War Games: Ender's Game, The Monuments Men, and Movies for Peace

Abstract

The popularity of adolescent fantasy movies about cosmic war and the enjoyment of military adventures that we find in World War II movies suggest the unique importance of war-themed culture in fostering solidarity in large, complex, and factionalized societies. War movies offset the power of sub-cultural movements by emphasizing the togetherness to be found in patriotic attachment to the whole society. A review of the history of recent war movies such as Ender's Game and The Monuments Men raises the possibility of a new militarism among young people. However, the persistence of war-weariness indicates that young people may differentiate fantasies of combat from the recognition of the horrors of real war.