Isherwood on JOURNEY'S END and war drama in general.

Another superb and very right on essay from the man who dared speak ill of UTOPIA.
Charles Isherwood on war drama.

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I haven't seen it, but his take does in fact echo a lot of the reasons I don't really want to see it. I don't NEED another thing telling me how tough war is. I don't NEED more male bonding in the trenches. I didn't like "Saving Private Ryan", "Band of Brothers" or any of the films centered around war. It's not a topic I like as a genre, and I don't like feeling manipulated into feeling sorry for them.

So Isherwood is NOT the only one who feels that way.

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Had to chime in on this thread because I saw this show this afternoon...

" I don't NEED another thing telling me how tough war is. I don't NEED more male bonding in the trenches. I didn't like "Saving Private Ryan", "Band of Brothers" or any of the films centered around war."
I didn't like those movies/series either. In fact, I've never been fond of any kind of war drama. I loved Journey's End. Writing off the show because of desensitizing news reports and movies is rather narrow-minded. This show is very much it's own creature. To me, it waas, more than anything, something that would make anyone with a beating heart outraged over the mere idea that we ever even TURN to war, regardless of the reasons. It wasn't making heroes out of its characters so much as showing how desperately they needed to fight to cling onto sanity and dignity in unimaginably horrifying situations.

"Even if the tears are earned, watching war as a noble cause may not sit on the beleagured psyches of many."
War as a noble cause? Where are you getting this from? Journey's End is not talking about war as a noble cause, but it certainly is portraying war as inhumane and horrifying.

"We are four years into a conflict that's not universally agreed as noble, now longer than WW II, with no end in sight, and contentiously debated in a divided society. One cannot look at JOURNEY outside of that context."
That is EXACTLY why people should see this. Because it's one of the most human war dramas I've ever seen, and it exposes the horror of the beast in such a way that I can't imagine one not walking out of the theatre without being enraged over the fact that the human race EVER goes to such measures to settle conflicts regardless of the reasoning.

I appreciate your debating this so fervently, Bwaygirl. Perhaps I've overstated an armchair analysis of the bruised pschye of the audience even more than Isherwood. But I think people being made to feel they "should" see a WW I war play because it will provide insight into the current debacle is the core issue. The very words "war play" and images of the men in uniform, though not of our troubled times, are enough to keep people away. Many people might've found intellectual stimulation and emotional release at JOURNEY, but it's hard to argue that they have reason to avoid it.

I wish they'd film it for HBO, so it might exist outside of the dark and somber moment, and allow people to discover it on a thoughtful evening at home rather than a rare night on the town. The theater is ever more expensive, and many would rather not fork over seveal hundred bucks only to confront some of the most frightening demons of our era. If that makes them moral cowards, it is nevertheless a key fact in the marketplace right now.

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Amen. If that's directed at moi, Honey, I'm in the choir. As for moral cowardice, I was addressing the perception, not the fact.

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I did give it a chance and while there were many, many things about the production that were excellent, the play itself left me feeling "well, that was must have been edgy in its day". Its a fine piece of old-style craftsmanship but not exactly illuminating about its subject matter. Time has I guess somewhat spoiled the effect of it...so much of this has been seen (stolen?) in so many films, movies, and books since.

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Brtoadwaygirl107 ~ If you would like to buy a first year teacher and full-time student who has NO money to throw away on a show she's not interested in seeing because she already DOES believe that war is complpetely evil, feel free to buy me a ticket.

If not, get off your high horse.

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