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  • Essay / Assessing the historical accuracy of the film Dunkirk

    World War II was the deadliest war history has witnessed, with enormous social, economic, environmental, and technological consequences that changed the world and whose impact is still felt today. These consequences are the result of many events that occurred during the war, not just the battles that took place. The different alliances, tactics, technological advancements, propaganda, etc. all played an important role in the development and outcome of World War II. Some of the biggest battles of the war, such as the Battle of Stalingrad, the Battle of Normandy, the Battle of Pearl Harbor, etc., played an important role in the final outcome of the war. Despite their importance, the role of small battles should not be forgotten, as they had their own significance. One of these small battles was the Battle of Dunkirk. The events known as "Dunkirk" took place between May 26 and June 4, 1940, when approximately 336,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France thanks to to the combined efforts of naval and civilian crews as part of “Operation Dynamo”. '. Although this historic event is seen more as a rescue and evacuation mission, it certainly played a role in the final outcome of the war. Evacuating all these troops belonging to the Allied forces saved a lot of manpower, and a failure of this mission would result in fewer troops to fight the coming war. Because of its importance, the brilliant director Christopher Nolan wrote and directed a film called “Dunkirk,” which depicts the evacuation of Dunkirk during World War II. The film was filmed in Dunkirk, France, on the same beach where the evacuation took place, and some of the evacuation boats in the film were the same ones used by the British Navy during the war. Christopher Nolan is known for his dramatic effects in films, which engage the viewer and make them feel part of the film. In “Dunkirk,” the story is told from three points of view, air, land and sea, rather than telling the story of the evacuation from a single point of view. The film mainly consists of real events, but some things have been changed for dramatization purposes. In this essay, I will argue that the historical facts presented in the film are mostly accurate and that they far outweigh the parts of the film that are not true, thus making the film both brilliant and a very accurate to the story. Say no to plagiarism. . Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay First of all, I will start by talking about the historical events that the movie “Dunkirk” accurately depicted. The film begins with British soldiers marching through the streets of Dunkirk, and at the same time sheets of paper fall from the sky. A soldier grabs the piece of paper and reads "We are surrounding you", while seeing a graphic showing the beach at Dunkirk and German troops arriving from all directions. Germany was known for its propaganda during the war, and this propaganda is properly illustrated in the film, as the Germans actually dropped flyers showing the soldiers their location and how they were trapped. It was a way for the Germans to discourage the Allied troops and make them capitulate. Although he understood this historical fact correctly, Christopher Nolan made small changes to the flyers, as the original flyer did not include color and waswritten in English and French. One of the perspectives in which the film is filmed is from the sea view point of view, where Nolan focuses on a private lifeboat heading towards Dunkirk beach. The Lifeboat stars the owner, Mr. Dawson, his son and a friend, and focuses on their efforts to get to Dunkirk, showing the struggles they go through to save their compatriots. This sense of pride and patriotism is historically correct, since the British stepped up when their country needed it. Richard Weight, focusing in 2002 on the small boat component of the "myth", associates it with the popularity of the idea of ​​the British as an "island people" for whom the sea was "a protective moat" and who, although naturally peaceful, became stubbornly belligerent when the nation's shores were threatened. At the end of the film, we see the many rescue boats coming to the aid of the troops, and this private rescue mission is accurately described in the film, as history tells us that many boats arrived at Dunkirk during evacuation. More than 700 British ships and boats of all sizes took part and around 160 French ships. Another perspective of the film is filmed from an aerial point of view, where Nolan focuses on the pilots flying the legendary "Spitfire" planes, sent by the US military. The British Royal Air Force to fight the “Luftwaffe”. The film tends to focus on the faces of the pilots during the battle, showing the struggle they go through so that the viewer feels like they are part of the war itself. But it also shows the capabilities of these planes, which regularly track, pursue and shoot down German planes. This part of the film is historically accurate, as the "Spitfires" were superior to all other warplanes of the time. RAF pilots who had the chance to play with it, discovered it to be a very effective killing machine, supported by Dowding's efficient command organization, radar early warning system and two exceptional fighters, the young pilots were able to meet and overcome the German assault. , while regularly shooting down the fighter units of the “Luftwaffe”. The third perspective of the film is filmed from the field point of view, where Nolan focuses on the soldiers stranded on the beach and the constant fear they face in the face of any attack. The film correctly shows how the soldiers are all lined up and waiting to be evacuated, and how the wounded are transported to navy ships for treatment. An important part of the land perspective is the lack of German ground troops, which is another detail for which the film is historically accurate. Hitler believed that the "Luftwaffe" was strong enough to handle the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk beach, which turned out to be a huge mistake. The rescue of nearly 340,000 Allied troops was due less to divine intervention than to enormous errors on the part of the German high command and the failure of the "Luftwaffe" to maintain its previous domination of Dunkirk and the beaches . The film accurately shows the mistake of not sending ground troops and the failure of the “Luftwaffe”. Winston Churchill was the British Prime Minister during World War II, and as such he played a key role in the war. Churchill was known for his famous motivational speeches, preaching patriotism, and the movie Dunkirk shows us part of his famous speech after the Battle of Dunkirk. “Wars are not won by evacuations, but there was a victory in this deliverance that deserves to be highlighted. Our gratitude tothe flight of our army should not make us forget that what happened in France and Belgium is a colossal military disaster. We should expect another blow to be dealt almost immediately. We will go to the end. We will fight in France. We will fight in the seas and oceans. We will fight with growing confidence and increasing air power. We will defend our island whatever the cost. We will fight on the beaches. We will fight on the landing grounds. We will fight in the fields and in the streets. We will fight in the hills. We will never surrender. And even if this island or a large part of it were subjugated and looked down upon, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British fleet, would continue the struggle until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, advances to the aid and liberation of the ancients.” This was Churchill's speech at the end of the film, and it contains exact quotes from the actual 1940 speech, making it very historically accurate. The historic event of Dunkirk was primarily an evacuation rather than a battle, as most of the troops stranded on the beaches were unable to provide any assistance in fighting the enemy. English, French and Belgian soldiers were waiting to be rescued, and at the end of the film after the evacuation, the soldiers arrive at Dover and board a train home. Despite a safe return, the troops do not consider this evacuation to be considered a victory and feel embarrassed. When they see civilians through the train window, they are ashamed and don't want to look at them, but to their surprise, they are welcomed as heroes again. This part of the film is historically correct, because the evacuated soldiers as well as Churchill did not want to consider the evacuation as a victory and were never satisfied with it. But the evacuation was a success and the many troops rescued had an impact later in the war, so this evacuation should be considered a victory. Dunkirk encapsulates aspects of British history that are still popular: British isolationism, patriotic sacrifice and the success of a few against impossible odds due to inherently noble qualities and a capacity for improvisation, and the Attempts to demystify Dunkirk will never succeed in Britain, because the understanding of the film as a story of "heroism and miracle" is "too ingrained in the national psyche". The film Dunkirk had the majority of historical events right, but it was also partly fiction, not for lack of skill but more for dramatization purposes. The only thing that really stood out to me was that all the characters in the film are fictional and none of their names can be found in newspapers or books. However, I think the characters represented all the people who participated in the Dunkirk evacuation. The few ground troops depicted in the film represent all the soldiers stuck on the beach and their struggle to survive. The RAF pilots were filmed in close-up, and I believe this was done to bring the viewer into the emotions and drama they were going through while pursuing the Luftwaffe planes. Civilians from the lifeboats were also represented, and even they had to go through hardships to serve their country. Although the characters are fictional, the emotion they provide makes the viewer feel like they are part of the war. Another thing the film doesn't get right is the presence of the RAF, rescue ships and navy destroyers. THE..