. Graphics are now so realistic that you can see waves crashing against boats, and the shades of trees moving about in the wind, you'll be almost mistaken to think you were in a parallel universe where you were stationed to prevent the downfall of a nation or the building up of an empire at the click of a few buttons on your chosen console of solitary confinement. Gaming has become such a big part of modern day society in more ways than one. People are now choosing to sit in and play video games instead of going out into the sunshine and exploring what the world has to offer. It sometimes even takes over individuals' lives to an extent that they find it hard to communicate with the outside world. Then there are the casual gamers who enjoy to play video games with their friends on the weekend but aren't as fussed by being obsessed with games so much it consumes their livelihoods. I would like to think that I fall somewhere in between these situations. I have my preferred gaming titles and series, enjoy playing said games, but at the same time do not let it rule over my life. I am at a happy equilibrium where I can settle for not playing games at least once every day. Yet, as I said, there is always the fear of some people being that hermit who sits in his big Lazyboy, ordering pizza everyday, watching his kill count go up more than keeping an eye on his calorie intake. The gap between accepting gaming as a way of life and an addiction, and seeing it as a hobby and something to enjoy in bitesize chunks, is a line that is very minute.

Games that currently tickle my gaming senses are the God of War franchise, Assassins Creed, The Last of Us, and the Call of Duty series. These games have all progressed massively in terms of funding, graphics and
have all become forces to be reckoned with at Gaming conventions and award ceremonies around the globe. The Last of Us, a title under the banner of 'action-adventure survival horror' has been bestowed the honour of being classed as one of the all time defining games of the seventh generation video game era. With a majestic storyline that culminates in an over-riding emotional attachment to all the characters involved in the game, as well as a providing the gamer with a generous array of stunning graphics, The Last of Us provides an insight into what future games need to include if they are to be successful franchises. In depth story line, sublime new gen graphics and minimal to non-existent glitches - the three main desires of every gamer for new releases they look forward to. It was a stand out performer in not only its genre, but in the whole gaming community. It gained over 200 'game of the year' titles from multitudes of publications around the world. The game got the recognition it deserved, and rightly so.

With the E3 conference still ongoing until the 12th June, it has come to my attention just how much revenue, interest and press notice gaming can create. Millions of people are the global audience that can make or break a gaming franchise which bring forward a new way of thinking in the gaming market. Events such as E3, Comicon, and gaming stores exclusive previewing and knowledge on any matters gaming related, all create a community whereupon individuals feel at home and accepted. It gives people an outlet to express their true selves, their inner personality that they were too worried to bring out in the light of day at school in worry they would be called a nerd or a geek. Comicon gives people that opportunity to find people with similar passions. E3 is a conference that I would love to visit one time. The previews, the build up to much anticipated games, and just the atmosphere surrounding the individual production companies booths, each one trying to get one up on another production team. During this most recent E3 conference, Ubisoft released a thematical trailer of the new title into the Assassins Creed franchise. The game itself looks incredible. Based on the French Revolution, it's rendered the recent Les Miserables film somewhat inadequate. The graphics are even better than Black Flag, showing that Ubisoft ultimately used the new gen software to produce a quite sensational game. All I can say is that the end of this year cannot come quick enough in terms of when 'Unity' gets released onto the global gaming market.

Gaming isn't for everyone, all gamers accept that. But for those whom gaming does apply, and thus render among the important things in their life, then gaming to them is a way of life. It is a  release from the stress of day to day ups and downs. It also gives individuals the confidence to come out of their shell in regards to a character they may pick as someone who inspires them, or a storyline that they can equate to in their life - the same way the majority of us seem to get attached to characters in TV shows. Gaming can bring together the oldest of friends, and also join the paths of unknown individuals on a global scale.

Jonathan Whitehead

England and the World Cup: The saga continues...

Optimism. Hope. Positivity. These are words which you wouldn't normally associate with the English world of national sport. Football and Rugby World Cups as well as the Olympics come round every 4 years, with the Euro's to fill in the footballing void in between. The Ashes take up the odd summer. The Six Nations happens at the beginning of each year; Wimbledon every summer. All of these events in the annual sporting calender lead to an overwhelming sense of national pride and belief that, the small land we call home, England, could do the unthinkable and win something! The sense of sporting positivism surrounding English sport around these times is sometimes enough to make you feel a bit wheezy. The banners, the patriotism, the flags all come out to play. God Save The Queen bellows from the rooftops. We unite as a nation under one banner, one belief, one hope that this could be our year for sporting success. We boast the best football league in the world, yet a lot of our teams strongly rely on foreign imports to boost their teams prestige and league status. We boast a top 4 rugby team, but have ex-Samoans, New Zealanders and South Africans playing in our starting line up. We 'boast' a top tier national cricket team, of which we poached a South African batsman. Even in Wimbledon, when Murray is winning he is British and the whole nation is behind him, yet, when he loses he is immediately ousted as being Scottish. Yes we have had success in our time as a sporting nation. The 2003 Rugby World Cup and dare I say it, the 1966 Football World Cup. In 2014, we still hark back to that 1966 victory over West Germany, a victory gained 48 years ago! Is it our year to win the World Cup? Who knows. Is the realism marred by blind optimism? If you believe in coincidences, then the history of who won trophies in 1966 matches with the winners so far this year.

Germany. Goal Line Technology. Despair.

Five words that epitomized England's last outing of the football kind at the World Cup in 2010.

There is a nation behind the England team this summer, whether it be in blind optimism or as a hopeful future development squad. Either way, this summer will be one of the most experimental times in England's sporting history. With young, inexperienced sportsmen playing in both the World Cup in Brazil, and in the test matches against the All Blacks down in New Zealand, if there was every going to be a summer of hope and belief, then this is it! Now go out there and do us all proud boys. Win or lose, just give it your all and the nation as a whole will be proud. Just don't give up without a fight.




Blind optimism, I could get used to that.

Come on England.

Jonathan Whitehead

Look Up...

Look Up - the new video on Youtube that has been doing the rounds on social network sites demoting the use of social media as the reason our society are 'less intelligent' than past generations, and the cause of our futures being formed by electronic gadgets rather than human interaction. A poetic song that looks at defining the impact of social media on our modern generation. Phrases such as 'when we open our computers, it is our doors we shut', 'device of delusion', 'Slaves to the technology we mastered', 'self interest, self image, self promotion', 'we pretend not to notice the social isolation' and 'we're surrounded by children who, since they were born, have seen us living like robots and think it's the norm. It's not very likely you'll make 'World's Greatest Dad' if you can't entertain a child without using an iPad' show his, and my personal views on how much we do rely on social media to step away from the reality to which we should be living, so as to please and offer up an insight to what a segment of our lives are like among other people, among people we do not even know in person. We engage in conversations, in arguments with people who could be on the other side of the world on the basis of whether The Killers meant to say 'are we human, or are we dancer/denser' or something else likewise mundane. I have watched TV programs dedicated to people who take their own time to make catfish profiles so as to imitate or mock individuals life or opinions. The phrase 'don't trust everything you read' couldn't be truer when talking about the internet. There are multitudes of fake profiles, of trolls setting their sights on one goal only: to make someone else's life miserable only because they are not happy within themselves or haven't learnt to grab life by the neck and enjoy their own existence. I have been brought up to believe that you are put in situations under different circumstances for a reason, whether you know what that reason is at that exact moment, or whether you realise the lesson you learnt from that moment in time a couple of years down the line, all those small moments in your life lead you somewhere, somewhere better than before. Yes, there are hardships along the way. Yes, there are hurdles in your path which you believe you are unable to overcome, but, in my opinion, the main sub-story that this video is trying to portray is one of being able to have that renewed hope, that renewed sense of optimism and belonging to the world without the belief that you have to share every moment of your life with people on Facebook or on other social media. In the end, it isn't about how many likes you get on a post on a photo of your graduation or your trip to Thailand, South America or Australia. This sense of needing to share with the world, with people you barely know or possibly don't know at all and have never met face to face has become almost a necessity it has overtaken our natural instincts just to live our lives and enjoy the freedom that has been given to us by our forefathers. Our society has become so hung up on how we are perceived in our online world that we forget how we are received in the real world!

Back at school, whenever I felt alone, rejected and lost, I looked for inspiration. Something to give me hope. Something to give me even a shred of blind optimism just to see me through each and every day. I found this very sense of belief, of hope, of optimism, in the form of Nick Vujicic. A man with a rare disorder that has meant he has lived his whole life in the absence of all four limbs. The struggle that man has gone through, the downs he must have faced on his way to adulthood, and adulthood itself, not only astonished me but taught me the importance of taking each day as it comes; of treating each person you see with a welcoming heart, a friendly smile, a person they can rely on - not a few words typed away on a computer screen. He is one of the happiest individuals I have seen and one of the most motivational people also. If a man with no limbs can live each day to the full and be happy, then why can't you be? Life goes on. We move on. You live on. Everyone has their own sob story so I won't go into mine, but I've hit lows and I've hit highs also. You just learn to deal with those lows so that you find a coping mechanism to deal with it if it happens again. The urge to share our entire lives with the internet is baffling.

Our life is what we make it into, not what social media thinks it should be, or, in the words of one of my favourite motivational quotes: 'When writing the story of your life, don't let anybody else hold the pen'

Carpe Diem

Jonathan Whitehead

From Here To Eternity

Recently, I went to Shaftesbury Theatre in London with the family to see the musical 'From Here To Eternity' for my mother's birthday. Based on the experiences of 'G Company' in Hawaii in the months leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese air force in 1941. In a chilling combination of both the horror and brutality of war, as well as the search for love in the dark nature of war, this musical hits all the right notes in conveying what pre-wartime life was like for the soldiers of the US Army. Throughout the musical, the song choices and story line between all of the characters gave a very rare glimpse into the human nature surrounding the lead up to the outbreak of war, as well as portraying the need for solace and comfort in each of G Company's approach to love, friendship and loyalty. From a personal perspective, the performances that stood out for me were those of Private Prewitt (Robert Lonsdale) and Private Maggio (Ryan Sampson). Not only was their relationship on stage fundamental to the overall telling of their story in G Company, the audience could almost relate to their struggle and sorrow as they tried to form a friendship in the most testing and daunting scenario, knowing that at any time war could be declared and all they had known and cared for would be either taken away from them or changed forever.

Below is one of the songs that is used in the musical and portrays the exact kind of message that the musical as a whole tries to portray - one of the struggle to keep your past life in tact whilst enrolled in the armed forces, notably the way Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt is forced to break his deathbed promise to his mother that he wouldn't fight again and the way he returns to playing the bugle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l19JOXXMtq8

The idea of this blog entry is to compare the reality of war to the portrayal of war in musicals, films and tv shows. Can conflict, whether it be militia battles in dust ridden villages in the middle of Africa, or full blown World War, be put into any kind of context through the power of film or theatre? Is there a way for this type of media to give the viewers a chance to come to terms with, comprehend and somewhat understand the impact such conflicts had on society as a whole, from the high end Captain, right through the ranks as well as civilians affected by localized bombings? War is one of the few areas of life that is incredibly difficult to portray in any way, shape or form. It is even more difficult to do so whilst at the same time giving what happened during the conflict the much needed respect it deserves, both for the bravery and commitment of soldiers and civilians involved. The destruction, heartbreak and level of loss felt during any conflict always reverberates throughout society, and to put that kind of profound level of consequence into a solitary 3 hour performance, or 2 hour long film, can be not only daunting but also a tough ask. Nonetheless, From Here To Eternity covered all these bases. It draws the audience into each individual character, showing what the prospect of war, the power of close friendships, and the outright unjust nature of conflict as a whole can bring unto any individual it lays its eyes upon. The nature of the United States's involvement in the Second World War was somewhat out of the blue. Having firmly stood by their policy of isolationism during the depression years after 1929, it was hard to see the US taking any firm, military action in Europe as war was declared in the final months of 1939. Japan had hardly been at the forefront of anyone's mind in regards to them posing a severe threat in Asia, never mind in Europe or even daring to threaten to disrupt the peace in America, one of the leading industrial and military powers at that time. Nonetheless, the Japanese launched a surprise aerial assault on the naval yard at Hawaii, where the majority of the US Navy was stationed. This sparked an immediate US entry into the war, ultimately leading to the pushing back of Axis powers in Europe and Asia over the course of the next four years. From Here To Eternity pushes through to the audience every soldier's desire for normality during the months leading up to Pearl Harbor. It helps personify the fear every soldier had and had to live with day in and day out. It deals with the formality and trivial pursuit of love, notably between Private Prewitt and Lorene, as well as Hal and Karen Holmes. This portrayal of these couples search for normality in a time of conflict, disruption and destruction was a major reason as to the success of the play, it showed an overwhelming deal of certainty in the face of despair, and also showed that even individuals with ever changing surroundings need something that they could rely on, something familiar to fall back on.

If you were to compare From Here To Eternity to other pieces regarding war, camaraderie, and the side effects conflict has on the individual, then the comparisons are relatively obvious to the eye; be it Band of Brothers, and The Pacific in the TV field, or Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and of course Pearl Harbor in the film sphere, to name but a mere few. All of these shows and films have story lines to which is somewhat relatable to the viewer in one way or another. The loss of what the known for the unknown, the airing of absence from their loved ones, the search for something familiar, is something which all these have in common with one another. Does this answer the question 'can war be put into context through different forms of media'? In all of the TV shows and films mentioned above, they all show similar story lines, similar fears surrounding soldiers on the front line, and similar desires for a return to normality. In turn, the reality and dreamt of reality are all shown to a relatable degree, as well as the strong portrayal of the consequences of war. It is hard to put into perspective the true horrors of any war or conflict, no matter how big or small it is, the dramatized versions of a conflict will always fall short of the reality, but it is vitally important for the individual viewing these dramatized versions to go forth and see conflict in a different light, and to take away that it is the actions of the individuals that change the course of history, and it is these individuals that we owe our due diligence and respect to in the past, now, and in the future.

Jonathan Whitehead