THIN RED LINE/ SEE WORKS BY JOSEPH CAMPBELL

Rating: Null/10 (27 August 1999)

A Cinematic masterpiece using a war setting to portray the human condition.
CAUTION: THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS REVEAL CRITICAL SYMBOLISM WHICH THE READER MAY NOT WISH TO KNOW PRIOR TO VIEWING THE FILM.
THUMBS UP---TRL is a film about you. It is not a War film although it effectively uses this extreme setting to portray the state of the "Human Condition". Specifically, TRL ponders DUALISM (Pairs of Opposites or Dimensions) which, congruent with quantum physics, seems to be the basis of reality. The character, Pvt. Witt, discovers that a deep understanding of these unavoidable pairs of opposites changes the way one reacts to adversity. He shares these insights via a monologue scattered throughout the film.
THUMBS DOWN?--This film IS NOT a work of PROSE , where water is water and a crocodile is a reptile. It is a POETIC work, where WATER is universally symbolic for the UNCONSCIOUS mind and the crocodile is symbolic for our deep dynamic set of primitive human emotions. These savage emotions are often difficult to control because they are rooted in the unconscious. Hence, the intro to the film....a crocodile crawling into water with an ominous musical background, conveying the topic of the film and setting a serious tone. If symbolism is not recognized, the movie can be boring...the film has no real plot. In this sense, it is like a magnificent painting in a museum. The producer also uses other unfamiliar devices such as showing soldiers with similar features in quick shots. This doesn't allow the viewer to know which actor it is!---I suspect this is to encourage you NOT to form attachments (another Buddhist theme) and coaxes you to generalize what is happening to anyone. Remember, this film is about you! Viewer complaints about this movie device is ironically a subject of the film--Attachment!! :-)
Buddhism is strongly threaded through this film. TRL uses Buddhism's 3 TEMPTATIONS and these are as follows:
#1 LUST (for gold/money, territory without regard to consequences to others etc.)
#2 FEAR (of death, pain, suffering, or loss etc.), and
#3 SOCIAL DUTY (basically doing what you are told by authority; mindless living; allowing others to direct your decisions instead of following your own truths)

THE FILM'S MAIN SYMBOLISM:
WATER - The Unconscious
CROCODILE- clearly refer to DRAGONS". In European mythology, the dragon represents GREED for territory, property/food etc., hence the term, "slaying your dragons." Later in the film we see the powerful crocodile tethered on land after soldiers learn and gain a new appreciation about the ugly dynamics of war--get it?
CHILDREN - Innocence. In the film, we see what exposure to conflict between people does to children -it changes the openness to others.
BIRDS - extensively and superbly used in this film.
Hawks- represents alertness to opportunity. (Ready to pounce on you).
New Hatchling on the war field -Depicts the fearless BECOMING of life (another Buddhist term), as fragile as it may be, despite adversity-- like grass growing between the cracks in the sidewalk.
Vultures- Opportunists of death or misfortune (As an allied soldier collects fillings from the mouths of dead Japanese soldiers- greed)
Birdcage - Limitation (The binding of your ego) Later in the film, the birdcage door is open -- Witt's deep understanding of reality, the one flame in each person is part of the larger whole (Buddhism again), has freed his spirit. It also represents the openness of the conversation at hand.
Bat--represents death. It's black wings enclose it's body like a coffin.
Multicolored Birds--In standard mythology, Prometheus stole fire (power, higher consciousness) from the Gods and gave it to man. Birds flew away with the fire, passing it along to other birds. The fire burned their feathers which accounts for the different coloration of birds we see today.
COCONUT TREE - the coconuts in vegetative cultures often were seen as human heads, as the nodules on their surfaces simulated human facial features.
BLACK HANDS/WHITE FINGERNAILS - Witt joyously recognizes that we all have the same origin...we are all 'Brothers' in this sense. Witt's tear seems to acknowledge that racism continues to flourish because of ignorance.
THE FILM'S PROFOUND MESSAGE
My interpretation of the film's message is largely Buddhist: The Parts and the Whole are ONE- "Maybe all men have one big soul"
Death is the paired opposite of Life and we must affirm both --"The other man sees the dying bird and feels the glory"
Free yourself from social duty but if you are forced into it, act responsibly on your terms (Witt offering a piece of gum to the Japanese prisoners) (Staros refusing orders from Lt. Col. Gordon Tall) (Witt going AWOL)("Why are you such a trouble maker, Witt? Isn't that what you like to do...turn left when they say go right?")
The film hints at a 'Thou' feeling of life when we no longer believe in God; instead, we KNOW God.----See works by Carl Jung. Much of the film's symbolism can be found in a work by Joseph Campbell
' The Power of Myth' video series -6 videocassette - Viewing this work may dramatically enrich your appreciation of 'Thin Red Line' .